DOJ abuse of power? Here is what they did to Ala Gov Don Siegelman

[KelleyKramer]

I made a post the other day about the Siegelman case and some folks said they had not heard anything about it.

There is way too much involved to try and do it in one post.. so for starters I'll tell you just one part of the story...

When the verdict was read, they refused to let him remain free on bond during the appeal (and he certainly is not a flight risk). They did not even let him take a common period of 30 days to 'get your affairs in order'. He couldn't even go by the house to get a toothbrush... Siegelman was immediately hauled away from the courtroom bound in shackles.

He was taken to a federal facility in Atlanta and processed. He was put in a small cell and held there for 23 hours a day. He was not allowed any books, magazines, newspapers or any kind of reading material... I guess you just sit and stare at the wall all day and all night (or do push-ups).

After a lot of haggling, he was finally able to convince them to give him a Bible to read.

But that was only the beginning.

Over the next week or two.....

Siegelman was taken from Atlanta and transported to the state of Michigan where he was processed into a facility.

Then he was transported from Michigan to the state of New York and processed into a facility there.

Next, he was taken from New York and transported to the state of Oklahoma and processed into a facility there.

After that, he was taken from Oklahoma and transported to the state of Louisiana and processed into a facility there.

He was then scheduled to be transported from Louisiana to Texarkana, Texas. But that facility refused to accept him, so Siegelman remained at the facility in Louisiana.

Is this abuse of power and harassment? I'll let you decide.

But there a couple things to remember here.. its my understanding (maybe a lawyer here can clarify this) that it is against the law to place someone more than 500 miles from their home.

And more important than that... during this time Siegelman had motions pending before the court and it was important to be able to meet with his lawyers.

Again, that is just a small part of what has happened in this case, but it should give you an idea of how unbelievably out of control these people are.

[L. Coyote]

1. The Remarkable "Recusal" of US attorney Leura Canary

KelleyKramer Fri Sep-14-07 09:26 PM
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1812562
The Remarkable "Recusal" of US attorney Leura Canary


If you want to get up to speed on the Ala Gov. Siegelman/US attorney scandal, this would be a good place to start....

The Remarkable “Recusal” of Leura Canary

http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/09/hbc-90001209

By: Scott Horton, Harpers Magazine
September 14, 2007

Alabama media continue to report uncritically just about any statement that emanates from the office of Leura Canary, the U.S. Attorney in Montgomery, who is currently in the crosshairs of the Siegelman investigation. .............

============================
Political Prisoner Don Seigelman: Republican Lawyer Set To Speak With House Judiciary Under Oath
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1770148

[reality based]

4. They learned well from Ken Starr's treatment of Susan McDougal n/t

Orange jumpsuits, shackles, and frogwalks will be too good for the lot of them.

[Magginkat]

29. Help Needed...................

From friends of Don:

I received a letter from Don wherein he is asking for our help. He needs donations to his legal fund very badly because he has some payments to his lawyers coming up very soon. I know that if you are like me, you do not have much to give, but any donation in any amount would be great. This man has given so much to this state for so many years, that I do not think we want to abandon him now. I don't know where the Alabama Democratic Party is, but we could use your help also. Some fundraisers would be great. Please give what you can, even if it is a small amount. We are so close to busting this thing wide open that it would be a shame if it got halted because of lack of funds. The address is:


Don Siegelman
Legal Defense Fund
P O Box 430116
Birmingham AL 35243

[L. Coyote]

31. Where did you get that address? Is that the one the newspaper printed?

According to the Friends of Don Siegelman 2007 website:
http://www.donsiegelman.org/pages/contactus.html

Send Contributions to
Siegelman Legal Defense Fund
c/o Trava Williams
P. O. Box 11751
Birmingham, Alabama 35202

[BrklynLiberal]

2. Exactly what does the "J" in DOJ really stand for these days??

[aquart]

3. Okay, I've decided. This IS harassment and abuse of power.

WTF did they do it?

I'm assuming that every time he was processed they gave him another butt check right up the ass? And, possibly, that was the purpose of the transfers?

[L. Coyote]

6. The beginning: Abramoff and Kark Rove Linked to Prosecution of Ex-Alabama Governor and Campaign $$$$

FROM Jun-01-07 : http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1023111

ABRAMOFF: Rove, Reed and the Money Machine
http://www.taylormarsh.com/archives_view.php?id=1624

No one outside Karl Rove is more responsible for George W. Bush's rise in the south than former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed, ... he's got some problems coming his way...

.... an Indian tribe with a casino in Mississippi was a source for $1.15 million that Reed helped send to two anti-gambling campaigns in Alabama ...
....Jack Abramoff ... acted as an intermediary for much of the cash.

"Somebody's lying. It's either John Giles or Ralph Reed or both. I think these people are scoundrels," said Siegelman, a Democrat who blames his failure to win re-election on the lottery defeat.....

God and gambling, Christians and casinos, what a powerful pairing, which, when you look at the bottom line, all adds up to big bucks. Big bucks that ran from one Bushie to another, on behalf of God who is against gambling, while Christians make sure casinos don't land in their neck of the woods, as the guys who represent God, the Republicans, cash in big on being consultants.

It's a nifty little racket Rove and Reed, with a lot of help from Delay, Abramoff and even the money man himself, Grover Norquist, have going. The Bushies must be betting God likes gamblers, because they've put it all on the line. .........

[aquart]

8. But what did Siegelman do to piss them off that much?

[KelleyKramer]

9. He was a very popular Dem in a very red state

Don is the only person in Alabama history to win every single statewide office.

Siegelman won his Gov re-election in 2002 and they stole it for Riley (it was even more blatant than Bush in Fla) and they knew that Don would kick Bob Rileys ass in a re-match.

Rove has long ties in Ala politics, and as we now know Rove was already rigging prosecutions of Dems across the country.. so it was a perfect fit for a nasty hit job.

[pnwmom]

5. Thank you so much for posting this. I had heard the basic outlines

of his situation, nothing more. Are there any particularly good links out there?

[KelleyKramer]

7. Yes! And thanks to L.Coyote for helping me find it

There are a ton of articles from Scott Horton who has been all over it, here--

http://www.harpers.org/subjects/DonSiegelman/SubjectOf/BlogEntry

[pnwmom]

10. Thank you! n/t

[alittlelark]

11. A few of the KPFA hosts has theorized this IS WHY Gonzales resigned.

50 or so former federal prosecutors had asked for this case to be reviewed.

[Mind_your_head]

12. Alabama GOVERNOR? Current or Former governor?

I haven't heard of this before.

Wow, if I'm understanding you correctly THIS IS VERY UNUSUAL....

[KelleyKramer]

15. Former Governor

He was Gov from 1998-2002 and was running in 2006 to take the seat back.. they put him on trial about one month before the Dem primary.

Without the trial he would have won the primary AND he would have beaten Repub Gov Riley in the general election. He is the only politician in Ala history to have won every single statewide office.. he was VERY popular.

[cascadiance]

13. And you contrast that with Tom Kontogiannis being able to "vacation in Greece" without a passport...

when he was supposed to be travel restricted on bail waiting for a sentence for his "secret" laundering and whatever else trial, and you see that this country is going down hill VERY fast! Something needs to happen! We REALLY need some leadership in Washington now!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2992529

When you couple that with the total lockdown of what happened today in Washington DC protests, you can see that Americans don't have much options left now to express and have some power with dissent than other kinds of dissent that most of us hope will never happen! For one, Agent Mike out there who's likely monitoring this, most of us including myself, don't advocate violence, but when the government completely doesn't provide any equal rule of law any more and only rewards power with more power, and stomps on the rest of us, you can see this happening at some point.

And Bushco is just waiting for an excuse to put in place martial law with executive orders 50 and 51, much like local powers that be sought an excuse to murder Frank Little and declare martial law in Montana in the height of mine workers' strikes and mining disasters.

[Ellipsis]

14. This is so f'ed up. Definitely abuse of power.

There is no room in this country for this kind of abuse. More of us lose faith in the system everyday because of this bullshit manipulation by elitists. People who sadistically exploit their political position should spend the rest of their lives in prison.


Snipped from Scott Horton's Web Blog at Harpers "The Partisan and the Judge"

"The case has now attracted attention across the United States and around the world. Forty-four former attorneys general from across the nation—Democrats and Republicans—have petitioned Congress asking that a special investigation be undertaken to examine the now obvious gross irregularities associated with the case."

http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/08/hbc-90000805




Get this guy out on appeal.

[merh]

22. I don't know if you recall our discussions last year about

a similar prosecution in a neighboring state.

The same thing, men prosecuted because of their politics for actions that both parties do relative to elections and funding campaigns. Men convicted because of the selective prosecutions and abuses of office.

Lives ruined and people destroyed all so that the RNC can control all functions and arms of government.

Another article in Harpers is expected to be published soon on a similar case, watch for it. Some of the facts may sound familiar.

See this link http://www.harpers.org/subjects/NoComment Fredo's last day

Nevertheless, parting words of a sort are appropriate. When I started writing about the swarm of ethics and other issues descending over the Justice Department, I found myself on the other end of a good amount of correspondence from serving and departed federal prosecutors. They furnished me with a number of leads which have been pursued over the last months, and strongly encouraged me to pursue and look into other matters that I was unsure of—particularly in Alabama, California and Mississippi (which will be the subject of a new series of posts starting next week). I was impressed with many of these writers—with their commitments to the high professional standards which have been the pride of the Justice Department, and their utter despair over the high volume of political sewage which has coursed through the Department since roughly 2002. Their voices are filled with indignation and anger about Gonzales and his wrecking crew, appropriately so. For a farewell to Gonzales, it is only appropriate to turn to one of these career prosecutors who understands the tradition and honor which the Bush Administration has so horribly ruined.

.

[EFerrari]

16. This is very important POSTER case for BushCo abuse of power.

k&r

[merh]

25. see

see post 22

:(

:hug:

[merh]

30. check this out

http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/09/hbc-90001232

[merh]

17. Sadly this behavior is not considered abuse.

It is part of the indoctrination that the majority of federal prisoners receive when being made a part of the system. This is many true of those who held office or had a position of power, it is to let them know they are no longer important, they no longer hold any power or control over their lives.

It is the Bureau of Prisons way of letting the inmate know that they are powerless and who is the boss.

There is no law regarding where a prisoner must be placed. It is policy to try to place them within 500 miles of their home, but as the article linked below states, the BOP "often send politicians farther away." http://federalprisonconsultants.com/federalprisonexpert.html

The abuse was his trial and conviction, Rove set his sights on him and the DOJ prosecuted and convicted him.

This is part of the politicizing of the DOJ, the abuse of office that this administration is so good at.

.

[L. Coyote]

18. In this context, I think "abuse" relates to stealing the election and railroading him.

[merh]

21. Would you please read my post.

It was directly on point relative to the OP's inquiry regarding the BOP's treatment of the man.

Relative to the selective prosecution and the prosecutorial misconduct that came from the DOJ's politicization at the hands of this admin with Rove as the conductor, yes it is an abuse as I stated.

And believe me it is not the only such case and I know all too well about these tactics and the impacts they have had all on involved. You may want to check out my journal entries on this subject.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/merh/62

You claim to be a research wiz, research it and start with the tables found at the bottom of the article here: http://www.epluribusmedia.org/columns/2007/20070212_political_profiling.html



As I said, I know all too well about this and don't need your snips after misreading my posts.

[hedgehog]

19. K&R for those who aren't familiar with this stuff yet.

Isn't Congress supposed to be holding hearings on this case?

[KelleyKramer]

26. They are going to have hearings

Ala congresscritter Artur Davis is on the judicial cmmtt. Last week they interviewed a Repub lawyer in closed testimony (under oath).

More info on the testimony here-
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1808866

[SeattleGirl]

20. I heard about this. It's so disgusting. How in the hell can these fucking

assholes continually get away with this kind of shit? Now you're guilty because you're a Democrat?

How in the hell can this shit be stopped?

[Faygo Kid]

23. Underreported story: How close we came to Karl Rove using the DOJ to end democracy

I still think that ultimately the Bushies will make a play to end democracy, but this was certainly one big-time attempt. Thank you for this post. We are being squeezed ever tighter, and by "we" I mean nearly all of us. Even Faux News brainwashed sycophants.

[sandyd921]

24. It is important that information about this case be circulated widely.

Most people don't have a clue what the Dept of "Justice" has really been up to and the extent to which the US has become a corrupt police state. This case clearly illustrates the reality. I had heard about this case on "Ring of Fire" but had not heard these details of Siegelman's imprisonment until reading your post. Thanks!

[Cerridwen]

27. Torture. Plain and simple. This is torture.

They can't do to him; because he is still high-profile; what they want to do to him in one place. They move him from place to place and "process" him.

Abuse of power? No.

Torture. Legalized, authorized, normalized torture.

Don't worry, though. I can still post on the internet and "It can't happen here"

[Magginkat]

28. Fraudulent sham of a case................

Friends of Don Siegelman have this case documented at www.DonSiegelman.org

One link give a quick start summary of articles that cover this case thoroughly (links at end of article summary)

http://www.donsiegelman.org/pages/QUICK_START.html

The changing of the guards: Bay Minette, election night
(The ballots mentioned in this article are sealed for one reason & one reason only. Don Siegelman is the legally elected governor of Alabama. Karl Rove, Speedy (NOT) Gonzales under orders from the White House occupants, not only removed him from office but prosecuted him with a sham trial & he is now imprisoned for 7 years unless this do nothing Congress decides to really investigate this case)

http://baldwincountynow.com/articles/2007/07/25/local_news/doc469fbb5bd2a7f444039407.txt