Don Siegelman

Rove Issues Non-Denial Denial in Siegelman Case

fast2write — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:35:17 -0400

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.

Spinmaster Karl Rove At It Again in Defiance of Congress

fast2write — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:55:03 -0400

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...

Restore Justice Coalition Calls for Siegelman Charges to be Dropped

fast2write — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 01:55:11 -0400

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...

Analysis: Siegelman Files Motion Asking for New Trial

fast2write — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:29:11 -0400

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.
The motion demands an immediate evidentiary hearing to explore improper communications between the prosecutors and the jury and between prosecutors and the judge not disclosed to the defense team.

Don Siegelman Files Motion for New Trial Based on Newly Discovered Evidence

davidswanson — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:01:08 -0400

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.

Issue II: BECAUSE OF PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT IN THIS CASE, INCLUDING IMPROPER CONTACTS WITH JURORS, IMPROPER EX PARTE COMMUNICATION WITH THE COURT, AND IMPROPER CONDUCT IN PREPARING GOVERNMENT WITNESSES TO TESTIFY AT TRIAL AND FAILURE TO PROVIDE BRADY MATERIAL, SIEGELMAN WAS DEPRIVED OF HIS FIFTH AMENDMENT RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL AND HIS SIXTH AMENDMENT RIGHT TO AN IMPARTIAL JURY.

Jury tampering as well as witness tampering. The House Judiciary Committee and a group of 75 former state attorneys general have both already complained about this to the U.S. Justice Department.

Issue III. FAILURE TO DISCLOSE EX PARTE COMMUNICATIONS AND THE EXISTENCE OF A SECRET INVESTIGATIVE REPORT ON THE AUTHENTICITY OF JUROR EMAILS, A CRITICAL MATERIAL FACT IN A MOTION THEN PENDING BEFORE THE COURT, VIOLATED SIEGELMAN’S SIXTH AMENDMENT RIGHT TO COUNSEL AND HIS FIFTH AMENDMENT RIGHT TO DUE PROCESS.

And what was still missing? ... Judge tampering, of course! This is like a Karl Rove election theft: it's attacked from every angle at once.

ISSUE IV: THE FAILURE OF U. S. ATTORNEY LEURA CANARY TO ABIDE BY HER ANNOUNCED RECUSAL DEPRIVED SIEGELMAN OF HIS ENTITLEMENT TO A DISINTERESTED PROSECUTOR

Her husband was a paid consultant to the political campaigns of Republican opponents of Governor Siegelman, as well as the campaign of then-Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor, who at that time was involved in the ongoing investigation of Siegelman.

ISSUE V: SIEGELMAN WAS SELECTIVELY PROSECUTED FOR POLITICAL PURPOSES IN VIOLATION OF HIS FIFTH AMENDMENT RIGHT TO EQUAL PROTECTION OF THE LAWS AND HIS FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHT TO RECEIVE A CONTRIBUTION TO AN EDUCATION LOTTERY FOUNDATION HE SUPPORTED.

For background on this case and hundreds of others like it, watch The Political Prosecutions of Karl Rove, and read Our Political Prisoners.

Political Justice Under the Spotlight in Washington

fast2write — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 23:06:28 -0400

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...

Along with a couple of nice photos of Clemon on the news page and the blog, here's a key news graph:
Clemon said he recently talked to President Barack Obama’s Attorney General Eric Holder after writing a letter to him asking for an investigation into former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman’s prosecution, and he said Holder assured him there would be a “full investigation” by the Obama Justice Department.

The Locust Fork News-Journalhttp://www.locustfork.net/

http://blog.locustfork.net/

Justice Department Should Set Aside Siegelman Verdict

fast2write — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:34:50 -0400

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.

Judge Asks For Investigation of Siegelman Prosecution

fast2write — Fri, 29 May 2009 15:10:40 -0400

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.

This development comes days after detailed evidence revealed that Siegelman’s trial judge, Mark Fuller, was chosen to preside over the trial because he had a “grudge” against Siegelman which bordered on hatred because Siegelman appointed an investigator to look into Fuller’s shady activities: Siegelman Deserves New Trial Because of Judge’s ‘Grudge’, Evidence Shows

Moreover, the new evidence makes a strong case that Judge Fuller labors under conflicts of interest because he owns a majority share in Doss Aviation, which receives hundreds of millions in contracts from the military and has ties to CIA activities.

Last week, VR called for the removal of Siegelman’s prosecutor, Laura Canary, and for an investigation into the activities of Judge Fuller, both which now have been echoed by Chief Judge Clemon in his letter to Eric Holder. "What more does it take, Mr. Holder, to clear the stench of corruption from this case?," the release asks, and then demands: "Step in and enforce the rule of law, now!"