Friday, August 28, 2009

An Unfolding Story

I've got a friend that I've known since he was in college. He has come a long way since then. He is now the US Attorney in New Mexico. That is the highest Dept. of Justice official in the state, the federal prosecutor and the voice of the people in federal court.

When the Messiah was elected, I knew that his position was political in nature and his law enforcement ideology was antithetical to the new administration. But, he had a very strong argument in favor of his retention. He had been chosen for his job by a panel of federal judges in the state, not by the usual route of political appointment. A compelling fact for his retention was that he was the lead investigator of Gov. Bill Richardson and relieving him would smack of a political hatchet job.

What I said then

And then a few weeks later, I wrote this:

It Looks Like Job Security

Well, the other shoe dropped yesterday with this piece:

Charges Squelched by DOJ

That looks like the issue is one of prosecutor forwarding his case and then Attorney General Holder telling him to sit down and shut up. Not good and not unexpected either.

But, there is more lurking here. This was the story today:

US Attorney Drops the Charges

This has got some intrigue attached to it. Did Mr. Fouratt have a case? Did he simply run out of time before the statute of limitations ran out? Was he being strong-armed by AG Holder? And, what about this comment in that article:

In a letter to the witnesses, Fouratt said his office would not pursue the charges, but he was not gracious in defeat. The prosecutor wrote that “pressure from the governor’s office resulted in the corruption of the procurement process” and said that the letter “should not be interpreted as exoneration of any party’s conduct in that matter.”


I can't wait until the next time I get to see him and explore what he can say about this situation. If ever there was an uncorruptible individual in a federal prosecutor's office, it is Mr. Fouratt. There is a story here and I hope I get to learn what it really is all about.

1 comment:

MagiK said...

Please try to do this soon, many people would like to know the personal opinions involved here...not just what AG Holder wishes to spoon feed us.