In a press release dated Friday, February 14, Valentines Day, the New Mexico Department of Justice announced U.S. Attorney Alexander Uballez had resigned at the request of President Donald Trump. Uballez said he received notice of his firing by the Trump administration in his personal email account on President’s Day, Monday, February 17 in the afternoon. His firing came after he was stripped of his government cellphone and computer access on February 14 without prior notice nor explanation. He alerted the U.S. Department of Justice of the lock out but received “no guidance.” Speaking on the lockout, Uballez said he had “never heard of this happening before.”
Uballez is among more than 20 other U.S. Attorneys who were asked to step down and who were appointed by Presidnt Joe Biden. First Assistant U.S. attorney Holland Kastrin will serve as acting U.S. attorney until President Trump nominates a successor. The Trump nominee will need to be confirmed by the Senate. There is no word on who the Trump administration will nominate as the next U.S. Attorney for New Mexico.
STATEMENTS ISSUED
U.S. Attorney Alexander Uballez issued the following statement:
Today, I say farewell to a Department that I love. Together, we have made our community safer by delivering swift and certain justice to the most prolific violent offenders, human and drug traffickers, and child abusers. We have saved lives by intervening to prevent violence and by supporting those who strive to return to our community from incarceration. Most importantly, we fought to build a community united in the pursuit of justice for all by choosing prevention before punishment, delivering consequences but not indignity, and seeking redemption not isolation.”
Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque field office issued the following statement on the Uballez firing:
“Alex Uballez has served the people of New Mexico with honor and distinction as U.S. Attorney and has been an incredible partner in our mission to protect the American public. Throughout his time as U.S. Attorney, Mr. Uballez has been dedicated to ensuring the safety of the citizens in our community and relentless in his pursuit of justice for victims of crime. There is no doubt his work has made a positive impact on our community. It’s been a privilege to work with Mr. Uballez, we thank him for his service and wish him well in his future endeavors.”
Margaret A. Katze, Federal Public Defender for the District of New Mexico issued the following statement on the Uballez firing:
“I had the privilege of working with Alex, first as an Assistant United Sates Attorney and later as the United States Attorney. … Throughout his tenure, he exemplified honesty and a straightforward approach. His focus on community safety was evident in his deliberate, data-driven prosecutorial decisions, always asking whether a case would enhance public safety. Alex’s commitment to community engagement as a crime-reduction strategy was thoughtful and research-based. Under his leadership, the U.S. Attorney’s Office played a key role in establishing the District’s first re-entry court. I thoroughly enjoyed working with him and found our professional partnership both effective and rewarding.”
DWI ENTERPRISE SCANDAL
U.S. Attorney Alexander Uballez was nominated by President Joe Biden on January 26, 2022, and confirmed by the Senate on May 17, 2022. Within 16 months after he was confirmed by the Senate in May 2022, Uballez opened an inquiry into the single largest public corruption and bribery scheme in APD’s history. The evidence later showed the criminal operation eluded detection for nearly 30 years.
The massive FBI investigation initially focused on allegations that officers with the Albuquerque Police Department’s DWI unit were intentionally missing court and withholding evidence. The officers were working with Albuquerque lawyer Thomas Clear, III, to get his clients’ charges thrown out. In return, according to guilty pleas, the officers received cash, gifts, legal advice, a diamond ring and even a set of tires.
As the FBI investigation progressed over a full year, the allegations of wrongdoing spread to DWI officers with the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department and the New Mexico State Police. Prosecutors’ court filings mention at least one other DWI attorney involved in the scheme, which dated back to the mid-1990s.
At Uballez’s urging, the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s office in January 2024 dismissed more than 200 pending DWI cases involving the officers because their credibility were at issue. There’s been no estimate as to how many DWI suspects’ cases were dismissed or never filed as a result of the scheme dubbed the “DWI Enterprise” by federal prosecutors.
Clear, his law firm’s investigator Ricardo “Rick” Mendez, and three former APD officers have plead guilty as charged to bribery and racketeering charges. Uballez declared the investigation would continue. Uballez said this:
“We are not done digging. Now is the time to come clean — if you were ever involved in this deceit, now is the time to come to the table.”
Uballez said his departure shouldn’t affect the ongoing prosecution of additional law enforcement officers and others involved in what has been dubbed the “DWI Enterprise.” Uballez said the New Mexico US Attorney office’s career staff is not changing.
Links to relied upon or quoted news sources:
https://www.koat.com/article/new-mexico-us-attorney-uballez-leaves-albuquerque/63822383
https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/us-attorney-for-new-mexico-resigns-at-trumps-request/
https://www.krqe.com/news/new-mexico/new-mexicos-u-s-attorney-says-he-is-locked-out-of-work-devices/
COMMENTARY AND ANALYS
One of the very first order of business when a President assumes office is the removal of all political appointed United States Attorneys in the country. The fact that U.S. Attorney Alexander Uballez was fired by President Donald Trump was no surprise. The firing was fully expected after Attorney General Pam Bondi was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 5. What came as a shock is the swiftness and the downright nastiness the way the firing was done. Locking out a long-term career employee before resigning is about a low as it gets. It appears to be standard practice of Trump and Elon Musk to humiliate long term government employees that they have a distain for and who they decry as being part of the “deep state”.
There is no doubt that the firing of New Mexico U.S. Attorney Alexander Uballez will have an impact on the largest criminal corruption and bribery case in APD’s history, the question is how much? There has been no official word issued by the main Justice Department Office in Washington to see if the investigation will be suspended or will be allowed to proceed. Despite assurances by Uballez that the investigation is going forward, whoever is appointed to replace him will have the authority to decide how to proceed. The question is what kind of commitment will the new United States Attorney for New Mexico make to aggressively prosecute the case and charge all those that have been implicated?
Then there is the matter of the Uballez replacement. The replacement will no doubt be a Republican Trump loyalist who is a New Mexico licensed attorney. In his first term, when former United States Attorney Damon Martinez was terminated by Trump, he was replaced moderate Republican John Anderson to be US Attorney. Martinez went on to work for the City of Albuquerque and then ran for Congress, lost to Deb Haaland and then went into private practice. Anderson is respected within the legal community and has strong legal credentials. Both Martinez and Anderson were low profile as United States Attorney and they did not carry out a politcal agenda or vendetta. When Anderson was replaced by Uballez, Anderson went to work with a Santa Fe law firm and even represents the City of Albuquerque from time to time. Recently, Anderson defended the City of Albuquerque in a case filed by the ACLU on behalf of the homeless over the closure of Coronado Park.
The biggest concern is Trump will appoint a hard core MAGA Firebrand as the next United States Attorney for New Mexico who will be given marching orders to aggressively take on the Democrat establishments in Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Las Cruces. This will be especially so when it comes to any interference with detaining, arresting and deporting those who are here illegally. Albuquerque is considered by many as a “sanctuary city” because of “immigrant friendly” policies initiated by Mayor Tim Keller. Mayor Tim Keller and Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham have vowed to oppose Trump policies.
Normally, applications for United States Attorney are made with the states two United States Senators who in turn screen and perhaps interview the applicants. A list of nominees is compiled and forward to the White House and the nominee is selected. Either Senator Martin Heinrich or Senator Ben Ray Lujan could place a hold on any nomination they find as too offensive, but that will not last for long and Trump will no doubt get exactly who he wants and who will be confirmed by the Republican controlled United State Senate.
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U.S. ATTORNEY ALEXANDER UBALLEZ ACCOMPLISHEMENTS
During his tenure as United States Attorney for New Mexico, Alexander Uballez he focused on restructuring the office’s approach to violent crime. He engaged in proactive measures through the Project Safe Neighborhoods program, working in partnership with Albuquerque Community Safety’s Violence Intervention Program, to engage directly and personally with those most likely to shoot or be shot. For those who chose violence, he realigned federal law enforcement to focus on the danger of the individual, not the nature of the charge, and in doing so wielded federal jurisdiction surgically against those driving violence in our community. And he established the District’s first Federal Reentry Program in order to support people returning to our community from incarceration. Uballez’s other efforts included expanding resources and services to Tribal communities and modernizing the U.S. Attorney’s Office by transitioning it from a paper file system to digital, enhancing operational efficiency and responsiveness in federal prosecutions.
During his tenure, Uballez also served in a senior policy role at the Department of Justice, having been appointed to the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee where he advised Attorney General Merrick Garland on policy, procedure, and management impacting U.S. Attorney’s Offices. Uballez also served on subcommittees specializing in Native American issues, violent and organized crime, environmental justice, and border and immigration. Before his appointment as U.S. Attorney, Uballez was an Assistant U.S. Attorney, focusing on organized crime investigations and prosecuted serious offenses such as child sexual abuse, human trafficking, and violent crimes. As a line attorney, Uballez also handled the extradition of high-profile cartel leader Carlos Arturo Quintana, and assisted in international investigations pursuant to Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties.