"Don Who?"

[Hissyspit]

http://www.al.com/opinion/independent/index.ssf?/base/columnists/1259619311191770.xml&coll=4

Are Siegelman's days of freedom numbered?

Monday, November 30, 2009
By Bob Gambacurta

If former governor and convicted felon Don Siegelman at one time harbored hopes that political intervention in Washington would keep him out of prison, those hopes, fading in recent months, appear to have now been dashed. The lead-up to Siegelman's 2006 trial, and conspiracy and bribery convictions along with HealthSouth founder and former CEO Richard Scrushy, was fraught with allegations of political persecution.

- snip -

It was during that time leading up to the November 2008 presidential and congressional elections that Siegelman became the darling of the Democrats and the poster boy for Bush administration politicizing of the Department of Justice.

You'll recall, among other events: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi praised Siegelman in a Birmingham speech and promised reform of the Justice Department; the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. John Conyers, D-Michigan, launched an investigation by his committee and even tried to force former White House advisor Karl Rove to testify; U.S. Rep. Artur Davis, D-Birmingham, was one of Siegelman's most vocal and outspoken defenders and even signed Conyers' letter demanding Rove testify before the committee; and there was even speculation that if Democrat Barack Obama was elected president that he would order DOJ to reexamine the Siegelman case and that a pardon could be in the offing.

A year ago, the Democrats won overwhelming victories in the House and Senate and of course put Obama in the White House. All of a sudden, the former governor of Alabama, a one-time darling of the Democrats, became Don Who?

- snip -

Even though his political case is no longer considered very sexy by the Democrats, Siegelman and Scrushy, for that matter, are continuing efforts to appeal their convictions to the U.S. Supreme Court. But now, even the Obama Justice Department has turned its back on Siegelman.

Last Friday, the Justice Department filed a brief opposing a review of the case by the nation's highest court.

It had to hurt Siegelman even deeper, when the media portrayed the case, "no help from the White House for Siegelman" and "Obama administration is opposing former Gov. Don Siegelman's appeal of his felony corruption conviction before the U.S. Supreme Court."

Obama, Pelosi, Conyers, Davis and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, once champions of the Free Siegelman Campaign, now probably won't even take his phone call.

- snip -

But now, eleven months into the Obama administration, the Justice Department has removed less controversial U.S. Attorneys in Birmingham and Mobile. Their replacements have been named and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Yet, Ms. Canary remains on the job in Montgomery - no successor in sight. Curious, isn't it?

MORE

[vadawg]

1. havent been following the case, simply put is he guilty of corruption???

was there a conspiracy and bribes between him and the executive guy???

[Syrinx]

2. the case is about him appointing Scrushy to the state board that regulates hospitals

Supposedly, this was quid pro quo, in return for political donations.

Thing is, Scrushy had previously served on the same board, appointed by Republican governors, who had also received political contributions from the billionaire scumbag, for their own election campaigns.

And another thing is, the contributions in question to Siegelman weren't to his own election campaign. Rather, they were to a campaign to bring a state lottery to Alabama, in order to raise money to allow poor kids to go to college.

Scrushy deserves to be in prison. Siegelman does not.

EDIT: The stuff that Scrushy deserves to be in prison for is unrelated to the former governor. Scrushy stole about a billion dollars from the company he founded. And from the people that worked and invested there. He pandered to the largely African-American community in Birmingham to worm his way out of that. He even hosted a phoney-baloney "evangelism" TV program to pull that scam. Scrushy is a low-level carnival barker that lucked into making a billion dollars. He was hob-nobbing with big-time celebrities, jetting them to his castle-like home on Lake Martin. He was living out the fantasies of a small-town Alabama boy, all on the backs of investors and small-town patients. Scumbag.

[Hissyspit]

3. No.

It was Karl Rove.

91 Ex-Attorneys General Support Siegelman Appeal to Supreme Court

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6603318&mesg_id=6603852


Larisa Alexandrovna on Rove's Role In the Political Prosecution of Gov. Siegelman

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6603318&mesg_id=6603852


Siegelman Prosecutors Received Notes from Jury

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6603318&mesg_id=6603862


Jury tampering, a corrupt judge, selective political prosecution, a house burned down, an office broken into.
Break-ins plague targets of US Attorneys

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6603318&mesg_id=6603948


THERE WAS NO CRIME

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6603318&mesg_id=6603939


Even if, hypothetically, he was, this case should have been thrown out long ago. It is complete and utter corruption and political prosecution from the Bush years and the Dems own it now.

[Lasher]

4. Can't be seen as taking Siegelman's side.

Might get in the way of being all bipartisany and everything.

[pipoman]

5. In other news, the sun will rise this morning and set tonight...

every administration ever has a trail of corpses of those who are political lepers, who, regardless of their once usefulness, turn into liabilities or take one for the team..

[Hissyspit]

7. Yes, but we're talking about this one.

And, besides, this administration was about change, remember?

[pipoman]

8. Some things are, unfortunately, political realities

and this type of 'taking political cover' has been in every single presidency since Washington and always will be.

BTW, I am also awaiting that 'change'...it was a nice slogan..

[NightWatcher]

6. I was HOPING Obama would CHANGE Bush's prosecutors

but the woman who prosecuted him is still the prosecutor and will not let this one go.

Maybe Don could bunk with Leonard Peltier in the newly-formed Political Prisoner Wing of some prison somewhere

[Hissyspit]

9. .