http://www.atlargely.com/atlargely/2009/09/second-siegelman-whistleblower-interviewed.htmlSeptember 16, 2009
Second Siegelman whistle-blower interviewed...Andrew Kreig interviews DOJ lawyer and whistle-blower Tamara Grimes. Before we get to the latest revelations, let's examine who Grimes is and what has happened with her whistle-blowing:
A U.S. Justice Department whistle-blower who accused prosecutors of misconduct in the closely watched federal corruption trial of former Gov. Donald E. Siegelman of Alabama has been fired, and claims that retaliation is the reason. The government denies that it was retaliating.
- snip -
Grimes filed her complaints in 2007 under whistle-blower protection laws, accusing prosecutors of several misdeeds. Included were improper communications with jurors and the continuing involvement of the U.S. attorney for Alabama, Leura G. Canary, long after Canary, a Republican, said she had removed herself from the case because of partisan ties.
Grimes received word of her firing on June 9 from the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, according to a statement she issued.
We now know for a fact that Leura Canary did in fact communicate with her team after supposedly recusing herself. We know this from Canary's own emails to them. We also now know that there was jury tampering.
One would think that Grimes would have gotten an award of some sort for exposing this corruption. Instead, the Holder DOJ fired her, while Canary remains US Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama.
So now we come to the Kreig interview with Grimes. The big nugget of new information here is how Canary rewarded her employees who did not question their Stasi like orders and punished those who did:
"The first group, comprised of those willing to do whatever it took to succeed, received extraordinary rewards and preferential treatment with the full support of Mrs. Canary. The second group, comprised of those who opposed unethical and sometimes unlawful conduct, were subjected to harsh retaliation. The third and final group simply sought to keep their heads down and make it through the day without getting on the wrong side of the "right" people and losing their jobs. This is the reality of life in the Montgomery U.S. attorney's office for dozens of DoJ employees. As a consequence of observing harsh retaliation, it is difficult to find a single employee willing to risk his or her job to honestly discuss the matters without fear of reprisal. This is particularly true since they have seen me and the other employees who were willing to stand up for principles and ethics escorted from the building and terminated."
I ask again, why is Canary still in office? Why was Grimes fired? Why is no one asking these serious questions? As for Siegelman, the list of former Attorneys General - of both parties - who have now signed on in demanding that the US Supreme Court hear Siegelman's case has grown to 91.
That is correct, 91 former state Attorneys General of both parties are demanding SCOTUS address this because Mr. Holder has not and will not seemingly.You can also read Roger Shuler's excellent blog about this interview here:
http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/2009/09/siegelman-prosecutors-received.htmlWEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2009
Siegelman Prosecutors Received Extensive Perks From Their "Recused" BossProsecutors in the Don Siegelman case regularly received perks from U.S. Attorney Leura Canary, even though Canary supposedly had recused herself. During the case, Siegelman prosecutors worked at an isolated, off-site location that was accessible only to them--and were subject to almost no managerial review.
Those are among numerous revelations from Department of Justice whistleblower Tamarah Grimes in a fascinating interview with attorney/journalist Andrew Kreig at OpEd News.
Grimes wrote a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder on June 1, 2009, about prosecutorial misconduct in the Siegelman case. She was fired on June 9 from her position as a legal aide in the DOJ's Middle District of Alabama office in Montgomery.
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