New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez’s former campaign manager Jamie Estrada said his defense against the charge of lying to the FBI about illegally intercepting her campaign mail will be to reveal “the true motives of Martinez and those in her inner circle in pressing for Estrada’s prosecution and conviction.” Estrada was indicted on 16 felony charges.
At issue are emails Estrada allegedly released to the public in regard to is the state’s controversial 25-year, multi-million-dollar lease for the Downs Racetrack & Casino at the fairgrounds in Albuquerque, signed in 2011. Estrada’s lawyer, who wants federal prosecutors to release the emails, said, “Because the exposure of the racino emails gives Martinez and other likely witnesses motives and biases that raise serious questions about their credibility, the requested evidence is material to the defense.”
But federal prosecutors are fighting handing over the emails. They said Estrada is trying to turn the trial into “a sideshow of political grandstanding and mudslinging in an effort to inflame, distract or confuse the jury about his factual guilt or innocence.” They said the emails’ contents “are wholly unconnected to the charges against defendant Estrada,” and added, “the sole issue that the jury will be required to decide at trial is whether, under federal law, defendant Estrada is guilty of illegally intercepting the emails he is specifically charged with illegally intercepting, and of making the four false statements he is specifically charged with having made to agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It will not be the jury’s job to put anyone else, including the victim, on trial.”
Estrada’s lawyers countered in their response that Estrada “seeks the racino materials to impeach witnesses whose credibility is at the heart of the trial. There is nothing novel, sinister or unlawful about this.”
A judge will rule on how much of the information Estrada seeks, if any, will have to be turned over. His trial is scheduled for July 15.
Critics, including some former State Fair Commission members, have said the Martinez administration pressured them to vote in favor of the deal with the Downs and that the partnership includes some large campaign contributors. Martinez said the contrast is legal and no charges have been filed by the state Attorney General or the U.S. Department of Justice.
