Was Siegelman Prosecution Connected to Air Force Tanker Deal?

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http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/2010/04/was-siegelman-prosecution-connected-to.html


The prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman was driven partly by efforts to secure a massive Air Force tanker contract for a European company, according to a new report at Huffington Post.

According to an article by veteran attorney and journalist Andrew Kreig, Siegelman was prosecuted as part of a broad, Republican-driven campaign to land the $35-billion contract for the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. (EADS).

How did Siegelman get caught up in a heated competition that pits EADS against U.S.-based Boeing? If it wins the contract, EADS has pledged to build a large assembly plant near Mobile, Alabama. And Kreig's sources say "pro business" forces in Alabama decided the state would stand a better chance of landing the assembly plant if a Republican was governor instead of Siegelman, a Democrat.

The Republican turned out to be Bob Riley, who defeated Siegelman in 2002 when votes for the Democrat mysteriously disappeared overnight in heavily Republican Baldwin County, near Mobile.

Why was the Riley victory important for EADS supporters? Kreig provides insight:

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Did Leura Canary have a few conflicts of interest in the Siegelman prosecution? Were there about 35 billion reasons that she was under pressure to get Siegelman out of the way? Oh yes, writes Kreig:


Another major advocate for EADS is the Business Council of Alabama, whose CEO/president is the prosecutor Leura Canary's husband, William Canary. Also, he's the former campaign manager for Riley in his 2002 victory against Siegelman and a former Republican National Committee chief of staff.

So Leura Canary's husband stood to make major financial and political gains if the EADS plant came to Alabama. And Don Siegelman was seen as a possible impediment to the consummation of that deal. Could that have been a driving factor behind Leura Canary's decision to prosecute Siegelman--and remain involved in the case, even after she had publicly announced her recusal?

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Why does this contract matter so much in business and political circles? Why was it considered important enough to possibly spark a bogus political prosecution against a Democratic governor in Alabama? As usual, Kreig writes, money talks:


The contract's value is estimated at $35 billion, one of the largest in American history. But the true value could be vastly higher because the contract winner gets vital momentum for similar deals with other nations around the world.
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greedy guts

when I was a kid there was a singsong saying about "greedy guts" can't remember how it went. anybody? this was in the 40s.

the pentagon needs to be deconstructed.

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. 2 things.

1. The tanker contract issue has been in the headlines for several years now, with Riley's name
prominent.
It is BFD down here.
Riley also used the Bush law to get rid of the Sec. of State just before the election, thus guaranteeing the votes.
Leura Canary was allowed to stay on as US AG for a long long time after the 2010 election.
The Alabama Businessman's Council is THE group that decides all candidates for most offices.
And Rove has a lock on this state, was here many many times during and after Riley's campaign.

2. Is this the song?

Ma! Ma! You're a greedy guts! You're a greedy guts! You're a greedy guts!
Ma! Ma! You're a greedy guts, you've ate all my banana!

[ensho]

2. nope - the one us kids would say to a greedy kid had this as part

of the saying 'greedy monkey guts'

[ensho]

3. its coming to me - it wasn't monkey guts it was greedy gofer guts

nt

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. "Great green gobs of greasy grimey gopher guts"

" and me without a spoon"

[ensho]

5. Yes! that's it. - thank you dixiegrrrl - it surely applies to this

situation

[dixiegrrrrl]

6. Remember we would sing song that in front of our parents

and then fall down laughing because it was so wonderfully disgustingly silly and they would just look at us and shake their heads?

"Good times, good times"