Political Prisoner Don Seigelman: TIME COVER STORY to be Political Prosecutions in Alabama

[L. Coyote]

This is huge news to come.
Plus, also next week, the House Judiciary Committee will start hearings on politically motivated prosecutions.

===============
TIME Reports on the Political Prosecutions in Alabama
BY Scott Horton - October 5, 2007
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/10/hbc-90001359

“I’ve never seen anything quite like this,” remarked a nationally known print journalist in a conversation three weeks ago. “Everything I’ve been told by the convicted defendants checks out as the gospel truth. And everything I’m told by federal prosecutors who pushed the case turns out either to be an outrageous lie or at least a very serious distortion. And the local journalists who wrote the most about the case all behave like they’re accessories after the fact in a criminal investigation.”

Welcome to the Siegelman case. And this week the cover will be pulled back further on the fraudulent criminal prosecution launched by U.S. Attorney Leura Canary, wife of the state’s G.O.P. campaign kingpin, and attorneys working for her. On Thursday of next week, the House Judiciary Committee will conduct its first hearings ever dealing with politically motivated prosecutions. And center stage will be occupied by the corrupt trial and conviction of Alabama Governor Don E. Siegelman.

Today, Time Magazine delivers us a tiny appetizer for the feast which is approaching. It publishes as its cover story for the next issue the first pieces of its research project looking at the Siegelman case. Time poses the question: Was this a politically motivated prosecution? And it answers the question: Yes. And indeed, at this point those who say otherwise simply reveal that they don’t know much about the case. ....

.............

====================
Archive Thread with links to previous DU threads:
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

[Bitwit1234]

1. We come full face with what rove's hammer hand in the DOJ wanted

those attorneys that wouldn't play ball, prosecute cases that didn't exist were fired. Those that manufactured evidence and prosecuted stayed.

This is a perfect example. It helps to prove the fact that rove wanted the Department of Justice to be an extension of the white house's hit squad. This turd blossom who had wilted and petrified needs to be jailed for life and forgotten where he is housed.

[Tarheel_Dem]

2. This is great news. Thanks L.Coyote for keeping this story alive

here. Wouldn't it be delicious irony, if the people who orchestrated this travesty, all wound up in jail and Seigelman went free? One can only hope.........

[L. Coyote]

4. Who will be in jail at the end of the day? Gov. Riley should be one of them.

Why isn't Riley being prosecuted for receiving a $300 K campaign donation?
Seigelman acted to benefit of Alabama education, not his campaign coffers!

-----
Friday, January 27, 2006
PAC Gives $300K to Riley, After Getting $50 Million State Contract
http://alelections.blogspot.com/2006/01/pac-gives-300k-to-riley-after-getting.html

Eddie Curran at the Mobile Register has a revelatory piece about Bob Riley's re-election fundraising. According to filings with the Sec. of State, a PAC called Alabamians for Technology donated $300,000 in December to Riley's re-election campaign.

There doesn't seem to be any speculation that anything illegal took place, but there sure are a lot of unseemly details.

-- The PAC was formed, and largely bankrolled, by executives who benefited from a $50 million state contract.
-- The PAC was formed on Dec 16, 2005 and just three days later gave the $300K to Riley.
-- The PAC had taken $325K which means the $300K given to Riley accounts for over 92% of the PAC's monies.

Hey, they control Justice, so they can just throw it in Don Siegelman's face like this!

[misanthrope]

57. Take Curran with a grain of salt...

...He's a notorious alcoholic with a big racial chip on his shoulder who works for an unabashed conservative mouthpiece.

[ThomWV]

3. One would think that this, if nothing else, could lead to IMPEACHMENT

In my mind this is on a parr with Treason.

[Freddie Stubbs]

35. Impeachment of whom? Gonzalez has already quit

[L. Coyote]

5. DOJ Documents Re: Alleged Selective Prosecutions of Wecht, Siegelman and Thompson

9/4/2007 - http://judiciary.house.gov/Printshop.aspx?Section=678

DOJ Documents Re: Alleged Selective Prosecutions of Wecht, Siegelman and Thompson

Wecht Allegations Grand Jury Indictment - http://judiciary.house.gov/Media/PDFS/Wecht1-177.pdf

Siegelman Grand Jury Charges - http://judiciary.house.gov/Media/PDFS/Sieg1-61.pdf

Grand Jury Charges Against Thompson - http://judiciary.house.gov/Media/PDFS/Thom1-27.pdf

[L. Coyote]

6. HOUSE Judiciary Hearing: Joint Hearing on Allegations of Selective Prosecution

Joint Hearing = Thursday 10/11/2007 - 9:30 AM
2141 Rayburn House Office Building
Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security

Joint Hearing on Allegations of Selective Prosecution: The Erosion of Public Confidence in Our Federal Justice System
By Direction of the Chairman

[eppur_se_muova]

7. And big props to L. Coyote for keeping this on the burner at DU!

I probably would have never heard of this whole business without DU. I have family in AL but the only thing anyone there has heard is "corrupt guy went to jail", nothing about Rove being involved. Our friends in the Money$treamMedia are on the job as usual ... :boring::boring::boring:

[L. Coyote]

8. Thanks. U "Our friends in the Money$treamMedia" good one. In AL the media

has been integral to the persecution. Scott Horton, who gets the real kudos in this beat (and maybe the first Pulitzer for blogging), has covered this aspect in detail. Scroll this page:

Scott Horton — Writer of 857 Blog Posts
http://www.harpers.org/subjects/ScottHorton/WriterOf/BlogEntry

There still are a few real journalists out there!

[eppur_se_muova]

9. Thanks for link, will forward to my folks. nt

[ooglymoogly]

10. a rec for truth.

[WHAT]

11. rec for outrage...

it's like a guy accusing his wife of spousal abuse while he's hitting her.

[Fly by night]

12. This is also a story of a stolen election.

I hope Time gets into the manipulations that prevented Siegelman from being re-elected in Alabama -- really a textbook example of the election fraud that the Rethugs have hatched across the country.

[L. Coyote]

14. Election STOLEN, Unlike with ROVE, that crime does not lead directly to the White House.

but I hope Conyers gets into it too, as well as Time.

Siegelman won before they switched the Baldwin County votes!

===================
FROM: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1770148#1777680
Fixed Elections? Election Fraud in Baldwin County = "electronic ballot stuffing"

The changing of the guards: Bay Minette, election night
By Steve McConnell Staff Reporter Gulf Coast Newspapers
http://www.donsiegelman.org/pages/topics/fixed_elections.html

..............

Election Fraud in Baldwin County

...Sometime during the night after everyone else went home, a Riley
campaign worker by the name of Dan Gans - who had served as Riley’s
chief of staff both in Montgomery and Washington and went on to work
with Abramoff lobbying firm - set up a laptop computer in the Baldwin
County courthouse and changed the results, sources say.

In other words, he committed "electronic ballot stuffing" by changing the
vote totals digitally, subtracting 6,334 votes from the Siegelman column.

Gans bills himself as a Republican “voting technology expert" and brags
on a now defunct Website about his role in implementing "a state of the
art ballot security system that was critical to securing Governor-elect
Rileys narrow margin of victory (3,120 votes)."

Auburn University’s Professor James Gundlach studied the 2002 returns
in Baldwin County and found all clues pointing to the same result:

Someone is controlling the computer to produce the different results. ...

=============
FROM: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1770148#1821863

Election Fraud in Baldwin County = Dan Gans, a Republican “voting technology expert”

Dan Gans served as Riley’s chief of staff in DC and Montgomery. He left Riley to work at the Alexander Strategy Group (repeatedly implicated in the Abramoff Scandal). Gans, a Republican “voting technology expert,” played a mysterious role in the 2002 election – he was in the Baldwin county seat when 6,000 votes inexplicably shifted from Siegelman’s column to Riley’s. (Source: http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/06/hbc-90000257 )
Election Fraud in Baldwin County

..... Now this is significant for a number of reasons. The likelihood that this was an innocent “computer glitch” in which only one single candidate—Don Siegelman—lost votes is approximately zero. “Glitches” do occur in computer vote processing, but they do not produce a shift in a single, photo-finish election contest, and not affecting any other race. The only explanation for this is willful manipulation of the voting equipment, and that is a very serious crime. Indeed, Auburn University’s Professor James Gundlach studied the 2002 returns in Baldwin County and found all clues pointing to the same result:

"Someone is controlling the computer to produce the different results. ...."

(Source: Noel Hillman and the Siegelman Case - BY Scott Horton - July 13, 2007 - http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/07/hbc-90000509 )

.... how did the law enforcement authorities with responsibility for this issue behave?

Well, that would be two gentlemen who are now both federal judges. One, then-Alabama Attorney General William Pryor, intervened in opposition to Siegelman’s demands for a recount connected with this serious irregularity—essentially shutting the process down. Indeed, Pryor seems to have done everything within his power to obscure the matter and to insure that Siegelman was defeated.

.....

That left the Justice Department in Washington, which had a long and highly respected record of intervention in the Deep South when questions of voting fraud have arisen. This record, however, came to an abrupt end in 2001. The Justice Department official responsible for a question of voting fraud which directly involved the conduct of voting officials—as was the case in the Bay Minette incident—was Noel Hillman. Hillman should have looked at the case and acted upon it. However, Hillman did nothing.

..............

[robinlynne]

13. excellent. Time is 7 years late, but I'm glad they're catching up!

[L. Coyote]

16. Where were they when voters were illegally purges in Florida in 2000?

By now, they must understand past media negligence and its consequences.

I hope they are enjoying being spied on. :rofl:

[L. Coyote]

15. Judge Denies Former Ala. Gov. Don Siegelman's Release on Appeal

Now, it will go back to the Appeals Court to appeal this ruling, no doubt.

============
Judge Denies Former Ala. Gov. Don Siegelman's Release on Appeal
By BOB JOHNSON – http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jyzm94MISa4YlBKRw7MU_MGiUFAAD8S2P8AG0


MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A federal judge Thursday refused to release former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman on bond while his government corruption conviction is appealed.

U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller of Montgomery ruled that Siegelman had not shown that he has a substantial chance of winning his case on appeal.

Siegelman and former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy were convicted last year of bribery and other charges. In June, Fuller sentenced them to federal prison terms and ordered them immediately taken into custody.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently directed Fuller to address the issue of whether Siegelman should be freed while arguments to overturn the conviction are heard, leading to Thursday's four-page decision.

Fuller's ruling applied only to Siegelman. ...........

.............

[L. Coyote]

17. TIME article and more linked at: - Friends of Don Siegelman 2007

http://donsiegelman.org/pages/home.html

OCTOBER 04 2007

1.Selective Justice in Alabama? Prosecutors showed no interest in
investigating the "home team."
2. TIME Cover Story adds fuel to Siegelman Case
3. Federal judge refuses to release Siegelman on appeal bond
..............................................................................................................
Selective Justice in Alabama?
By Adam Zagorin of Time Magazine
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1668220-1,00.html

Several people involved in the Siegelman case who spoke to TIME
say prosecutors were so focused on going after Siegelman that they
showed almost no interest in tracking down what Young said about
apparently illegal contributions to Sessions, Pryor, other well-known
figures in the Alabama GOP .....

Early in the investigation, in November 2001, Young announced that five years earlier, he "personally provided Sessions with cash campaign contributions," according to an FBI memo of the interview. Prosecutors didn't follow up that surprising statement with questions, but Young volunteered more. The memo adds that "on one occasion he provided Session with $5,000 to $7,000 using two intermediaries," one of whom held a senior position with Sessions' campaign. On another occasion, the FBI records show, Young talked about providing "$10,000 to $15,000 to Session . Young had his secretaries and friends write checks to the Sessions campaign and Young reimbursed the secretaries and friends for their contributions."

If true, Young's statements describe political money laundering that would be a clear violation of federal law. .............

[Tarheel_Dem]

18. kick.....

:kick:

[L. Coyote]

34. visibility kick

[me b zola]

19. k&r

:kick:

[MH1]

20. kick

[L. Coyote]

21. Statement from: Acting United States Attorney Louis V. Franklin, Sr.

Siegelman, Scrushy Prosecutor Refutes Rumors
Oct 5, 2007 05:45 PM
http://www.wsfa.com/Global/story.asp?S=7176844&nav=0RdE

Statement from: Acting United States Attorney Louis V. Franklin, Sr.
United States Attorney's Office, Middle District of Alabama

Recently, a number of articles, editorials, and postings on blogs have been authored by out-of-state reporters, columnists, and bloggers about the investigation and prosecution of Don Siegelman and Richard Scrushy. Though these media reports appear to be part of an orchestrated disinformation campaign about the case, they have generated questions that I want to address once and for all on the record because I believe the public has a right to know the truth.

Leura Canary was not involved, in any way, in any of the decisions about who would and would not be prosecuted. Her recusal was scrupulously honored by me. As the Acting United States Attorney in the case, I made all decisions about the case after consultation with other career prosecutors. Any assertion or insinuation to the contrary is an outright falsehood and a lie.

All viable federal felony offenses discovered during the investigation were appropriately and properly addressed. Political party affiliation played no role in my decision making. Our entire investigative file was turned over to the dozens of extremely able lawyers hired to represent the accused and all information discovered during the investigation was available to them to use in their defense in any way cognizable under the Constitution of the United States. Common sense suggests that if a viable motion for selective prosecution existed, it would have been filed. Simply put, no motion alleging selective prosecution was filed because there were no facts to support it. The comments of a few Monday morning quarterback writers, editors, and bloggers to the contrary are either a deliberate effort to deceive or are occurring because they do not have all the facts available to them. For a variety of reasons, these media members are unwilling to accept the inevitable result of facts being laid bare in the crucible of the federal criminal courtroom.

This case was fully litigated in an open forum where everyone was compelled by law to speak the truth. In this context, Siegelman's and Scrushy's peers convicted them because they are guilty of public corruption offenses.

Any unbiased review of the evidence discovered during this investigation and the manner in which the investigation was conducted will reveal the incredible commitment to the public interest and dedication to duty of the federal and state agents working under my supervision. I am proud of them and the work they did. The taxpayers should be as well.

[L. Coyote]

22. Prosecutor Says No PROOF Judge Pryor or Senator Sessions (R-AL) Violated Law

Prosecutor Says No Proof Pryor, Sessions Violated Law
Friday, Oct 05, 2007 - AP
http://www.nbc13.com/gulfcoastwest/vtm/news.apx.-content-articles-VTM-2007-10-05-0010.html


MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - A federal prosecutor says officials did not seek to prosecute U-S Senator Jeff Session, U-S Circuit Judge Bill Pryor or others who a key witness says he gave cash campaign contributions because there was no proof the witness got anything for the contributions.

.......

Prosecutor Steve Feaga said today that Young also claimed to prosecutors that he gave money to several prominent Alabama Democrats. Feaga said the charges were not filed against them either. Feaga said he could not identify the Democrats because the documents are still considered confidential.

[L. Coyote]

23. TIME's Swampland BLOG: The Siegelman Case in Alabama = COMMENT

Check out the comments and add yours.

=============================
October 5, 2007 9:15
The Siegelman Case in Alabama
Posted by Jay Carney | Comments (46)
http://time-blog.com/swampland/2007/10/the_siegelman_case_in_alabama.html

Adam Zagorin, who has turned his superior investigative instinct onto subjects ranging from Jack Abramoff to Guantanamo Bay in recent years, delivers a must-read piece in this week's print magazine on newly discovered irregularities in the investigation that put former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman in prison. Zagorin has as exclusive based on confidential FBI and state investigative records involving one of the principle prosecution witnesses used to indict Siegelman.......

-----------------
Reader Comments:

Carismar .... I know Time and Newsweak are propaganda organs of the DNC, but still. You don't even make a pretense at objectivity anymore.

artemis crackfrog ..... Hey Carismar, Willard Romney's National Finance Committee Co-chair, Alan Fabian, was recently indicted on 23 counts, including charges of money laundering, mail fraud, perjury and obstruction of justice.

So maybe some "moral indignation" from such exemplars of the right as yourself is in order, non?

............

[malaise]

24. Truth will out

K & R

[trof]

25. And kudos to The Locust Fork Journal for keepin' on diggin'.

And Glynn Wilson.
Read the whole sordid story here:
http://www.locustfork.net/blog/healthsouths_richard_scrushy_on_trial/index.html

[Gabi Hayes]

26. will this ever make it to TV, the only 'real' place for US news consumers?

it would be a nice change

[L. Coyote]

27. House Judiciary Hearing is Thursday. It might then.

[L. Coyote]

28. VIDEO: Don Siegelman and Richard Scrushy Trial Parts 1-5

Don Siegelman and Richard Scrushy Trial Part 1
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x60357

Five parts in series. Just follow the links in the thread above.

[L. Coyote]

29. VIDEO: Don Siegelman and Richard Scrushy Trial Show 2

Don Siegelman and Richard Scrushy Trial Show 2 Part 1
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x60372

Don Siegelman and Richard Scrushy Trial Show 2 Part 2
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x60371

Don Siegelman and Richard Scrushy Trial Show 2 Part 3
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x60370

Don Siegelman and Richard Scrushy Trial Show 2 Part 4
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x60369

Don Siegelman and Richard Scrushy Trial Show 2 Part 5
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x60368

[L. Coyote]

30. Due to DU technical difficulties?? these videos disappeared. Go here instead

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=don+siegelman&search=Search

I don't have time to do all the work of posting to DU over again. There are 10 videos total, five parts to each show.

[Tarheel_Dem]

31. kick......n/t

[ConsAreLiars]

32. The news here, of course, is that the "News" media are reporting this news.

Shows that some elements of the powers-that-be are not happy with their share of the promised profits. After all, Time was supposed to be a best selling mag in the ME with ad revenue to show by now. They got scammed, and they are going for payback.

[L. Coyote]

33. The Lies and Deceptions have worn too thin. Can't Fool All the People All the Time.

We may be seeing the old adage come true. It was as if all the People were fooled for a time after 9/11, but the ruse is up. Now, it is payback time for the lies and deceptions.

And where will this lead? Right back to stealing Florida in 2000. History will call Bush 43 a JUNTA, at best!

[Ignis]

36. Amazing story, thanks for keeping us informed. (nt)

[Supersedeas]

37. nothing to see here -- feed them more Thompson - Gary Cooper analogies

[L. Coyote]

38. Next Thread: Conyers releases Simpson transcript on Siegelman case-Rove linked

DISCUSS at: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2014977

Transcript HERE: Chairman Conyers Releases Jill Simpson Transcript on the Prosecution of former Alabama Governor Siegelman
October 10th, 2007 by Jesse Lee
http://www.speaker.gov/blog/?p=833

[L. Coyote]

42. TIME article: Rove Linked to Alabama Case + judge would "hang Don Siegelman"

Rove Linked to Alabama Case
Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2007 By ADAM ZAGORIN/WASHINGTON
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1669990,00.html

A Republican lawyer .... Longtime Alabama G.O.P. activist Dana Jill Simpson .... has now provided new details in a lengthy sworn statement to the House Judiciary Committee. .....

...............

If Simpson's version of events is accurate, it would show direct political involvement by the White House in federal prosecutions — a charge leveled by Administration critics in connection with the U.S. attorney scandal that led to the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. But her account is disputed ....

............

Simpson also claims Riley, Jr., named the judge who would eventually be assigned to the case, and says Riley told her the judge would "hang Don Siegelman" because of a grudge against the former governor. ............

[L. Coyote]

39. Son of Gov. Bob Riley (R-AL), Rob Riley, Plans His Own Affidavit

'Bama Gov's Son Plans His Own Affidavit
By Laura McGann - October 11, 2007
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004436.php

Republican lawyer Dana Jill Simpson's affidavit implicating Karl Rove in the decision to prosecute Gov. Don Siegelman (D-AL) has taken center stage so far in the ongoing story. But now it looks like it might get some competition.

Son of Gov. Bob Riley (R-AL), Rob Riley, told the Times Daily he plans to sign his own sworn affidavit, countering Simpson's claims.

According to Simpson's sworn statement, Rob Riley participated in a 2002 campaign call where a local Republican operative, Bill Canary, said Rove had been in touch with the Justice Department about a Siegelman investigation. ...........

[L. Coyote]

40. More Siegelman Updates = "Hillman was having contacts and visiting the White House...."

More Siegelman Updates
BY Scott Horton - October 12, 2007

Anniston Star - http://www.annistonstar.com/opinion/2007/as-editorials-1012-editorial-7j11w1102.htm
The Anniston Star also calls Javert on his latest sleazy press release:

Louis Franklin has the worst legal job this side of defending Britney Spears. He is the career prosecutor tapped to stand in for U.S. Attorney Leura Canary, the Bush appointee whose husband Billy Canary is a top Alabama Republican. Mrs. Canary recused herself and handed the reins to Franklin.

Lately Franklin has taken to defending himself and his office via press release. Mrs. Canary recused herself from the prosecution, but one wonders if she’s had a hand in the press releases that have followed. Franklin’s release uses an old saw in Alabama politics, blame the outsiders. ....

-------------
American Enterprise Institute
The leading Republican think tank in Washington is the American Enterprise Institute, and its great voice on public integrity questions is Norm Ornstein. Ornstein and AEI have now joined an increasing list of honest-government Republicans in calling the Siegelman prosecution a corrupt and squalid mess. ....

-------------
The Noel Hillman Connection - http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/2007/10/simpson-claims-.html
As noted in the past, all available evidence so far had already pointed to Noel Hillman as the principal vehicle through which Karl Rove tasked and pursued the Siegelman case. And now we have a Republican attorney testifying under oath about the Rove-Hillman links in relation to the Siegelman case. Here is the key passage, correctly flagged by The Next Hurrah:

A: And so, anyway, he was telling me all of the things .....

........... The head of Public Integrity during this period is named Noel Hillman. He’s a New Jersey politico, and came to Justice as Michael Chertoff’s sidekick. You can get more detail on his background here.

At key points in the Siegelman investigation, Hillman was having contacts and visiting the White House—including at least one interview with President Bush. Hillman had applied to get a judicial appointment from Bush, and Chertoff was backing him in this process, .........

[L. Coyote]

41. Swampland: Heat in Alabama

Heat in Alabama
Posted by Jay Carney - Oct 15, 2007 3:53
http://time-blog.com/swampland/2007/10/heat_in_alabama.html

As many Swampland readers know, Adam Zagorin broke new ground recently with his reporting on the Don Siegelman case and the seemingly partisan pursuit of justice in Alabama. Now the conservative editorial page of the Birmingham News, Alabama's biggest newspaper, has weighed in with an editorial citing Time's story and calling on prosecutors to explain themselves. At issue: why prosecutors pursued Lanny Young's charges against a Democrat (Siegelman) but seemed uniterested in Young's claims that he made illegal campaign donations to prominent Republicans Jeff Sessions and William Pryor. Published on Friday, the editorial says:

http//www.al.com/birminghamnews/stories/index.ssf?/base/opinion/1192177539181150.xml&coll=2

[AuntPatsy]

43. So many threats, how they have gotten this far amazes me,

[L. Coyote]

44. 2003 Affidavit Raises Criminal Conduct Questions About Judge Fuller

In a major news break yesterday, the malfeasance in this case is suddenly refocused, not only on the judge, but on DoJ's Noel Hillman, the head of the Public Integrity Section.

================================
2003 Affidavit Raises Serious Questions About Siegelman Judge
BY Scott Horton - Oct 16, 2007
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/10/hbc-90001430

I have received a copy of an affidavit (8.7Mb PDF) filed by a Missouri attorney in 2003 which details a number of charges of unethical and criminal conduct against Judge Mark Fuller. The attorney sought Fuller’s removal from a high-profile litigation which related to a prominent Republican who was close to both the current President Bush and his father.

The attorney, Paul Benton Weeks, had been involved as counsel for plaintiffs in a civil action called Murray v. Scott & Sevier, which had originally been filed in Kansas and was later transferred to Montgomery and assigned to Judge Fuller. Weeks, reached by telephone this morning, advised me that he did a routine background check to discover what kind of judge he was up before. “I was astonished by what I found,” Weeks said. Immediately after the papers were filed, Weeks said that Fuller was removed as the judge handling the case.

In the affidavit, Weeks accuses Fuller of engaging in criminal conduct both before and after he came on to the bench. The charges include perjury, criminal conspiracy, a criminal attempt to defraud the Retirement System of Alabama, misuse of office as a District Attorney, and an obstruction of his background check by the FBI in connection with the review of his appointment by President Bush to the bench. (I faxed a copy of the affidavit to Fuller’s office and also left a message asking for comment, but received no reply; if Fuller does reply I’ll update this post.)

Weeks’s allegations were transmitted to Noel Hillman, the head of the Public Integrity Section at the Department of Justice, among other recipients. ....

.........

==================
DU Discussion: cal04 Oct-16-07 - http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2064855
DOJ Scandal Deepens, Siegelman Judge Exposed

[L. Coyote]

45. Another MAJOR politization of Justice case comes to light in Colorado

Nacchio and Qwest: Another Political Prosecution?

The political odor of this legal case has never been proper.
The issue first arose on DU with the USA firings discussion.
* Justice Weighed Firing 1 in 4 - 26 Prosecutors Were Listed As Candidates
* http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2848874

Now, it's in mainstream press and serious legal blogs.

=====================
Qwest: Another Political Prosecution?
BY Scott Horton - Oct 14, 2007
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/10/hbc-90001415

Last week, a career federal prosecutor friend told me, “Most of us have come to agree that there’s a real problem with political prosecutions on Bush’s watch, and that needs to be addressed, but you need to remind your readers that this is something truly exceptional and that the great mass of cases involve the normal functioning of the law enforcement system, with career professionals who are detached from political considerations.” For the record, I believe that’s true. I’m not sure how widespread the phenomenon of political prosecution is. I believe that it is no longer a question of “whether” such prosecutions have been brought—that’s now very well established. How widespread is this phenomenon? That’s an important question and the answers are unclear.

And this weekend more information has surfaced which would show the practice to be far more common that I first suspected. ...............

MORE: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2051298

[L. Coyote]

46. VIDEO: Schumer Questions Mukasey on Siegelman Case

Schumer Questions Mukasey on Siegelman Case
By Paul Kiel - Oct 18, 2007
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004500.php

Sen. Chuck Schumer's (D-NY) been paying attention to the Don Siegelman case, and today he asked Michael Mukasey to take a look at whether Karl Rove had been instrumental in kick-starting the prosecution.

Mukasey replied that those sorts of issues should be heard first on Siegelman's appeal, which is ongoing. So Schumer took the consolation prize of asking Mukasey to look into it after the appeal. Mukasey agreed.

Mukasey also agreed to look at a study by two university professors (first reported here, by the way http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002420.php) that found an overwhelming tendency for Bush's Justice Department to pursue Democrats over Republicans.

...............

[L. Coyote]

47. House Judiciary Sets Date for Siegelman Hearing = Oct. 23, Tuesday

House Judiciary Sets Date for Siegelman Hearing
By Laura McGann - Oct 17, 2007
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004483.php

A House Judiciary panel plans to hold a hearing next Tuesday looking at allegations of politically-motivated prosecutions, including the case of former Gov. Don Siegelman (D-AL) and likely the suspicious cases against a Wisconsin bureaucrat that an appeals court called "beyond thin," and against a Democratic coroner in Pennsylvania.

Siegelman's lawyers have long contended that the case stemmed from a political vendetta against the Democratic governor in a Republican-dominated state. Documents recently obtained by Time give traction to this claim, showing that investigators ignored allegations from a state lobbyist of wrongdoing by Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and former state Attorney General William Pryor, but still initiated an investigation into Siegelman.

..............

[L. Coyote]

48. Former George H.W. Bush Attorney General, Dick Thornburgh, Says Prosecution Was Political

Former AG Thornburgh Says Prosecution Was Political
BY Scott Horton October 19, 2007
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/10/hbc-90001447

On Tuesday, the House Judiciary Committee will be holding hearings on politics and the Bush Justice Department. The focus will be on a series of cases in which it is alleged that the Justice Department brought charges to advance the political agenda of the Republican Party, and not for proper law enforcement purposes. The case surrounding Alabama Governor Don Siegelman is the centerpiece, and is still reckoned by most observers as the most overpowering case for prosecutorial abuse so far. On Tuesday, more evidence linking Karl Rove to the Siegelman prosecution will be put forward.

And now it appears that a Bush Attorney General will testify that he has examined one of the cases and concludes that it was in fact motivated and driven by improper political factors. The charges will be leveled by Dick Thornburgh, the Attorney General of President George H.W. Bush, and they will focus on the Pittsburgh U.S. Attorney’s prosecution of a coroner. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has just reported:

Former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh will testify before a subcomittee of the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday about why he feels the prosecution of former Allegheny County Coroner Dr. Cyril Wecht is politically motivated. ......

.......

[L. Coyote]

49. Justice in the Cradle of the Confederacy = "political guard dog of the G.O.P. in Alabama"

Justice in the Cradle of the Confederacy
Scott Horton - Oct 20, 2007
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/10/hbc-90001453

If one U.S. Attorney’s office in the nation is emerging as a festering embarrassment to the Justice Department, then there’s little question which one it is: Leura Canary’s shop in Montgomery. Not only did it bring and pull off the most astonishing and brazen political prosecution in U.S. history, the case against former Governor Don Siegelman—now it is setting out to silence others who have leveled charges against it using the techniques common to petty dictatorships—it will prosecute those who make charges.

And on top of this, sources tell No Comment, Leura Canary and her husband, G.O.P. campaign kingpin William Canary, have been busy pursuing a PR campaign to burnish Leura’s reputation, using the resources of the Business Council of Alabama. The Canarys’ PR efforts produced a gushing piece published in the Montgomery Advertiser on October 14 under the caption “Lady Law,” in which Leura’s family is profiled in the most glowing terms—from a grandmother described as “Aunt Bee” from “Mayberry, RFD,” to her father and grandfather who are profiled as bigwigs in state government and law enforcement. The piece has been meticulously edited and polished to avoid anything with even the slightest hint of scandal. Not only do Leura’s current worries and difficulties go entirely unmentioned. Even her family’s history is carefully airbrushed. So, for instance, amidst all the detailed chronology of the Garrett family, from which Leura hails, there is not even a second to mention her one truly famous relation, uncle Si Garrett, the most notorious Attorney General in Alabama’s history.

...............

The whole tale of Leura Canary and her relationship to the gambling struggle between the Poarch Creek and Choctaw Indians has not yet been told, but it will emerge shortly. .....

To any outside observer, it would appear that Leura views her job very simply: she’s not there to enforce the laws of the United States. She’s there to be the political guard dog of the G.O.P. in Alabama, and to safeguard its key office holders from any attack. And since her husband William is the campaign advisor to most of the state’s G.O.P. leaders, this perspective is very much all in the family. ...............

[L. Coyote]

50. HOUSE Judiciary Hearing: Former U.S. Attorney to Testify about Siegelman Case

Former U.S. Attorney to Testify about Siegelman Case
By Laura McGann - Oct 22,
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004523.php

Tomorrow morning the House Judiciary Committee will hold a heading on whether politics spurred a series of prosecutions, focusing on the cases of Cyril Wecht and former Gov. Don Siegelman (D-AL).

Unfortunately, Dana Jill Simpson, the Republican lawyer who has given sworn statements that implicate Karl Rove in the decision to prosecute Siegelman is not on the witness list.

Siegelman's legal team has long-maintained that the decision to prosecute the former Democratic governor was an assault from Republicans in the state with connections at the Department of Justice. One of Siegleman's former lawyers and former US attorney for Alabama, Doug Jones, is set to testify tomorrow. Jones already told House investigators that in 2004 lawyers in Montgomery mentioned that when the case against Siegelman stalled, they were told by Justice Department officials in Washington to "take another look at everything." Jones gave the same story to The New York Times last month.

Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL), who sits on the judiciary committee, has pushed for an official look .............

[L. Coyote]

51. VIDEO: Joint Hearing on Allegations of Selective Prosecution: The Erosion of Public Confidence

Tuesday 10/23/2007 - 10:00 AM
2141 Rayburn House Office Building
Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property
Joint Hearing on Allegations of Selective Prosecution: The Erosion of Public Confidence in Our Federal Justice System

VIDEO: http://judiciary.house.gov/oversight.aspx?ID=386

[L. Coyote]

52. Siegelman's Lawyer: D.C. Justice Officials Played "Integral" Role in Prosecution

Siegelman's Lawyer: D.C. Justice Officials Played "Integral" Role in Prosecution
By Laura McGann - Oct 23, 2007
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004536.php


A former lawyer for Don Siegelman (D-AL) told the House Judiciary Committee today that his client's case took a "180 degree" turn in 2004, after Justice Department officials in Washington told local prosecutors to take another look at the case -- from top to bottom.

According to former US attorney for Alabama Doug Jones, in the summer of 2004 prosecutors told him the case was going nowhere. By October 2004 the case against Siegelman had been dismissed. But one month later, in a surprising turn of events, Washington officials told local prosecutors to give it another shot, Jones testified today. By early 2005 it was as if the case was starting from scratch, Jones said, calling it "completely stunning" and a "complete reversal" from what the defense had been told just months before.

Jones is certain, he said, that Washington DOJ officials played an "integral" part in the renewed investigation..............

[L. Coyote]

53. Rep. Artur Davis: Phone Records Support GOP Lawyer's Story on Siegelman Case

Davis: Phone Records Support GOP Lawyer's Story on Siegelman Case
By Laura McGann - Oct 23, 2007
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004533.php

Many Democratic members deferred their time to Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL) during today's Judiciary Committee hearing on allegations of political prosecutions so that he could dig into the case of ex-Gov. Don Siegelman (D-AL).

Davis, who is convinced that the system worked against Siegelman for political reasons, took a stand for Republican lawyer Dana Jill Simpson this afternoon, responding to Rep. Randy Forbes' (R-VA) assertion that the Department of Justice should investigate her (http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004530.php). Davis argued that there is no evidence directly disproving testimony Simpson gave House investigators.

In fact, Davis points out, Simpson offered evidence that undermines the three affidavits Forbes produced this morning. .....

[L. Coyote]

54. VIDEO: House Judiciary: Rep. Artur Davis on Siegelman prosecution

Video on DU: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x64867

Video: Siegelmania!
By Paul Kiel - Oct 24, 2007
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004544.php

Here's video from yesterday's House Judiciary Committee hearing on selective prosecutions, where ex-Gov. Don Siegelman's (D-AL) was the marquee case:

As we reported yesterday, Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA) made a hard run(http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004530.php) at Jill Simpson, the Republican lawyer who's testified that Alabama Republicans often chattered about how the Justice Department and local U.S. attorneys would take Siegelman down. Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL) rose to her defense (http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004533.php), and Doug Jones, a former U.S. attorney himself and lawyer for Siegelman, testified (http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004536.php) that the case took on a new life in 2005 after officials in Washington got involved.

You can see video of former attorney general Dick Thornburgh's testimony here (http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004538.php)

...........

[L. Coyote]

55. NEW Scott Horton articles

October 22, 2007
A Further Ethics Assessment on Judge Fuller and the Siegelman Case from Prof. Luban
by Scott Horton
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/10/hbc-90001474

Back on August 7, we asked Professor David Luban, one of the nation’s leading legal ethicists, to take a look at the motion which had been filed for the recusal of Judge Fuller in the Siegelman case, the Government’s response, and Judge Fuller’s ruli . . .

=============
October 23, 2007
More from the ‘Bama Press
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/10/hbc-90001491

Pravda’s Latest The Birmingham News has done an amazing series over the last couple of weeks. They continue to be the Riley family’s faithful protectors, with the lead played by their vicious, prize-winning Attack Chihuahua. But in the last two weeks . . .

=============
October 24, 2007
AFJ Questions Conduct of Siegelman Judge
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/10/hbc-90001492

Alliance for Justice, a leading national association of environmental, civil rights, mental health, women’s, children’s, and consumer advocacy organizations, has just issued a statement in connection with today’s House Judiciary Committee hearings no . .

=============
October 24, 2007
A Primer in Political Persecution
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/10/hbc-90001500

A United States Attorney, an embittered Republican who has been defeated in a series of election contests, had a meeting with attorneys for a criminal defendant, a prominent Democrat, at the outset of the case. “I know your client thinks he’s innocen . . .

=============
October 24, 2007
Another Conflicted Prosecutor in the Siegelman Case
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/10/hbc-90001502

In its (as usual) tortured reporting on the Siegelman case, today’s Birmingham News unwittingly opens the door on another chapter in this saga. Here’s the key passage: . . .

[simmonsj811]

56. keep up da good work

:kick: :kick: :kick: :dem:

[L. Coyote]

58. thanks, n/t

[L. Coyote]

59. Riley Protests Too Much

Riley Protests Too Much
BY Scott Horton - Oct 27, 2007
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/10/hbc-90001526

HAMLET: Madam, how like you this play?
QUEEN GERTRUDE: The lady protests too much, methinks.
HAMLET: O, but she’ll keep her word.

–William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, act iii, sc ii (1599)

Deep in the heart of Shakespeare’s longest .... is a vehicle to do what social convention forbids, namely, explore the guilt of the king for high crimes.....

Hamlet has endured as a dramatic powerhouse, in spite of its length, in spite of its complexity, because it delivers profound psychological insights. And in the gothic novel now unfolding in Alabama, Hamlet lives again. The core of this drama is an unnatural and overhasty climb to power by a man of very modest abilities, but determined and ruthless ambition, who has now ascended the throne, as it were. Up to this point, the name of this focal character has rarely been mentioned. He of course knows his role and understands fully that as the tightly wound ball of yarn unravels, it will inevitably be exposed.

On Thursday, the organ of the Alabama Republican Party, the Birmingham News, published a highly contrived interview between two of the principal actors behind the scenes in the Siegelman drama, Governor Bob Riley and Brett Blackledge. Here are Riley’s comments, as transcribed by his faithful bootlicker:

“When it gets to the point where he says he believes that the governor of Alabama went to Washington, met with the Justice Department, convinced them to put the resources into a conspiracy to get Don Siegelman, that is so far-fetched, that is so totally wrong that I’m disappointed that someone like Artur Davis could possibly believe that,” Riley said in his first extended interview on the Siegelman case. “What he is doing is impeaching the testimony of two prosecutors, with people that he has known for years, he is impeaching their credibility based on no facts, only using political concerns to do so. . .”

“For anyone, including Artur Davis, to think that the governor or the governor’s office played a part in that is absurd,” .......

These numbers and this timeline make clear that the indictment and prosecution of Siegelman had a determinative effect on the Alabama gubernatorial election–precisely as was intended by their authors. .....

[L. Coyote]

60. Loyal Bushies Warp Justice Department Mission: Margaret Carlson

Loyal Bushies Warp Justice Department Mission: Margaret Carlson
By Margaret Carlson - Oct. 29 (Bloomberg)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&refer=columnist_carlson&sid=aV1t6kchthpM

Alberto Gonzales lost his job over the firing of eight U.S. attorneys who didn't prosecute enough Democrats. But the really scary thing about the Gonzales Eight scandal isn't the ones who were let go but the ones who weren't.

What did the attorneys still employed do -- and what may they still be doing -- to hold onto their jobs?

A study by University of Missouri professor emeritus Donald Shields presented at last week's House Judiciary Committee hearings on selective prosecutions shows that Democrats have been investigated more than five times as often as Republicans since George W. Bush became president.

There are three prosecutions that should alarm anyone who believes partisanship has no place in the administration of justice .............

[L. Coyote]

61. Career Prosecutors Opposed Siegelman Case, Political Appointees Wanted It.

"Former Alabama Governor Don E. Siegelman. His claims that the case against him was politically driven were just bolstered when the lead prosecutor admitted that career prosecutors opposed the prosecution, but political appointees wanted it to go ahead."



Career Prosecutors Opposed Siegelman Case
BY Scott Horton - Oct 29, 2007
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/10/hbc-90001540


From the first emergence of allegations that the Siegelman prosecution was politically motivated, the Bush Administration has rested on a single straw: that the case was brought and carried forward by career prosecutors. That contention has now been dealt a fatal blow by the man who raised it.

Throughout the history of the Siegelman investigation and prosecution, the Birmingham News and its cross-state sister, the Mobile Press-Register, both papers tightly aligned with the state’s Republican Party and with Governor Bob Riley, steadily had the inside story on what was happening. In a series of articles, they reported on the status of the investigations, on the appearance of witnesses before federal grand juries, and on the evidence the prosecution believed it had. Nothing in the prosecution’s portfolio ever seems to have been a secret from these two papers. And their extraordinary and cosy relationship with the prosecution continued through Sunday, as prosecutor Louis Franklin gave the Birmingham News a lengthy interview, freely responding to questions which–from the mouths of other reporters–he had consistently refused to discuss.

The interview is clearly designed to plug the holes that have sprung in the account that Franklin and his colleagues provided before. But it does just the opposite. ...

...........