In Justice: Inside the Scandal That Rocked the Bush Administration

by David Iglesias

The Bush administration's drive to politicize the Justice Department reached a new low with the wrongful firing of seven U.S. Attorneys in late 2006. Their action has ignited public outrage on a scale that far surpassed the reaction to any of the Bush administration's other political debacles. David Iglesias was one of those federal prosecutors, and now he tells his story. Iglesias has long served in the Navy as part of the JAG corps. One of his earliest cases, about an assaulted Marine in Guantanamo Bay, became the basis for the movie A Few Good Men. When Bush chose him to become the U.S. Attorney for New Mexico, it was a dream come true. He was a core member of Karl Rove's idealized Republican Party of the future -- handsome, Hispanic, evangelical, and a military veteran. The dream came to an abrupt end when Senator Pete Domenici improperly called Iglesias, wanting him to indict high-level Democrats before the 2006 elections. When Iglesias refused, the line went dead. Iglesias was fired just weeks later. First, he was devastated. Then, he was angry. Now, he is speaking out. Iglesias recounts his interactions with Bush, Rove, Alberto Gonzales, and other key players as he takes readers into his time at the Justice Department to reveal what top Republican officials said and did, and how they subverted justice.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, History, Law

260 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2008

Reviews

[Andrew]

I thought it was a solid account of the story, published in a timely fashion. This book, like much of the news coverage, focused on the firing for political reasons of the 8 (and arguably 9) of the nation's 94 U.S. attorneys in 2006 for political reasons. Largely left unexamined are the actions that the remaining remaining U.S. attorneys undertook to keep their jobs. The Justice Integrity Project (www.justice-integrity.org) undertook that examination, finding many great abuses that lingered through the Obama administration to the present. This is merely to describe the scope of the book, and not to fault Iglesias, who published his book to put forward ASAP what he knew best: the firings.

[Jeff Brailey]

It's quite bad enough that the Bush Administration turned out to be the most inept in the history of the republic, but when you add his corruption into the mix, you get a toxic recipe that not only adversely affects the evil-doers in the executive branch, but also poisons the democratic process and those who try to make that process work honestly and ethically.

In Justice is about a bad president gone worst, how he and his immoral political operatives and appointees ruined the honor and reputation of the Department of Justice and ruthlessly killed the careers of several honest US Attorneys. It also reveals how certain Republican members of Congress let dirty politics replace any patriotism they may have had.

David Iglesias's story clearly demonstrates the old adage, "Honesty is the best policy." If Bush had demanded at least a modicum of ethical standards of not only himself, but of the men and women who worked for him, this book would never have been written and the president would not have had the distinction of being the most unpopular president in America's history.

[Paul]

A fast read through an insider's account of this sordid event in our recent American story, told by one of the targets of the serial firings by the Justice Dept. during the W. Bush presidency. Sadly, it took the derailing of seven U.S. Attorneys' careers to expose the political manipulation of the justice system by no less than the Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales, and those around him. This book won't reverse any distrust of American government that a reader brings to this book, but it is an illustration of what can be percolating just beneath the surface of American politics behind the veil of executive privilege, obfuscation, well coordinated lies and the public's inclination to trust elected official and those they appoint. Then again, the examples of the fired attorneys and U.S. senators and representatives offer hope for the system and the emergence of leaders of principle. Some reviewers complain about the writing being deficient, but I found the story itself more than enough engaging and angering to diminish the impact of style issues.

[Katherine]

What was disappointing about this book is how much worse it was than it could have been. The story is the inside scoop on the U.S. Attorney firings and the scandal at DOJ, told by one of the fired U.S. Attorneys, David Iglesias. The book has many, many problems, not the least of which is that it manages to take an exciting and interesting story and through stilted writing make it unexciting (it felt like a lot of it I could have gotten better from reading the NY Times pieces on the scandal). But the real issue is that Iglesias' narrative about himself is just hard on the reader - it's way too heavy on the Christianity and way too heavy on the self-aggrandizement. Obviously this is an interesting subject, and obviously Iglesias is an admirable public servant who stood up for a valuable cause. Which all makes me glad I read the book. But the book itself didn't live up to its potential.

[AuthorsOnTourLive!]

David Iglesias served as United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico from 2001 to 2007. He headed a panel that advised former Attorney General John Ashcroft on border security issues. A former White House Fellow, he is also a captain in the U.S. Navy Reserve. Iglesias discusses his new book In Justice: Inside the Scandal That Rocked the Bush Administration. The Bush administration's drive to politicize the Justice Department reached a new low with the wrongful firing of seven U.S. Attorneys in late 2006. Their action has ignited public outrage on a scale that far surpassed the reaction to any of the Bush administration's other political debacles. David Iglesias was one of those federal prosecutors, and now he tells his story.

We met David Iglesias when he visited the Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver. You can listen to him talk about In Justice: Inside the Scandal That Rocked the Bush Administration here:
http://www.authorsontourlive.com/?p=157

[Chuck Kinsey]

I felt it was important for me to read in order to be informed. But I found it difficult to get through. Part of my problem was I hoped to find some commonality with the author since we both were in the Navy, both attended Wheaton College, and we both are Christians with a concern for social justice and a disillusionment with party politics.

Instead, I found the author to be enamored with himself, constantly glorifying his own virtue. I can't determine whether it was the distraction of his self-absorbtion, his name dropping of all the important people he impressed or just boring writing technique, but I found it very hard to keep reading.

Content was valuable to see how politicized the "justice" system is in the US. This is no surprise to me and I don't expect it to end any time soon. But it was good to see that in the end of Iglesias' ordeal the independence of the Justice Department was supported

[Judy]

Yet another sad chapter in the many failings of the Bush Administration. 7 U.S. Attorneys were fired indiscriminately for allegedly "performance-related issues" when in reality, unwillingness to tow the party line led to their firings. The book is not the most eloquently written, but, in great detail, shows the ugliest side of partisan politics when it infiltrates what was intended to be a purely non-partisan position. Recommend for anyone in the legal profession and even if you aren't - it gives us one more reason to be thankful for a new administration and a new day. The damage down to the DOJ - the horrible legacy of Alberto Gonzales - these won't be undone anytime soon but at least David Iglesias's "tell-all" strives to memorialize what should never again happen.

[Andrea]

While it's totally obvious throughout this book that the author has a very big axe to grind (and I can't say I blame him), and I know I should take the whole thing with a grain (or two or three) of salt, I still found the story infuriating. Reading this on the heels of The Nine almost makes me despair for the US Justice system. It's not the most well-written book ever, but it was a quick read and the story carried me along pretty well.

[Joel]

always hard to believe that an intelligent man such as Iglesias could be an evangelical republican bush-ite - but he was. he didn't get the truth about bush and co. until they screwed him - then he was pissed and seemed to finally figure it out. There isn't anything new in here that wasn't in the papers or on the internet.

[Reesie]

Interesting story...

[Maya]

Interesting story of the details behind the U.S. Attorney scandal, particularly if you're from New Mexico. However, Iglesias is a lawyer, not a writer, so the prose gets pretty choppy at times.

[Catherine]

It will probably make you furious, but it's valuable information to have.

[Barbara]

Was very interesting but not well written.

[Brian]

Would have been better with a little less self-aggrandizing.