One day after Republican Gov. Susana Martinez said “the public deserves to know what he knew” about a fast-developing scandal involving hacked e-mails and a Democratic consultant facing child pornography charges, attorney and chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico Sam Bregman responded Thursday (June 6) by saying the governor is playing politics and making “a partisan issue out of a criminal investigation.”
An affidavit from the FBI that was unsealed Wednesday alleges that Jason Loera – who worked as a consultant for a political action committee headed by Bregman last year — had access and control of e-mails from www.Susana2010.com, a domain that was established by the Martinez campaign in her run for governor in 2010. The FBI special agent in the affidavit believes that Loera, working under an electronic pseudonym of OmarRavenherst@gmail, forwarded an e-mail to Bregman.
BREGMAN’S BLAST: Chairman of the Democratic Party of NM, Sam Bregman, goes after Republican Gov. Susana Martinez in the stolen e-mail scandal.
Earlier this week, Loera was charged with receiving and possessing child pornography. In another affidavit, the FBI indicated the alleged child pornography was inadvertently found while investigators, tracking the hacked e-mail case, searched Loera’s computers and compact discs Loera’s home in Albuquerque.
Bregman released a statement Thursday morning in which he said, the “day after I received the email in question I personally hand delivered the email to a judge and to the Governor’s lawyers in a judicial proceeding. For (Gov. Martinez) to suggest or imply that I have done anything improper or violated any law is reprehensible.”
Martinez also took to her Facebook page on Wednesday, claiming the investigation into the hacked e-mails showed that “Bregman was very active in trying to use the emails to attack me.”
Bregman responded Thursday by saying, “Governor Martinez, need I remind you that as a lawyer you are an officer of the court and you have professional responsibilities as well. You should take a refresher course to better understand that you should not attempt to use your position as Governor to influence, inject politics into or bully the U.S. Attorney’s office in their investigation, all while attempting to deflect the investigation of your shadow governor, Jay McCleskey and the Dirty Downs Scandal.”
McCleskey is the governor’s political director and The Downs at Albuquerque is a controversial 25-year lease that was extended and approved by the state Board of Finance in December of 2011.
Update: Associated Press reporter Barry Massey made a good point in his story about the Bregman statement:
“Bregman declined to answer questions submitted to him by The Associated Press, including whether he knew or suspected the email was obtained illegally.”
In another development, the affidavits mention that a former Martinez 2010 campaign employee, Anissa Ford, communicated with Loera, along with Jamie Estrada, who is facing federal charges of hacking into the Susana2010.com site.
Estrada has insisted he has broken no laws but Martinez has described him as a former campaign employee was seeking revenge.
Ford’s attorney, Jerry Todd Wertheim, told the Albuquerque Journal that Ford has been interviewed by the FBI on a series of matters including the stolen e-mails and the Downs deal.
“She has never been anything but a witness,” Wertheim was quoted in the Journal. “That has been very clear from the start.”
“Anissa Ford is a disgruntled former campaign staffer who was extremely bitter when she wasn’t offered a position after the (2010) campaign,” Martinez spokesman Enrique Knell told the Journal.
Ford has not been charged in the Loera or Estrada cases.
Estrada is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque June 17.
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Click here to read Bregman’s entire statement.
And click here to read Martinez’s Facebook post.
Contact Rob Nikolewski at rob@nmwatchdog.org and follow him on Twitter @robnikolewski
