Prosecutor’s 2006 Firing Won’t Result in Charges

By ERIC LICHTBLAU
NYT

WASHINGTON — A special prosecutor has decided not to bring any criminal charges in connection with the firing of a United States attorney in 2006 in a political controversy that dogged the George W. Bush administration until its final days, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.

The special prosecutor, Nora Dannehy in Connecticut, spent nearly two years investigating whether the firing of the United States attorney in New Mexico, David C. Iglesias, broke the law and whether Justice Department officials lied to Congress about it.

In the end, Ms. Dannehy concluded that while the politically motivated firing of Mr. Iglesias violated Justice Department principles, it was not a crime and did not warrant criminal charges. She also concluded that misleading statements made by the former attorney general, Alberto R. Gonzales, and others at the Justice Department did not rise to the level of a crime, according to a summary of the investigation sent to Congress by the Justice Department.

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. accepted Ms. Dannehy’s decision, a Justice Department official said.

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