WASHINGTON, July 22 (UPI) -- A special prosecutor ruled that the firing of a U.S. attorney in 2006, while politically motivated, didn't warrant criminal charges being filed.

Special prosecutor Nora Dannehy spent nearly two years investigating whether the firing of U.S. attorney David Iglesias in New Mexico broke the law and whether Justice Department officials lied to Congress about it, touching off a scandal that hounded President George W. Bush's administration and spurred the resignation of former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Dannehy determined that Iglesias's firing was politically motivated, which violated Justice Department principles, but wasn't criminal, and concluded that misleading statements Gonzales and other Justice Department officials made to Congress didn't rise to a criminal level, an investigation summary sent to Congress by the Justice Department indicated.

An investigation by the Justice Department's inspector general and Office of Professional Responsibility that wrapped up in September 2008 found at least three of the nine firings of U.S. attorneys were politically motivated. The report said it found Iglesias's firing particularly troubling because there were indications he was let go because he wouldn't bring criminal charges involving accusations of voter fraud and Democrats before the 2006 elections.

Dannehy, appointed by then-Attorney General Michael Mukasey to investigate, distinguished between firing Iglesias for political reasons and doing so to influence an investigation that could harm Democrats, which would be illegal, the Times said.

"The weight of the evidence established not an attempt to influence but rather an attempt to remove David Iglesias from office, in other words, to eliminate the possibility of any future action or inaction by him," the summary said.