reality-based educator

I know I'm late to this party, but The Albuquerque Journal broke the story today that Preznut Bush himself pulled the trigger on the firing of U.S. attorney David Iglesias:

Former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias was fired after Sen. Pete Domenici, who had been unhappy with Iglesias for some time, made a personal appeal to the White House, the Journal has learned.

Domenici had complained about Iglesias before, at one point going to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales before taking his request to the president as a last resort.

In the spring of 2006, Domenici told Gonzales he wanted Iglesias out. Gonzales refused. He told Domenici he would fire Iglesias only on orders from the president.

At some point after the election last Nov. 6, Domenici called Bush's senior political adviser, Karl Rove, and told him he wanted Iglesias out and asked Rove to take his request directly to the president.

Domenici and Bush subsequently had a telephone conversation about the issue.

The conversation between Bush and Domenici occurred sometime after the election but before the firings of Iglesias and six other U.S. attorneys were announced on Dec. 7.

Iglesias' name first showed up on a Nov. 15 list of federal prosecutors who would be asked to resign. It was not on a similar list prepared in October.

The Journal confirmed the sequence of events through a variety of sources familiar with the firing of Iglesias, including sources close to Domenici. The senator's office declined comment.

Iglesias wasn't on the list of prosecutors to be fired. Domenici wanted Iglesias fired because he wouldn't play ball and indict Dems before the election. Gonzales wouldn't put Iglesias on the list despite Domenici's urging. Domenici talks to Rove and then Bush about Iglesias. Iglesias winds up on the fired list and gets canned.

Sounds like Bush and Rove have some explaining to do.

This scandal goes all the way to the top.