I Accuse… 44 Attorneys General Demand an Inquiry Into the Siegelman Prosecution

[razors edge]

http://harpers.org/archive/2007/07/hbc-90000530

A Shocking Miscarriage of Justice
The forty-four attorneys general, Democrats and Republicans alike, drawn from across the country point to these badges of injustice in the Siegelman case (my comments in italics):

(1) Governor Siegelman is currently incarcerated at a Bureau of Prisons facility, having been refused release on bail pending appeal. Indeed, he was even denied 45 days to report to prison to give him time to put his affairs in order, an opportunity which is commonly granted. This can only be understood in terms of the political theater orchestrated by the Bush Justice Department and the judge hearing the case, a Republican political activist.

(2) A lawyer who had worked in the campaign of Governor Siegelman’s opponent in the 2006 gubernatorial contest has sworn in a recent affidavit that the spouse of the federal prosecutor in this case stated that his wife and another federal prosecutor would “take care of” Mr. Siegelman and that he had talked with a political operative for the White House concerning such assurances. The name of the political operative is Karl Rove, and the political manipulation of prosecutions to “take care” of political adversaries is his calling card.

(3) In an unrelated but recent case, a low-level employee in another state administration was prosecuted and convicted by another U.S. Attorney before a U.S. Court of Appeals ordered her immediate release from prison and reversed the trial verdict calling the prosecution evidence “beyond thin.”

(4) Another former Governor of Alabama was convicted of corruption charges a few years ago in a case where he personally benefited from his action and was sentenced to probation. That case was handled by the same lead prosecutor as in the Siegelman case. There is a striking difference: the former governor actually secured personal gain from the alleged corruption, Siegelman did not—even accepting the allegations of the prosecution as true, but they are not. How to distinguish these two cases? One involves a Republican, the other a Democrat. This is Bush justice, of the same sort meted out in Bush’s commutation of the sentence of his felonious national security advisor, Scooter Libby.

[pnwmom]

1. 44 A.G.'s agreeing on anything -- amazing. I hope the Congress

acts immediately to investigate this.

[libertypirate]

9. This is a big middle finger to the Whitehouse... /nt

[hedgehog]

2. Why isn't this a major news story?

Oh, I forgot, we're focusing on Vitter this week.

[razors edge]

5. I'm a news junkie,

and I don't even remember this, had to Google it to find background.

[mentalsolstice]

12. That, and it's a bubba from Alabama

:sarcasm: In my limited contact with the Siegelman family, they were always gracious and very down to earth. In the actions of this case, he didn't line his own pockets nor those of his family's or friends.

[Cha]

3. Recommend for Siegelman..

I hope Siegelman can get the justice he deserves on this.

A couple of days ago I read that he had disappeared!

[Doctor_J]

4. * will announce next week,

"Yes, someone in my office illegally prosecuted governor Siegelman. We're past it now"

[midnight]

6. No. 3 is about Wisconsin women-Georgia Thompson.

I think that's how you spell her last name. Why isn't this being investigated. She was in prison for several months with evidence that was "beyond thin".

[Richard Steele]

7. K&R

[Usrename]

8. K&R

Impeach these guys already.

[Sam Ervin jret]

10. No surprise here this A.G. was prob. not fired

In the case that you site where the "low level" employee was prosecuted and convicted before her case was overturned on appeal there were a few more informative points. This woman was not the original target of the investigation she was convicted in. She was convicted in some small state "scandal" when it was alleged that some company that she had some tie with (?) was given some business in the travel part of state government. The exact detail are thin as the appeals court said, but the real problem was thick. The real target of investigation was the democratic governor. This woman was "leaned on" to get her to talk about anything she knew about the governor. According to her lawyer, she was offered a bargain to talk not just before the trial nor during but after the conviction. She had nothing to tel these FEDERAL lawyers. What they got for their trouble was a conviction that was overturned, a republican that did not get dirt to use against his opponent in the election that fall, a bill for the costs of the trial from the state to the feds because they, the state, say that the federal government had no place in the investigation of this crime. At this one federal A.G. was on a certain list of very special A.G.'s for not "taking care of" things the Rove way. So I guess he was taken care of the ROVE way. What is it they say? What goes around....

sometimes the wheels of justice seem to turn too slowly, and

now and again a wheel alignment is in order

[razors edge]

11. Welcome to DU Sam,

Shit like this is so normal it doesn't surprise anyone anymore. Susan McDougall comes to mind.

Maybe instead of chasing all these elusive cats ups trees that we have no chance of catching, we should use the judiciary committee to address the abuses of the past in a focused way, day in and day out, to show a pattern of repeated abuse. I think the Pubs count on the outrageous to sidetrack us from the obvious.

[newyawker99]

14. Hi Sam Ervin jret!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[DeepModem Mom]

13. K&R

[libertypirate]

15. kick