Don Siegelman

Karl Rove admits having a "senior moment" in his testimony to the House Judiciary Committee, dancing around the key allegations that he had direct knowledge and an active role in the prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman and the firings of U.S. attorneys. He takes what Washington insiders call the Ronald Reagan defense, a.k.a. the "Alzheimer's defense," as in "I don't recall." In other words, and in contradiction with other published reports that Rove once again denied his role in manipulating the justice system from the White House, Rove's testimony is what we call in the news business, a "non-denial denial." Read the full story in the New York Times of blogs, The Locust Fork News-Journal.

The master of spin from the Bush years, Karl Rove, is at it again, even as he testified before the House Judiciary Committee for the second time Thursday about his role in manipulating America's judicial system from his office in the West Wing of the White House. While the transcript of Rove's testimony might be released in August and the committee may hold a public hearing on White House involvement in the political firing of U.S. attorneys and other executive branch intrusions into the judicial branch, including the prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, Rove had already granted interviews with the New York Times and Washington Post to spin the story his way in what may constitute an act of obstruction of justice. Read the full story in The Locust Fork News-Journal...

The Restore Justice At Justice Coalition calls on Attorney General Eric Holder to dismiss all charges against former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman. The Restore Justice At Justice campaign, representing hundreds of organizations with more than one million members, issued a press release today calling on Attorney General Eric Holder to immediately dismiss criminal charges against former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman "in light of the latest astounding evidence filed in his case attesting to gross violations of the rule of law by federal prosecutors." Full Story in: The Locust Fork News-Journal...

by Glynn Wilson
For the most complete analysis in the country of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman's latest motion in federal court asking for a new trial based on the emergence of new evidence uncovered since his conviction along with his co-defendant Richard Scrushy, see the Locust Fork News-Journal. According to the court document, available at the link, and after a full reading of the motion, these are the main points. Siegelman’s lawyers are accusing the federal prosecutors of blatant misconduct, including the manipulation of testimony from key witness Nick Bailey, improper contact with jurors and failure to disclose key documents to the defense, thus denying Siegelman and Scrushy a fair trial under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

By David Swanson

Former governor of Alabama and political prisoner Don Siegelman has filed a motion (PDF) for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence.

Here are the highlights:

ISSUE I. THE GOVERNMENT’S FAILURE TO PRODUCE EXCULPATORY AND IMPEACHING INFORMATION IN ITS POSSESSION AS TO KEY WITNESSES AND CORRECT FALSE OR MISLEADING TESTIMONY DURING TRIAL VIOLATED SIEGELMAN’S RIGHTS UNDER THE DUE PROCESS CLAUSE OF THE FIFTH AMENDMENT AND THE GOVERNMENT FAILED TO COMPLY WITH ITS OBLIGATIONS UNDER THE JENCKS ACT.

The detailed allegations here are worse than the heading sounds. Siegelman accuses the government of shaping the testimony of a key witness.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — One of the most significant problems corrupting American society and politics over the past eight years is finally getting the public spotlight it deserves in the nation’s capital. You can’t run a successful democracy without an honest system of justice that is removed as far as possible from politics, according to a panel of experts who spoke at one of the most venerated institutions in the United States, the National Press Club. Elliot Mincberg, chief counsel for oversight investigations of the House Judiciary Committee, who came in Conyers’ place, insisted that all the investigations are continuing full bore into the politicization of the justice system by the Bush White House and Department of Justice — in spite of a certain camp in Washington who would rather “look forward, not back.” More...

In response to a new story in The Huffington Post Wednesday about a conflict of interest on the part of the judge who presided in the federal case against former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, attorney and whistle-blower Jill Simpson issued a rare, lengthy public statement today calling on the Obama Justice Department to immediately set aside the convictions of Siegelman and release his co-defendant Richard Scrushy from prison. In her statement, released in a breaking news story in The Locust Fork News Journal, she details misdeed on the part of the Bush Justice Department’s Public Integrity Division, including hiding evidence.

In the latest development in the federal case against former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, retired Chief U.S. District Judge U.W. Clemon of Birmingham recently wrote a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder seeking a probe of misconduct by federal prosecutors.

He cited alleged "judge-shopping," jury-pool "poisoning" and "unfounded" criminal charges in an effort to imprison Siegelman and forestall his election campaign in 2006.

Judge Clemon, a highly respected jurist and one of the first African American judges in the American South, took this unusual step because he felt duty bound to report corruption that occurred on his watch, according to an announcement from the non-profit Velvet Revolution.