Career prosecutors opposed Siegelman prosecution.
Alabama GOP operative Dana Jill Simpson recently charged that Karl Rove and his allies pushed the Justice Department into prosecuting former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman (D) prior to a major election. Harpers’ Scott Horton now reports that the “most experienced and senior career prosecutors” opposed the Siegleman prosecution, yet the Justice Department pushed the case forward “with blunt political force”:
John W. Scott, a senior Justice Department trial lawyer who had been helping with the case at the request of Montgomery prosecutors, disagreed with the move to extend the investigation, Franklin said. “We had to make a decision about whether or not a grand jury would help us in putting the case together, investigating further. It was not a popular decision, but I made it,” [Prosecutor Louis] Franklin said. “John didn’t want to do that, so when he left Montgomery he didn’t come back…”
More on the Siegelman case HERE.
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32 Responses to “Career prosecutors opposed Siegelman prosecution.”
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“John didn’t want to do that, so when he left Montgomery he didn’t come back…â€
Another person exiled by Bush for not being a “team player”. I wonder how many of them are out there?
October 29th, 2007 at 5:22 pmCan we start making some arrests now?
October 29th, 2007 at 5:23 pmone might wonder at how this garnered a conviction? If it is as it appears with evidence I know little about, it appears that every aspect may have been tampered with. Evidence seems to have been, the prosecutor seems to. A judge wouldn’t have allowed this nonsense to proceed, so there is the chance that they were compromised. We know it goes all the way to the white house but we call it justice?
October 29th, 2007 at 5:34 pmwhat a joke, in every way. except justice
Siegelman also was convicted of obstruction of justice for trying to hide money given by a lobbyist for a motorcycle. The defense contends it was a legitimate transaction and not as depicted by prosecutors.â€
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,287275,00.html
Comment by TCDon — October 29, 2007 @ 5:24 pm
That’s the point. The career prosecution felt that it was a distortion of the case, but in a Republican place like Alabama, who needs evidence, when you have a political vendetta to execute! You people are completely immoral and ethically bankrupt! No wonder America is SICK of you and YOUR PARTY!
October 29th, 2007 at 5:35 pmoldtree, it’s Alabama, judges there convict black people for getting beaten up by whites!
October 29th, 2007 at 5:36 pmSo when are Bush and Cheney going to get put in jail for Halliburton?
October 29th, 2007 at 5:37 pmThe devil made them do i! Is there no nadir these Repukes will stoop to? Is there not a single Repuke out there who is not corrupt? Every day/another Repuke scandal - more Repuke criminal behavior. Time to yank them all out of office and government positions. They’re all incompetent and corrupt.
October 29th, 2007 at 5:37 pm#7 I presume that when a full investigation takes place about the Bush/Cheney/Haliburton money grab via a government “no bid contract”, the fur will begin to fly. Then we’ll get to see Darth’s pension & profit sharing information.
October 29th, 2007 at 5:38 pmThis case is about vote tampering and what republicans did to Siegelman as retribution for his challenge of an election-night ripoff. My suspicion is that this case is why Karl Rove resigned.
October 29th, 2007 at 5:47 pmTCDon, do you have some rare form of ADD? Just wondering.
October 29th, 2007 at 5:49 pm#7. Are you upset that George Soros bought over $60 mil. in shares of Haliburton?
Comment by TCDon — October 29, 2007 @ 5:41 pm
That means they work for him, not the other way around - right? Are you upset?
What I’m upset about is the general criminality and double standards of immoral hacks like you, this is just another example of your whiny hypocrisy!
October 29th, 2007 at 5:50 pmTCDon, do you have some rare form of ADD? Just wondering.
Comment by Candyce — October 29, 2007 @ 5:49 pm
Nah, he’s definitely another Aspergers baby, that didn’t get proper parenting, just like Hendler!
October 29th, 2007 at 5:51 pmAlleged colonel, that is just plain stupid. Why would Karl Rove resign over a Democratic governor being convicted by a jury of his peers? Comment by TCDon — October 29, 2007 @ 5:50 pm
Because it’s a political witch hunt, and yet another political scandal from the immoral right? But you aren’t really smart enough to understand morals or values are you ‘tard?
October 29th, 2007 at 5:51 pmI’m not upset by it at all RHF. Soros making money off of Haliburton is fine with me. I was just wondering if it was fine with “progressives.†I guess it is. Comment by TCDon — October 29, 2007 @ 5:51 pm
Hey, Soros is a libertarian, why would his actions insult us? He does what he wants with his money, and despite the Right’s dependence on Scaiffe and handful of other NeoNazi extremists - most of our organizations are funded by widespread donations. Soros can do what he wants, he’s not one of us, he’s just not one of you either - dum bass!
October 29th, 2007 at 5:53 pmSo Democrats get convicted and it is a “political scandal†from the right. BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Comment by TCDon — October 29, 2007 @ 5:52 pm
That’s kinda the point on this thread - dum bass. But then again, you aren’t very ‘bright’, since you can’t even spell DENIER despite your ludicrous claims to be a LAHYUR!!!
October 29th, 2007 at 5:54 pmSo tell us TCDon, does it pain you that Mellon-Scaiffe, the bastion of ‘family-values’ and pursuer of all things Clinton is now in yet another messy divorce that shows what a loon he really is?
You wingnuts and all of your little ‘values’ (hypocrisy) are just TOO CUTE!
October 29th, 2007 at 5:55 pmSo Democrats get convicted and it is a “political scandal†from the right. BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
Comment by TCDon — October 29, 2007 @ 5:52 pm
Just too difficult for you to grasp?
How about: ” A study by University of Missouri professor emeritus Donald Shields presented at last week’s House Judiciary Committee hearings on selective prosecutions shows that Democrats have been investigated more than five times as often as Republicans since George W. Bush became president.”
Or this?:
More here.
October 29th, 2007 at 5:58 pmTCDon: “Alleged colonel, that is just plain stupid. Why would Karl Rove resign over a Democratic governor being convicted by a jury of his peers?”
What an obnoxious way to pose a legitimate question. Strange. Anyway, my guess is that he resigned to try to avoid federal prosecution for using the the justice department to influence a state election.
October 29th, 2007 at 6:01 pmTrolls, being morals-free and fact-challenged, are never bothered by the hypocrisy of the right, nor by the lies they tell. They haven’t evolved far enough to be truly human, and they visit here regularly to make sure we all know it. They are proud of their ignorance and sheep-brains.
October 29th, 2007 at 6:01 pmBut you seem to be bothered by it. Why?
Comment by TCDon — October 29, 2007 @ 6:01 pm
Actua;;y, he’s ,ore bothered by your hypocritical take on its unimportance. It proves that you have no morals to uphold, and that you and your kind will do or say whatever it takes to hurt Americans.
October 29th, 2007 at 6:03 pmRHF: “…Mellon-Scaiffe, the bastion of ‘family-values’ and pursuer of all things Clinton is now in yet another messy divorce that shows what a loon he really is….”
Isn’t it rich. The guy spent $100 million trying to convince America that Clinton is a sleazebag and he hangs out with prostitutes and can’t keep a marraige together even though he’s a billionaire. Priceless.
October 29th, 2007 at 6:03 pmYou can bet that for the average right-wing kook, attitudes regarding divorce will be much more broad and tolerant than usual this year. If you’re concerned with the divorce problem in America, they’ll wonder why.
October 29th, 2007 at 6:05 pmDon, the career prosecutors were uncomfortable, in part, because of the appearance of political motivation. Now, one of Rove’s subordinates has already testified to congress that Rove and his political operatives were engaged in “vote caging,” so they have been proven, by definition, already to be at least involved with attempting to affect the outcome of congressional races. Rove did, after all, quit some weeks back when it became clear internally that this case was not going to go away. There does seem to be evidence that he was involved. We’ll see.
October 29th, 2007 at 6:13 pmWell, hey, TCD - the next Democratic president of America can simply commute his sentence!
YAY!! Just like Scooter Libby got off scot-free for the same offenses. ;o)
That’s fair, don’t you think?
October 29th, 2007 at 6:21 pmComment by Ret. Col. Jack Ripper — October 29, 2007 @ 6:13 pm
I don’t think Don is interested in explanations, Colonel. You’re wasting your breath.
October 29th, 2007 at 6:26 pmUh, TP. You forgot to mention that he was sentenced to 7 years in prison.
Comment by TCDon — October 29, 2007 @ 5:24 pm
TC, it’s understandable that being a Republican troll you would see nothing wrong with an aide to the President using his personal influence with the toady Attorney General to prosecute a politician from the Democratic party during a primary and accuse him and convict to 7 years in prison for doing the same thing that two Republicans who were not prosecuted did.
US Sen. Jeff Sessions and US Circuit Judge Bill Pryor, “both Republicans and former state attorneys” received illegal donations from lobbyist Lanny Young and WERE NOT PROSECUTED.
Now, what part of “ABUSE OF POWER” and POLITIZATION OF THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT” is it that you don’t understand? Or maybe, in the new country you Republicans WERE planning to build, that would not be a consideration?
October 29th, 2007 at 6:27 pmNever hurts to point out the facts, gummitch, if only to provide a little more cognative dissonance which might sneak in there.
October 29th, 2007 at 6:33 pmMan, you “progressives†are always getting off topic. Let’s talk some more about the Democratic governor who was convicted by a jury of his peers of bribery and obstruction of justice.
Comment by TCDon — October 29, 2007 @ 6:09 pm
Says the IDIOT that proposes to know more than PROSECUTORS familiar with the CASE!!! He was convicted in an ALABAMA KANGAROO COURT, just like how you GOP WINGNUTS prefer to dispense your JUST-US - I mean Justice…
October 29th, 2007 at 6:47 pmNo. Allthough neither I nor my parents were ever divorced, it doesn’t bother me at all. Divorce is sometimes, sadly necessary, although it should probably happen less often than it does. Sometimes, divorce is what is best for the family. But you seem to be bothered by it. Why?
Comment by TCDon — October 29, 2007 @ 6:01 pm
You should ask Scaiffe, since he’s the bastion of TRADITIONAL VALUES, for EVERYONE ELSE!!
BAHAHAA, you don’t see the humor, that’s one of the FUNNIEST PARTS!
October 29th, 2007 at 6:51 pmRHF: “Hey, Soros is a libertarian, why would his actions insult us?”
I don’t think Soros is a libertarian. I think that in spite of the fact he’s made hundreds of millions off of securities and monetary trading, he believes capitalism should be regulated.
October 29th, 2007 at 7:21 pmI was just wondering if it was fine with “progressives.†I guess it is.
Comment by TCDon — October 29, 2007 @ 5:51 pm
Considering that he uses much of that money to beat GOOPers over the head, so to speak, yeah, I guess I’n okay w/ him making the money.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:29 pmThis is symptomatic of the biggest scandal of this administration. Thom Hartmann has been saying that the nine US Attorneys are not the ones we should be concerned about–it should be the ones that were kept on. This is proof. Going after political enemies is the most egregious form of power. This is why we should be outraged at the wiretapping. You know they are spying on Democrats, particularly since they’ve been doing this since BEFORE 9/11.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:35 pm