Ethics Complaint Alleges New Politicized Probe Involving Siegelman Prosecutor

[babylonsister]

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/04/new_controversy_for_us_attorney_in_siegelman_case.php?ref=fpb

Ethics Complaint Alleges New Politicized Probe Involving Siegelman Prosecutor
Zachary Roth | April 5, 2010, 1:30PM


A U.S. attorney in Alabama whose close ties to local Republicans were at the heart of previous high-profile charges of politicized justice is drawing scrutiny again. Last week, the U.S. Justice Department received a formal complaint alleging that an investigation being run in part by U.S. attorney Leura Canary was intended to influence the vote on an upcoming bill in the statehouse, and asking that Canary be removed from the probe because of her "close political ties" to Governor Bob Riley.

This isn't the first time that Canary's ties to Riley and Alabama Republicans have generated controversy. Numerous observers have charged that the prosecution by Canary's office of former governor Don Siegelman, who in 2006 was convicted on corruption charges, was politically motivated. Canary's husband, Bill Canary, a top Alabama GOP political consultant and associate of Karl Rove, ran Riley's 2002 gubernatorial campaign against Siegelman, a Democrat.

The new case centers on a bill passed last Tuesday by the state Senate, aimed at legalizing electronic bingo -- a major political issue in the state. On Thursday, legislative leaders were summoned to a meeting with prosecutors from Canary's office and DOJ's Public Integrity unit, where they were informed that the Feds were probing whether senators had been bribed by pro-bingo interests into changing their votes. Riley, a committed foe of efforts to legalize bingo except on Indian reservations, strongly opposes the legislation, which must now be voted on by the House.

more...

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/04/new_controversy_for_us_attorney_in_siegelman_case.php?ref=fpb

[HillbillyBob]

1. I have met most of the principals

in the case. Years ago. Don was about the only honest politician I met while living there.
My ex MIL was a big time Riley supporter so I met them at fundraisers and oat the gov mansion when I lived across the street.

[starroute]

2. Why the hell hasn't Leura Canary yet been kicked out?

This has been one of those what-are-they-thinking questions for the past year. Given her close ties to the GOP establishment and all the crap she's pulled, why on earth is Leura Canary still a US Attorney?

[mod mom]

3. The same reason Siegelman's judge (Fuller) isn't behind bars-CORRUPT JUSTICE SYSTEM:

$300 Million in Bush Contracts Enriched Judge's Private Company

The Alabama federal judge who presided over the 2006 corruption trial of the state's former governor holds a grudge against the defendant for helping to expose the judge's own alleged corruption six years ago. Former Gov. Don Siegelman therefore deserves a new trial with an unbiased judge ─ not one whose privately owned company, Doss Aviation, has been enriched by the Bush administration's award of $300 million in contracts since 2006, making the judge millions in non-judicial income.

These are the opinions of Missouri attorney Paul B. Weeks, who is speaking out publicly for the first time since his effort in 2003 to obtain the impeachment of U.S. District Judge Mark E. Fuller of Montgomery on Doss Aviation-related allegations.

The comments by Weeks come during a momentous week in one of the most controversial U.S. criminal cases of the decade, with public officials and Alabama activists alike claiming Siegelman was targeted for prosecution because of status as Alabama's most popular Democrat. The Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected on May 15 Siegelman's request for an en banc appeal of his case, thus keeping it in the hands of Judge Fuller. Also, the Obama U.S. Justice Department announced May 12 that it wants Fuller to increase Siegelman's prison sentence to 20 years on re-sentencing this spring, even though Siegelman now faces two fewer charges than when Fuller sentenced him in 2007 to seven years in prison.

-snip

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-kreig/siegelman-deserves-new-tr_b_201455.html



The Pork Barrel World of Judge Mark Fuller
DEPARTMENT No Comment
BY Scott Horton
PUBLISHED August 6, 2007
For the last week, we’ve been examining the role played by JudgeMark Everett Fuller in the trial, conviction, and sentencing of former Alabama Governor Don E. Siegelman. Today, we examine a post-trial motion, filed in April 2007, asking Fuller to recuse himself based on his extensive private business interests, which turn very heavily on contracts with the United States Government, including the Department of Justice.

The recusal motion rested upon details about Fuller’s personal business interests. On February 22, 2007, defense attorneys obtained information that Judge Fuller held a controlling 43.75% interest in government contractor Doss Aviation, Inc. After investigating these claims for over a month, the attorneys filed a motion for Fuller’s recusal on April 18, 2007. The motion stated that Fuller’s total stake in Doss Aviation was worth between $1-5 million, and that Fuller’s income from his stock for 2004 was between $100,001 and $1 million dollars.

In other words, Judge Fuller likely made more from his business income, derived from U.S. Government contracts, than as a judge. Fuller is shown on one filing as President of the principal business, Doss Aviation, and his address is shown as One Church Street, Montgomery, Alabama, the address of the Frank M. Johnson Federal Courthouse, in which his chambers are located.

-snip

http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/08/hbc-90000762