A combative County Judge Anthony Cobos sought to silence rumors of his impending resignation today at a press conference where he blamed a fellow member of Commmissioners Court and two news publications for fueling the controversy.

“I have called this press conference to state in the most emphatic terms that I have no intention to resign the office of county judge,” he said. “Over the past year, I have been under incessant attack by the El Paso Times and political adversaries regarding unsupported and uncorroborated claims.”

Cobos didn’t say what he meant exactly, but it was last June when his former chief of staff, John Travis Ketner, pleaded guilty to four public corruption charges in a document that implicated Cobos as the unnamed Co-Conspirator No. 5.

That investigation and Cobos’ prominence in it spawned the original speculation last year that Cobos might resign from office rather than attempt to serve in public office with his integrity under a cloud.

Cobos' trip to Washington two weeks ago and a statement from an unnamed source in the office of U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, that Cobos was looking for a job renewed speculation that he was considering resignation.

Then a number of people at the county courthouse reported that his chief of staff, Jaime O. Perez, was making arrangements for Cobos' departure added more fuel to the raging rumor.

At the press conference, Cobos accused county Commissioner Veronica Escobar of violating attorney-client privilege by divulging the contents of a legal opinion from County Attorney Jose Rodriguez last week that his office requested.

Escobar said the charge is ridiculous because she was the first to ask Rodriguez’s office questions relating to the resignation of a county judge and whether the resigning county judge could vote on his or her successor.

Cobos also accused Newspaper Tree of colluding with Escobar politically and of being the medium she used to disclose Rodriguez’s opinion.

But it was county Commissioner Luis Sarinana who confirmed the contents of Rodriguez’s opinion last week based on a briefing Sarinana said he received from Cobos’ current chief of staff.

“It’s all smoke and mirrors,” Escobar said. “The controversy started in Cobos’ office. It’s been fueled in his office, and now, he’s prolonging it with a press conference in his office.

“He truly is his own worst enemy.”

View the statement via the link below this article.

Here's a brief exchange between Cobos and David Crowder:

Here is Crowder on ABC 7 KVIA:

Meanwhile, here is how the saga unfolded:

-- Cobos Cacophony Continues. Crescendo Coming?, by David Crowder, Dec. 10, 2008: "BREAKING at 2:30 p.m.: Cobos is having a news conference to address the issues. Stay tuned ... The latest cacophony in the coffee pot arises from a belated headline over an unsourced story in a local print publication that Cobos “may” resign."

-- All hands on deck at County Commission on Monday, by NPT Staff, Dec. 8, 2008: "After a few weeks of spotty attendance and rumors about his plans, El Paso County Judge Anthony Cobos was front and center at Monday's county commission meeting."

-- Cobos says his resignation is not at hand; opinion released
, by Sito Negron and David Crowder, Dec. 5, 2008: "An El Paso print publication quoted El Paso County Judge Anthony Cobos today as saying he has no plans to resign following Newspaper Tree's report Thursday that his chief of staff had requested a legal opinion on the procedure for resigning and appointing a new county judge."

-- Possible Cobos resignation confirmed by request for legal opinion on his replacement, by David Crowder, Dec. 4, 2008: "County Commissioner Luis Sarinana said Cobos' chief of staff, Jaime Perez, requested a legal opinion from both Rodriguez and the Texas attorney general’s office on whether Cobos could resign and still vote on the appointment of a successor to complete the two years remaining in his term."

-- Cobos was in D.C., but what for?, by David Crowder, Nov. 25, 2008: "Reyes’ office denied that the subject of Cobos' meeting with the congressman was U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton or the investigation. It was about a job. That is, if there might one for him in D.C."

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