Siegelman Future Hinges on Appeal ("60 Minutes" Interviews Freed Governor - 'Rove Needs to Testify')

[Hissyspit]

Source: CBS News

Siegelman Future Hinges On Appeal
Former Alabama Governor Is Free As Congress Investigates His Prosecution

(CBS) A federal court has released former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman from prison, six weeks after 60 Minutes aired a report about a prosecution so suspect that 52 former state attorneys-general have asked Congress to investigate. In 2006, Siegelman was convicted of bribery, but the prosecution was so troubling that Congress started the investigation. Siegelman says his prosecution was political, orchestrated in the White House.

Siegelman was in prison in February when he watched the original 60 Minutes broadcast with other inmates. In an interview with 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley, he describes the jailhouse reaction to the broadcast: "Well immediately people were standing up, sayin', 'You got screwed.' And I'd say, 'Well, you know, I think there were a lot of ya'll that got screwed.' And then, one guy stood up and said, 'No, I was guilty. You got screwed.'"

Using different words, a federal appeals court raised the same possibility, agreeing that his "appeal raises substantial questions of law or fact likely to result in reversal" of his conviction.

- snip -

"What we need," Siegleman says, "is Karl Rove to get himself over to the Judiciary Committee and put his hand on a Bible and take an oath and give testimony. And he can either tell the truth or take the Fifth. Either one will satisfy me."

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/04/60minutes/main3995061.shtml

[balantz]

1. Big Bush Baby Karl tell the truth?

Ha Ha Ha hahahahahahah!!!

[amihol]

27. his tongue called mr.lie..

[evolvingsteve]

2. ......!

well I'm glad SOMEONE is still making a story out of this,....how many times must this be brought into the spotlight in order to get someone to finally drag Rove's ass to the Judiciary Committee to testify because we sure as hell know Karl himself won't go willingly.... he's obviously under the influence that he's above the law....so we need to give him a wake up call with the constitutional smack down that he deserves!

[bulloney]

4. Instead we give asscracks like Rove regular time on TV shows

and pay him tens of thousands of dollars to speak to brainwashed audiences.

[pattmarty]

13. I feel the same way, but you have to remember it is Fox "news".

[Blue State Bandit]

3. He gave Siegleman the money because IT WAS A GOOD CAUSE!

Education is a good cause. Scruchy was in the position to see the good that that money would do for the Alabama education system. It was an investment into the future of the children and the future of Alabama.

Even if he had excepted the job off the bat, I would have liked to have seen the results of Siegelman's proposed policy.

Talk about being punished for doing the right thing?

This goes beyond the crime it's self. They may have been prosecuted for an act that we should prefer to see from our elected official; privately funding a good program. They put their money where there mouth was, and Rove tried to rip out their tongue to stop it.

[elleng]

5. Rove tried to rip out Siegelman's tongue

to stop him from doing his job and going on in politics.

I think we should do what we can to enable him to continue in public service.

[trof]

6. K&R

Don looks haggard.
Poor bastard.

[The Wizard]

7. No action can be taken

as long as there's a president who will issue pardons to criminals like Rove. Rove can get a preemptive pardon because there's an investigation, witness Poppy's preemptive pardon of Cap Weinberger.
The Bush cartel has compromised all forms of law and legitimate government. Elections are rigged, the Courts are subject to the Unitary Executive's whims, and Karl Rove will be the guy behind the curtain for a long time to come. Say hello to President McCain and future President Jeb Bush. It's over folks, because we let it happen when Scalia, et al awarded the Presidency to W using specious claims and intellectually dishonest reasoning. Had we done what he Ukrainians did after they had suspicious election returns we wouldn't be in this situation today.
Somewhere scaffolds are being built for anyone who dares question authority.

[The Backlash Cometh]

14. If he gets a pardon, does that mean he doesn't have to testify?

And if he does have to testify, what happens if he gets caught committing perjury after the pardon was given?

[The Wizard]

16. I'm not sure

but Weinberger never testified to anything after the pardon. That could have to do with Clinton suspending the Iran-Contra investigation.

[JDPriestly]

20. No. I believe that Rove still has to testify.

In fact, he should be called to testify on this once again.

I believe that he has stated that he did not discuss the Siegelman case with anyone in the White House. If I am right about that, Rove certainly cannot claim executive privilege with regard to whatever he may know or may have heard or learned about the Siegelman case.

Jill Simpson has produced her phone records. Let Rove and his alleged co-conspirators do the same.

[DogPoundPup]

8. Scott Horton's : "Karl in a Corner" article

To start the article off, Horton reflects back on the instances of Karl's dark and dirty political tricks and refreshes our memories on his many deceitful and classless escapades of political foul play starting in the 1970's. The article then brings us up-to-date in Roves Siegelman involvement and how Karl in trying to deflect any guilt in this is actually digging himself in deeper...

<snip> ... These days, Karl is taking a bit of heat over his involvement in the Siegelman case. As I noted in a recent on-air discussion with Dan Abrams, nearly every stone you overturn looking through this case reveals traces of Karl Rove.

AND

<snip> ... Rove seems suspiciously concerned about the Simpson allegations, and he’s striking back. The curious thing is that he’s using many of his darker tactics to do so, a move which could well serve in the end to strengthen Simpson’s accusations.

As usual, the Rove approach involves surrogates in the media and the blogosphere. In what may be a sign of desperation, however, Rove is making many of the attacks himself, or is leaving a clear set of fingerprints behind.
http://harpers.org/archive/2008/04/hbc-90002812

[xchrom]

9. recommend

[DeepModem Mom]

10. K&R

[L. Coyote]

11. VIDEOS: 60 Minutes has ONLINE Exclusive content.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/04/60minutes/main3995061.shtml

Exclusive Video Clip #1
Siegelman: No deal with Richard Scrushy.

Exclusive Video Clip #2
Elmer Harris, Alabama Republican and former head of Scrushy's transition team: There was no bribe.

Exclusive Video Clip #3
Siegelman: What next?


===========
MORE VIDEOS = Follow the links here:

Gov. Don Siegelman, the Roughly $3.6 Billion, ExxonMobil, and Pissing Off BIG OIL.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3070446

Political Prisoner Don Siegelman: Will the 60 Minutes Spotlight Make a Difference?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2909551

[fascisthunter]

17. "My Political Career is Over"

I really hate to hear that... I wish he had more fight in him, but then again, it is much easier for me to say such a thing without walking in his shoes.


Karl Rove should be locked up for life and I hope there are enough angry Americans to make it imperative that he does. I know he will be indicted within the year, but I hope his sentence last till his dying days. The man is a dangerous psychopath.

[liberalcanuck]

12. K&R n/t

[annabanana]

15. I WISH CBS had shown the whole interview.. The clip of

the transition team Republican (Harris) insisting that Scushi DID NOT WANT THE JOB put the absolute lie to the whole trial.

[sonias]

18. Karl rove knows he'd be hauled off to jail if he goes before Congress

He would never go before Congress willingly and he will never testify under oath about his involvement in the Siegelman case. He can't keep his lies straight and he knows it.

Karl was born with a lying republican brain - it's the one skill he has mastered. :grr:


Sonia

[dogday]

19. Karl to take an oath... Not likely.... There are a few committees

indeed that would like to get Karl on the stand with his right hand on the bible and swear to tell the truth....

[Harry Monroe]

21. As Papa Bush used to say "Na gonna do it; at this juncture"

Rove has too much to hide. I hope he does testify, however, and perjures himself!!

[harmonicon]

22. Oh, come on! Karl Rove can't put his hand on a Bible

The book would actually burn up or turn to dust if his un-gloved demon hand came within a foot of it. Gloved, I expect the distance to shorten to a few inches.

[FourScore]

23. k&r

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

24. Political violence - more of it going on in Siegelman's home state now

April 06, 2008
Political violence
Posted by Mark Kleiman

That's what you call it when a 63-year-old woman with no criminal history, charged with a nonviolent offense, is dragged off to jail in handcuffs after a 6 a.m. raid on her home by gun-waving federal cops because a Republican U.S. Attorney is hunting Democratic scalps.

The law gives prosecutors and police enormous powers to ruin the lives of innocent people, and virtually complete immunity for doing so. Decent prosecutors and cops use those powers with due regard to their destructive force. Prosecutors chosen by Karl Rove don't.

...If Sue Schmitz can be subjected to the violence of arrest so prosecutors can ask her whether she did enough work to earn her salary from a junior college, then John ("I didn't mean to say 'Osama' ") Ashcroft can surely be treated the same way to find out whether he actually earned the eight-figure payday he was handed, on a no-bid basis, by one of the U.S. Attorneys who served under him, as a corporate monitor. How much does Ashcroft actually know about orthopedic implant devices?

...more at the link

http://www.samefacts.com/archives/corruption_in_washington_/2008/04/political_violence.php

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

25. Political violence - more of it going on in Siegelman's home state now

April 06, 2008
Political violence
Posted by Mark Kleiman

That's what you call it when a 63-year-old woman with no criminal history, charged with a nonviolent offense, is dragged off to jail in handcuffs after a 6 a.m. raid on her home by gun-waving federal cops because a Republican U.S. Attorney is hunting Democratic scalps.

The law gives prosecutors and police enormous powers to ruin the lives of innocent people, and virtually complete immunity for doing so. Decent prosecutors and cops use those powers with due regard to their destructive force. Prosecutors chosen by Karl Rove don't.

...If Sue Schmitz can be subjected to the violence of arrest so prosecutors can ask her whether she did enough work to earn her salary from a junior college, then John ("I didn't mean to say 'Osama' ") Ashcroft can surely be treated the same way to find out whether he actually earned the eight-figure payday he was handed, on a no-bid basis, by one of the U.S. Attorneys who served under him, as a corporate monitor. How much does Ashcroft actually know about orthopedic implant devices?

...more at the link

http://www.samefacts.com/archives/corruption_in_washington_/2008/04/political_violence.php

[RavensChick]

26. KKKarl telling the truth??

He already did when he sold his soul to the devil.


If his ass is indicted, it'll be a very happy day for all Americans!

[tired of the right]

28. It's real easy to tell when Rove is lying...

his lips are moving