Former Martinez campaign staffer Jamie Estrada pleads not guilty to intercepting emails

Today, former Gov. Susana Martinez campaign staffer Jamie Estrada entered a plea of "not guilty" in the federal case accusing him of illegally intercepting top Martinez staffers' emails, then lying to federal authorities about it.---

On May 30, Estrada was indicted on 12 federal counts of unlawfully intercepting emails intended for Martinez and other top staffers and two counts of making false statements to federal authorities. If convicted on all counts and sentenced to the maximum time, he could face up to 70 years in prison and other fines.

At his arraignment today in Albuquerque, Estrada pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released on his own recognizance. His case has been assigned to US District Judge William Johnson.

"This is just the very beginning of a legal process that will allow us to expose legal and factual problems with the government's case," Estrada's attorney, Zachary Ives, told the AP's Jeri Clausing.

Read SFR's past coverage of the case here (news story) and here (blog post).

Watch the video of Estrada's walk to the courthouse (he's the last one in the line of people, on the left in a dark suit):

SFR also saw a familiar face attend the arraignment—Republican National Committeeman Pat Rogers, whose leaked emails led to his resignations from Modrall Sperling Law Firm and the Foundation for Open Government.

Videos by Peter St. Cyr.

Santa Fe Reporter