Don Siegelman is still in jail because of trumped up Republican charges.

DU: will you consider learning about this case? Will you consider writing to the governor?

This will be the year we see justice, with your help.

Rove Linked to Alabama Case
Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2007 By ADAM ZAGORIN/WASHINGTON

A Republican lawyer claims she was told that Karl Rove — while serving as President Bush's top political adviser — had intervened in the Justice Department's prosecution of Alabama�s most prominent Democrat. Longtime Alabama G.O.P. activist Dana Jill Simpson first made the allegation in June, but has now provided new details in a lengthy sworn statement to the House Judiciary Committee. The Committee is expected to hold public hearings on the Alabama case next week as part of its investigation of possible political interference by the Bush Administration in the activities of the Department of Justice.

Simpson said in June that she heard a close associate of Rove say that the White House political adviser "had spoken with the Department of Justice" about "pursuing" Don Siegelman, a former Democratic governor of Alabama, with help from two of Alabama's U.S. attorneys. Siegelman was later indicted on 32 counts of corruption, convicted on seven of them, and is currently serving an 88-month sentence in Federal prison.

If Simpson's version of events is accurate, it would show direct political involvement by the White House in federal prosecutions — a charge leveled by Administration critics in connection with the U.S. attorney scandal that led to the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. But her account is disputed; those who she alleges told her about Rove's involvement during a G.O.P. campaign conference call claim that no such conversation took place. Rove himself has not responded to Simpson's allegations, which are clearly based on second-hand information, and the White House has refused to comment while Siegelman's case remains on appeal.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1669990,00.html

You can take action here:

http://www.usalone.net/cgi-bin/oen.cgi?qnum=3297

You can write to the governor here:

MAIL Don at:
Don Siegelman
# 24775-0001
Satellite Prison Camp
Post Office Box 5010
Oakdale, LA
71463-5019

You can learn more at the web site his supporters put up:

www.donsiegelman.com

Thank you, DU!

:(

Politicians are politicians, that's not news. We can probably agree on that.

But this man was targeted and harvested by Karl Rove. His trial was a travesty and the sitting judge is filthy.

His case is a precise measure of how corrupt our Justice Department is. That is a situation that can not be tolerated.

I have no problem believing certain members of this wretched administration, Rove at the top of the list, are capable of ruthless injustice for personal and political gain. I have no problem believing these people are indeed involved in the Siegelman case now.

I just don't believe their involvement follows the simplistic and formulaic pattern that is being touted by people like Scott Horton of Harper's magazine - a magazine that I, as someone who graduated with a degree in magazine journalism from one of the top J-schools in the country and as believer in the power of independent media, used to respect a great deal. I think very little critical thinking is going into the current feeding frenzy on this story, and even less appreciation for historical context. Obvious questions are being ignored in favor of buying into a juicy bit of scandalous hyperbole peddled by people who don't care about anything but bringing down the Bush administration. A good goal, IMHO, but not one worth rutting around in the mud alongside Rove and others to attain.

Siegelman's personal and political follies date back as far as the mid-90's, years before the Bush adminstration was a reality. The information is out there. Some suggested search terms include "no-bid contracts", "legal fees in tobacco lawsuit", "Goat Hill Construction", "Digital One" and "Alabama Education Foundation".

Disgusting. And the idea that Siegelman's misdeeds can be explained away by the notion of "politicians are politicians" is one that will bite us in the ass later if we endorse it. After all, couldn't Republicans say the same about the worst of their lot? If we accept that kind of excuse for criminal behavior by public servents we lose any and all moral ground to stand on, IMHO.

If nothing else, consider this curious point. Years after Siegelman's campaign to bring a state lottery to Alabama, connections have been discovered between lottery advocates here, the Native American gaming industry in this region, and Republican thugs like Tom DeLay and Jack Abramoff. Siegelman's interests were always tied far more to special interests in this state than to Democratic Party ideals or progressive goals in general. He would have made a fine Republican...but then again so would many of the old guard Democrats in this state.

Hell, Harper's Horton, who has made so much of the recent developments in the Siegelman case and alternately champions and insults Alabamians with little more than academic outrage and almost zero understanding of this state as anything other than a one-dimensional caricature and column fodder, admits that those who helped him put together this scandalous "expose" were not outraged Democrats trying to shed light on injustice, but were actually....diehard Republicans. From Horton's own blog...

"Now in the case of Don Siegelman, we should focus on another thing: the whistle was blown on this farce of a prosecution by a dedicated Republican named Dana Jill Simpson. The people who brought the case to me and gave me the initial leads I used in it were also zealous Alabama Republicans."

Huh? Call me crazy, but I think this bears further consideration. Has anyone considered the possibility that this is all a set up? If you believe Rove is involved, it's not much of a stretch to consider that the point is not to take down an honest and innocent man, but rather to push just enough buttons to entice liberals to rally around the cause of a dishonest and self-serving ex-politico.

No thanks. Siegelman is NOT a political prisoner. Siegelman deserves his sentence. He earned it. Rove and others in this administration are far worse, and our energy ought to be aimed at ousting them. But not by praising and fighting for the Trojan Horse that is Don Siegelman. Think about it.

My two pennies.

He was corrupt and his legal troubles date back many years. Where was all this national support and outrage back then?

He is not a leader I was ever proud of as a native Alabamian. He made disparaging and sexist remarks about his female challenger for the Democratic nomination for governor in the 2006 election. It is telling, btw, that she went on to trounce him in the primaries with 60% of the vote to his 35%. Go figure. He gave sweetheart deals to foreign automakers, waiving millions of dollars of tax revenue badly needed in our state while looking the other way as Alabama's poorest residents are taxed at the highest levels in the country. He took bribes and participated in the same cronyism that has plagued Alabama politics for years, regardless of whether a Democrat or Republican was governor. The "D" beside his name means far less to me than his actual actions.

That said, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if Rove has gotten involved behind the scenes here. This is right up his ally. I just think folks ought to think long and hard before championing Seigelman as some innocent victim. I think that is exactly what Rove would want. I think we ought to ask ourselves why. Sometimes there aren't any good guys in a given situation. Look before we leap. That's all.

I know my views won't be popular and I mean no disrespect in my disagreement. I wouldn't speak up on this if I didn't feel strongly about it. I hope we can agree to disagree agreeably, if nothing else.

Lawyer Links Rove to Ala. Investigation
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/06/AR2007060602293.html


and this, from my bookmarks:

"A Stain on Lady Justice"..Siegelman in jail, Rove writing for Newsweek
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1658


Thanks for the reminder!

:hi:


Glad to bring attention to this case. I can't wait until rove is brought to justice.

are working the primaries right now. Lots to do.