The Justice Department called David Iglesias, the U.S. attorney in New Mexico, an 'absentee landlord' - a key reason listed for his firing last December. Just one problem: Iglesias, a captain in the Navy Reserve, was off teaching classes as part of the war on terror. Now Iglesias is striking back, arguing he was improperly dismissed.
But Iglesias's military service in support of what the Pentagon likes to call the Global War on Terror (GWOT) apparently didn't go down well with his superiors at the Justice Department. Recently released documents show that one reason aides to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales cited in justifying the decision to fire Iglesias as U.S attorney late last year was that he was an "absentee landlord" who was spending too much time away from the office.
That explanation may create new legal problems for Gonzales and Justice. Iglesias confirmed to NEWSWEEK that he was recently questioned by lawyers for the Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal watchdog agency, to determine if his dismissal was a violation of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), a federal law that prohibits job discrimination against members of the U.S. military.
Just one more example of 'supporting the troops' by this forked-tongue administration. Rove/Gonzales are using every excuse that comes to mind to cover up their political machinations even if it breaks a law they probably aren't even aware of, and if they were aware of it, wouldn't think it applied to them because they are above that sort of thing.
This U.S. Attorney deal is the kind of stupid shit that will bring this administration down. More! More!
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