Second Lawmaker Contacted Prosecutor

Wilson said Iglesias's dismissal occurred "without input from me." Justice officials said they are not aware of any contacts by Wilson about Iglesias. But they said Sunday that Domenici complained about him to Gonzales three times in 2005 and 2006 and spoke to Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty in the first week of October 2006.

Also yesterday, the senior Justice Department official who carried out the attorney firings announced his resignation but said his departure was not related to the dismissals.

Michael A. Battle, who has headed the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys since 2005, said in a statement that he began considering outside employment last June. His last day will be in mid-March, officials said.

Battle called seven U.S. attorneys on Dec. 7 and notified them that they were being asked to leave. He notified then-Arkansas U.S. Attorney Bud Cummins of his dismissal in June.

The ethical quandary facing Domenici and Wilson heightens the political pressures that both are facing at home, where Democrats are touting the Iglesias allegations with one eye on attacking the Bush White House and the other on two seats they consider vulnerable in 2008.

There has been speculation in both parties that Domenici, a 34-year veteran of the Senate, may not run for a seventh term next year, when he will turn 76. He held a large fundraiser in Albuquerque two weeks ago that was meant to give notice of his intention to run again, and aides and outside advisers maintained yesterday that the latest flap will not change his plans.

But the potential for an ethics review of his actions has independent analysts discussing the possible political fallout for the otherwise popular Domenici. Wilson, the heir apparent to his seat, won reelection in November by fewer than 1,000 votes.

"You're having an impact on the Senate race either way -- whether he stays or not," said Amy Walter, a handicapper with the Cook Political Report.

An inquiry into Wilson's actions could impair what Walter called Wilson's "outsider" reputation. "It calls into question those skills," she said.

Before the scandal erupted, the Rothenberg Political Report, another independent handicapper, listed Wilson as one of the dozen most-endangered House Republicans.