Villafuerte, who was on a leave of absence from the DA's office and working for the Ritter campaign at the time the Beauprez ad came out, concluded from her search of publicly available databases, that the identity and immigration status of the defendant portrayed in the attack ad could only have come from the restricted NCIC database.

Without any evidence Villafuerte's account is inaccurate, and intent on making Voorhis a hero because of his allegiance to their cause (even though he did pass restricted information on to a political candidate), Republicans are now fighting to keep Villafuerte from being confirmed. Absent any evidence of wrongdoing, they are reduced to complaining she didn't answer questions about her actions to the media.

Villafuerte has now provided this detailed letter of her actions to Senators Udall and Bennett, who have tendered it to the Judiciary Committee.

My view: The complaints against Villafuerte are unfounded and the product of the radical right anti-immigration faction. Cory Voorhis is no hero. His actions may not have been criminal, but they were wrong. Federal criminal agents should not access restricted databases and pass their findings onto political campaigns.

As I wrote here, Villafuerte is qualified, principled and deserving of the job. The Republican attempt to stall her nomination should be seen for what it is, political maneuvering and a misguided attempt at payback.