The Republican candidate for attorney general was involved in the prosecution of former Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein.
Paul Schimpf was the lead American advisor to Iraqi prosecutors at the trial in 2006, making sure the trial complied with international standards for due process.
He says Saddam admitted to the charges late in the trial because the prosecutors put on a good case.
"That didn't happen by accident. It happened because the prosecutors had done a good job presenting the evidence, and the only reason they did is because it took me about a week to convince them that ... you actually do need to rehearse your evidentiary presentation, and then we spent about two weeks actually rehearsing."
Saddam was found guilty of crimes against humanity and executed.
Schimpf, an ex-Marine, lives in Waterloo and is making his first run for political office.
