Already the inspiration for "A Few Good Men," David Iglesias is now fired US Attorneys' public face

[DeepModem Mom]

WP: The Next Best Path
Warming to Limelight, Dismissed U.S. Attorney David Iglesias Forges a New Future
By Sridhar Pappu
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 22, 2007; Page C01


David Iglesias runs in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains near his home in New Mexico. (By Craig Fritz for The Washington Post)

Albuquerque -- At 9 a.m. on the very edge of the dusty, desolate collection of adobe homes and Vietnamese restaurants that seem to form this city, David Iglesias begins his run through the foothills of the Sandia Mountains. This is not easy terrain. The footing is terribly uneven. The altitude can be unbearable. At certain times one can hear the grumbling of mountain lions and the feasting of coyotes.

But here in the thin air and the narrow, rocky paths is where the 49-year-old Iglesias says he finds mental and moral clarity. Lord knows he could use it. In the past few months, events have forced Iglesias to question the very nature of loyalty and his own beliefs. Once he was a man whose belief in the integrity of the Republican Party earned him a political plum. Now he is a pariah.

As one of nine U.S. attorneys forced from their posts by the Bush administration, Iglesias is at the center of a scandal that's led to congressional hearings and the resignations of four top Justice Department officials. And though he's been temporarily relegated to chauffeur for his four daughters, he's also managed to transform himself from fired public servant into a fairly noisy poster boy for good government. During congressional hearings in March, Iglesias testified he resisted when two of the state's highest elected officials "leaned on" him to speed up an indictment of Democrats. More recently, when sitting down with Bill Maher on his HBO show, Iglesias quipped, "I took an oath to support and defend the constitution, not the Republican Party of New Mexico."

Maher was just one stop on the Iglesias media tour. In embracing the collective lens, Iglesias racked up televised appearances with, among others, Chris Matthews, Larry King, Katie Couric, Tim Russert and Chris Wallace. Strong-jawed and clean-shaven, said to have inspired the dreamy prosecutor played by Tom Cruise in "A Few Good Men," a White House Fellow during the Clinton administration, he's become both the handsome, charismatic public face for the sacked attorneys and a genuine media star. And damn if he hasn't enjoyed it....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/21/AR2007052101784.html?hpid=topnews