In Justice: Inside the Scandal That Rocked the Bush Administration [Hardcover]

David Iglesias (Author), Davin Seay (Contributor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0470261978 | ISBN-13: 978-0470261972 | Publication Date: May 27, 2008 | Edition: 1

The Bush administration's drive to politicize the Justice Department reached a new low with the wrongful firing of seven U.S. Attorneys in late 2006. Their action has ignited public outrage on a scale that far surpassed the reaction to any of the Bush administration's other political debacles. David Iglesias was one of those federal prosecutors, and now he tells his story.

Iglesias has long served in the Navy as part of the JAG corps. One of his earliest cases, about an assaulted Marine in Guantanamo Bay, became the basis for the movie A Few Good Men. When Bush chose him to become the U.S. Attorney for New Mexico, it was a dream come true. He was a core member of Karl Rove's idealized Republican Party of the future -- handsome, Hispanic, evangelical, and a military veteran. The dream came to an abrupt end when Senator Pete Domenici improperly called Iglesias, wanting him to indict high-level Democrats before the 2006 elections. When Iglesias refused, the line went dead. Iglesias was fired just weeks later. First, he was devastated. Then, he was angry. Now, he is speaking out.

Iglesias recounts his interactions with Bush, Rove, Alberto Gonzales, and other key players as he takes readers into his time at the Justice Department to reveal what top Republican officials said and did, and how they subverted justice.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. A U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico from 2000 to 2007, Iglesias has written an eye-opening account of his role in exposing the Justice Department scandal that began with the firing of seven District Attorneys and ended (arguably) with the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Talented, Hispanic, evangelical, a military veteran and a loyal Bush supporter, Iglesias's star was still on the rise when, in late 2006, he was asked to resign his job. All he could learn was that the decision had come "from on high," and that he was only one of seven asked to resign the same day. On this guided tour, Iglesias claims shocking attempts to "co-opt the Justice Department for political ends" with statements that as early as 2003, U.S. Attorneys were being pressured to purge Democrats from voter rolls wherever possible; Iglesias says he was thrown under the bus after refusing to release sealed details of an ongoing prosecution that would scandalize Democratic contenders in a local 2006 race. Iglesias's text, like his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, implicates a number of big dogs, including Gonzales and Karl Rove, as well as the President. Thorough and troubling, this record is a must-read for anyone who got caught up in the unfolding controversy.
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Review

A U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico from 2000 to 2007, Iglesias has written an eye-opening account of his role in exposing the Justice Department scandal that began with the firing of seven District Attorneys and ended (arguably) with the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Talented, Hispanic, evangelical, a military veteran and a loyal Bush supporter, Iglesias’s star was still on the rise when, in late 2006, he was asked to resign his job. All he could learn was that the decision had come “from on high,” and that he was only one of seven asked to resign the same day. On this guided tour, Iglesias claims shocking attempts to “co-opt the Justice Department for political ends” with statements that as early as 2003, U.S. Attorneys were being pressured to purge Democrats from voter rolls wherever possible; Iglesias says he was thrown under the bus after refusing to release sealed details of an ongoing prosecution that would scandalize Democratic contenders in a local 2006 race. Iglesias’s text, like his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, implicates a number of big dogs, including Gonzales and Karl Rove, as well as the President. Thorough and troubling, this record is a must-read for anyone who got caught up in the unfolding controversy. (June) RED STAR REVIEW (Publishers Weekly Online, June 2, 2008)

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (May 27, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470261978
• ISBN-13: 978-0470261972
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #697,420 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When justice and politics collide, May 31, 2008

By 

Jon Hunt "musician, teacher" (Old Greenwich, Ct. USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In Justice: Inside the Scandal That Rocked the Bush Administration (Hardcover)

Of the eight fired United States Attorneys over one year ago, no one seemed more representative of the hurt and bewilderment than David Iglesias, the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico. His unusual heritage, military service and the fact that he was a Republican added heft to his Congressional testimony as he sought to tell his story about being sacked along with seven others. His new book, "In Justice" (which certainly could have been one word) is a terrific look at a moment when politics and justice met head-on with immediate unfortunate consequences...but consequences that provided a forum for truth re-establishing the upper hand over politics.

The firing of the attorneys, not only in the way it was handled but the premeditated way in which the plan was cooked up, would have been a disgrace by itself, but the fact that these noble men and women were also Republicans made the whole affair that much more curious. Much of the first half of "In Justice" is spent on background...Iglesias's upbringing in and out of the United States... and his emotional state when he learns of being fired and those subsequent feelings for days afterward. But the book really heats up when he testifies before the Senate and his spirit of fighting back comes to the fore. Chief among the original "black hats" are New Mexico Senator Pete Domenici and Congresswoman Heather Wilson, who each made improper calls to Iglesias during an ongoing case. The speculation then centers on who made up a master list of attorneys to be axed and exactly why the plan was ever devised. Iglesias and others contend that their loyalty, which was not blind to the Bush White House, was a deciding factor in their collective dismissals and as the facts tumbled out, this became a very likely primary reason. What remains a mystery to this day is who orchestrated the move. Was it the hapless former Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales, who seemed to have a major problem with memory...? Karl Rove, whose fingerprints tend to be on or near every White House catastrophe....? Or, did the president have any hand in the matter? One might suspect that as this feckless administration comes to an end, more and more insiders will be telling their own tales of woe, and we may learn much more about this particular case. I hope for David Iglesias's sake and for the sake of the other fired attorneys, that the whole truth will someday be revealed. I highly recommend "In Justice" and commend David Iglesias for helping to get this story out and for his narrative as to why it ever took place at all.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Partisan Politics in the Dept of Justice, June 10, 2008

By 

JHV (Oakton, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Justice: Inside the Scandal That Rocked the Bush Administration (Hardcover)

In Justice is the fascinating re-telling of the unjust firing of seven U.S. Attorneys in 2006, and its eventual implications on both a very personal level and for the political landscape at large. The book opens as more of a memoir, a genre it revisits many times throughout. Iglesias recounts his own personal struggle with his inexplicable firing. While his tone is one of justifiable incredulity, anyone who has been unfairly passed over, unjustly fired, or humiliated by a more powerful superior can unfortunately relate. The book moves beyond the personal, though, as Iglesias discovers he is not alone in his humiliation. The story broadens and becomes more of a detailed re-telling of the incidents surrounding the seven fired U.S. Attorneys and their movement from humiliated public servants to courageous spokespersons for the truth. Justice comes full circle as many who unfairly and/or illegally exert power are brought low. Iglesias exposes the problem of partisan politics in the Department of Justice (DOJ) and its ramifications for our time and for the future. The book would be of great interest to anyone who has ever worked for the DOJ, judges, or those with an interest in the law or political corruption. It is well-written and infused with a sense of humor when appropriate, interesting allusions, and an honest "voice." In Justice is a good read.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The wheels of justice continue to turn, June 29, 2008

By 

Seth B. Barnes (Gainesville, GA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In Justice: Inside the Scandal That Rocked the Bush Administration (Hardcover)

As the U.S. Attorney for New Mexico, David Iglesias, was charged with ensuring that the wheels of justice, though they might turn exceedingly slowly, turned fairly and true in the state of New Mexico. The irony is that the very justice he helped dispense was not served in his own case.

An up-and-coming Bushie whose star was rising in Republican circles, Iglesias was one of seven U.S. Attorneys suddenly sacked for political reasons. Partly because his mentor, Senator Pete Domenici, illegally helped initiate the action, Iglesias soon found himself at the center of a growing scandal that resulted in the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez and a number of others in the Justice Department.

In going public with his side of the story and retelling it in detail in this book, Iglesias helped set the record straight. "In Justice" is a well-written account of power corrupting those responsible for safeguarding our judicial system. Gonzalez served as the unwitting hit-man for those in the Bush White House who put politics above principle. But "In Justice" gives you the back story in how he did so, bringing clarity to the murky machinations of an administration that lost its way.

Unlike Scott McLellan's recent self-serving tell-all, Iglesias' book gives the clear-eyed and fair recounting of the evidence that we expect of our judicial system. It helped restore my faith that justice, though slow, is eventually served.