It just keeps getting better

Terror Watch: A fired U.S. attorney strikes back

The Justice Department called David Iglesias, the U.S. attorney in
NewMexico, an 'absentee landlord'-a key reason listed for his firing
lastDecember. Just one problem: Iglesias, a captain in the Navy Reserve, was off
teaching classes as part of the war on terror. Now Iglesias is striking back,
arguing he was improperly dismissed.

WEB EXCLUSIVE By Michael Isikoff and Mark HosenballNewsweekUpdated: 12:26
p.m. MT

April 4, 2007April 4, 2007 - When he wasn't doing his day job as U.S.
attorney in NewMexico, David Iglesias was a captain in the Navy Reserve,
teachingforeign military officers about international terrorism.But Iglesias's
military service in support of what the Pentagon likes tocall the Global War on
Terror (GWOT) apparently didn't go down well withhis superiors at the Justice
Department. Recently released documentsshow that one reason aides to Attorney
General Alberto Gonzales cited injustifying the decision to fire Iglesias as U.S
attorney late last yearwas that he was an "absentee landlord" who was spending
too much timeaway from the office.That explanation may create new legal problems
for Gonzales and Justice.Iglesias confirmed to NEWSWEEK that he was recently
questioned bylawyers for the Office of Special Counsel, an independent
federalwatchdog agency, to determine if his dismissal was a violation of
theUniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), afederal
law that prohibits job discrimination against members of theU.S. military.At the
encouragement of Office of Special Counsel director Scott Blochand his deputies,
Iglesias said he is this week filing a formal legalcomplaint with OSC against
the Justice Department over his dismissal onthis and other grounds. (While the
Justice Department normallyprosecutes USERRA violations, the OSC, an independent
federal agencythat protects the rights of whistle-blowers, takes the case when
thepotential violator is the federal government itself.) "I want to makesure
they didn't fire me because of my military duty," Iglesias said."When I was away
from the office, it wasn't like I was going on vacationin Europe." (A Justice
Department spokesman did not respond for arequest for comment on whether
Iglesias's firing might have been aviolation of the law.)