Getting closer...
The Albuquerque Journal has the story. Here's the key section:
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.
TPM Muckraker has a detailed analysis of how it fits into the larger story:
The timeline couldn't be more damning. Sen. Domenici made the now infamous phone call to Iglesias on October 27. According to Iglesias' version of the conversation, Domenici asked him if an indictment would be filed against Aragon "before November?" When Iglesias said no, Domenici replied, "I'm very sorry to hear that," and then hung up.
According to the Journal story, Domenici made his move to get Iglesias fired -- a call to Karl Rove -- as soon as the election was over just a few weeks later.Now, there's another level to this. According to earlier statements from the White House and Kyle Sampson's testimony, Bush and Rove had already complained to Gonzales about Iglesias when Domenici called in November. Those complaints had to do with Iglesias' insufficiently aggressive pursuit of (Democratic) voter fraud, and they were made -- by President Bush and Karl Rove -- in mid-October.
Josh Marshall has provides the quick take-away:
It was Sen. Domenici's (R-NM) call to David Iglesias to get him to game the November election with an election-timed indictment that got this scandal really rolling. And it's always been the key question just how and whether Domenici's failed play to get Iglesias to tamper with the November election led to his firing on December 7th....
No one disputes that Domenici's call to Iglesias was at best inappropriate. But there's been a lack of direct evidence that Iglesias's refusal to bow to political pressure led directly to his firing. Now we have have that evidence. And it's not Kyle Sampson or even Alberto Gonzales who Domenici went to to get sign off for Iglesias's ouster. It was right to the president. And the available evidence now points strongly the conclusion that the final decision to fire David Iglesias came from the President of the United States.
No wonder the White House is making absurdly broad claims about executive privilege. No wonder 5 million emails have been "misplaced." This one goes directly to the President of the United States. There is now a clear, incontrovertible link between him and the efforts to turn the Dept. of Justice into a partisan political operation.
Gonzales, meanwhile, has already released his opening statement. He's already given a bit of ground from his previous statements. Expect some July 4th styled fireworks during his testimony on Tuesday.
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