Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-N.Y.) said he was not involved in pressuring a New Mexico U.S. attorney about his office's investigation of a state Democrat just a few weeks before the November election.
 
Reynolds served as chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee during last year's campaign and was in a tough re-election fight of his own.
 
"No, it wasn't me," Reynolds said in a brief interview. "I don't know anything about it. I've already answered this…Call my office."
 
David Iglesias, whose last day as U.S. attorney for New Mexico was Wednesday, is accusing two members of Congress of pressuring him about his office's investigation of a state Democrat. He has said in several published reports this week that he believes the Bush Administration fired him because he resisted pressure from the two lawmakers to move forward with an investigation into a kickback scheme that involved a local Democratic lawmaker.
 
He said the two members of Congress called him separately, but he has not named them out of fear of retribution.
 
The Associated Press late Thursday reported that Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) and Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.) deflected questions about whether they had called Iglesias while other lawmakers who were asked simply denied doing so.
 
"I don't have any comment," Domenici told the Associated Press. "I have no idea what he's talking about."

Wilson referred questions to the administration. 

"You should contact the Department of Justice on that personnel matter," she said.
 
At the time of the alleged phone calls, Iglesias was pursuing corruption charges against two former state New Mexico treasurers, both Democrats, and Wilson was in the reelection fight of her life - she barely eked out a win by fewer than 1,000 votes. An indictment in the case before the November election could have helped fuel GOP election prospects.
 
Iglesias is one of eight U.S. attorneys the Bush administration has fired in the last three months. Some of the attorneys were pursuing public corruption cases against Republicans. Carol Lam of San Diego prosecuted the bribery case against former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.) that has heated up in recent weeks with the indictments of businessman Brent Wilkes and Dusty Foggo, a former top CIA official, and could ensnare more GOP lawmakers.
 
The Justice Department did not respond to a call for comment by press time. Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse has repeatedly said the U.S. attorneys' firings were performance-based, a claim Democratic senators have questioned.
 
Iglesias, for instance, said he had strong reviews, and other fired U.S. attorneys have said the same.
 
Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) demanded to see the attorneys' performance evaluations. The Justice Department provided redacted copies of them to senators in a closed-door briefing a few weeks ago, but Schumer and Feinstein said they remain unsatisfied with the administration's explanation for the firings.
 
Iglesias is one of four U.S. attorneys a Judiciary committee subpoenaed Thursday to appear at a Tuesday hearing. The round of subpoenas is the first in what is expected to be an avalanche in the Democratic-controlled Congress. Senators say they also plan to subpoena the U.S. attorneys. 
 
In an interview with NPR that aired late Thursday, Iglesias detailed two calls he got from separate members of Congress just a few weeks before the November election.
 
"The caller was asking - this was not a staff member, an actual member of Congress - the person was asking about 'I want to know if there are any sealed indictments,'" he recalled. "And I said, 'Sealed indictments? We only do that for juvenile cases or national security cases. It's fairly unusual."
 
"Instantly red flags went up. I didn't want to talk about it. Federal prosecutors can't talk about indictments in general until they're made public. So I was evasive, I shucked and jived like Walker Payton used to do for the Chicago Bears, and the call was ended rather abruptly..."

Approximately a week and a half later, Iglesias said he got a call from another member of Congress wanting to know when the corruption matters were going to be filed.

"Again, red lights went on," he said. "It was a very unpleasant phone call, because I know that members of Congress should not be making phone calls about pending matters, pending investigations, indictment dates, things of that nature."

Iglesias also told NPR that he would name the lawmakers who called him if he is directed to do so during testimony at the Judiciary hearing Tuesday. He said he is afraid to do so right now out of fear of retaliation.

"Yes, if directed to do so I will publicly announce who called me," he said. 
 
After voting to issue the subpoenas Thursday, Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), who chairs the House Judiciary subcommittee on commercial and administrative law, stressed the importance of a judiciary branch that is separate and independent from the executive branch.
 
"When the executive branch is interfering in the justice system-in other countries we call that corruption," she said. "It's very troubling to me that there seems to be this undercurrent."
 
Tuesday's hearing will consider a bill by Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.) that would reverse a new USA PATRIOT Act provision allowing the attorney general to appoint federal prosecutors without Senate confirmation through the duration of the Bush administration.
 
The three other fired U.S. attorneys subpoenaed to appear at a Judiciary hearing Tuesday include: Lam, H.E. Cummins III of Arkansas, and John McKay of Washington state. The subcommittee approved the subpoenas by voice vote; no Republican lawmakers were present.