Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Estrada Pushes Back on Claim Martinez Fired Him

Last week after Gov. Susana Martinez said she'd fired her former campaign manager Jamie Estrada -- who has been indicted on charges of illegally intercepting Martinez's emails. She said Estrada was "a man of suspect character."

However, at some point before she got elected governor, there apparently was some kind of reconciliation. Estrada's lawyer Zach Ives released several documents showing communication between Estrada and the Martinez campaign several months after he left it.

For instance, below elow is an invitation to a Washington, DC fundraiser in which Estrada is listed as a member of the host committee.

However, apparently there was some bad blood around the time Estrada left the campaign. Search warrants released by the U.S. Attorney's Office Tuesday quote an email from Estrada to Martinez's political adviser Jay McCleskey saying, "I can't understand why she wouldn't think there are political consequences for treating me poorly and unfairly."

The search warrant affidavits document the FBI's cyber-sleuthing that led them to consider Estrada a suspect.

More in tomorrow's New Mexican.