1 Boring Old Man

Senator Pete Domenici Expected to Retire

Veteran Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) is expected to announce tomorrow that he will retire from the Senate in 2008, according to several informed sources, a decision that further complicates an already difficult playing field for Republicans next November.

Domenici has struggled with health problems over the last several years and has been dogged by questions about the role he may have played in the firing of U.S. Attorney David C. Iglesias in Albuquerque. As a result, he had been long been rumored as a potential retirement. Domenici’s Senate office did not return a call this afternoon, but sources close to the senator say he will fly home to New Mexico tomorrow to make the announcement that he is retiring.

Fired U.S. Attorney: "It’s Morning in America"

Reached by phone today, David Iglesias, the former U.S. attorney for New Mexico, was quick in his reaction: "It’s morning in America, Paul."

Asked if he felt vindicated, he said yes, citing the long stream of resignations of those connected to the firings. And he said he was hearing expressions of relief from friends in the Justice Department. "Finally," said one. "All the leaves have fallen off the tree and now the tree has fallen," another told him.

"I doubt that this kind of scandal will happen again in our lifetimes, during future administrations," he told me. "It’s been instructive, and it’s been destructive to the integrity of the Justice Department." But he’s "hopeful," he said.

Iglesias’ formula for restoring confidence in the Justice Department was simple, and similar to what Democrats have been urging today: "Get an attorney general who’s respected by the courts and by Capitol Hill and somebody who has experience as a federal prosecutor…. You need someone who understands that the attorney general has to say no to the president sometimes."