Justice Department: Weapon against Political Enemies?

Posted by D. Cupples |  Imagine having an enemy who's well-enough connected that he could chat with local prosecutors about targeting you. Imagine that the prosecutor's office is politicized enough that a prosecutor (or two) might actually grant your enemy's wish. It's the stuff of fiction, right?  Maybe not.

Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee released the 174-page transcript of Jill Simpson's testimony, which suggests that former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman was prosecuted (twice) by the U.S. Justice Department to promote the political agendas of current Alabama Governor Bob Riley -- at the urging of former presidential adviser Karl Rove.   

As I considered this possibility, my bones' temperature dropped 15 degrees.  Below is some back story....

In 2002, Democrat Don Siegelman ran for governor in Alabama and demanded a recount when Republican opponent Rob Riley unofficially won by 3,195 of 1.3 million votes (AP/Fox).  Riley opposed the recount and ultimately won.

In May 2007, Attorney Dana Jill Simpson -- a life-long republican who had worked for Riley --  described a conference call with Riley's advisers, who had wanted to get Siegelman to withdraw the election challenge. How? Apparently by getting Karl Rove to urge the Justice Department to prosecute Siegelman for corruption, according to Simpson.

The first case against Siegelman was dismissed in 2004. According to Simpson, Riley told her that Rove had urged the Justice Department to open another case and that the case would go to a different federal judge, with a personal ax to grind against Siegelman (transcript, pp. 50-57).... 

Justice prosecuted Seigelman again and the case went before the reportedly ax-grinding judge, according to a House Judiciary Committee email update. Though Seigelman took no money for himself, he was convicted in 2006 on 7 counts, acquitted on 25, and sentenced to 88 months in prison.

Last week, Time Magazine ran an exposé suggesting that the prosecution of Siegelman was selective.  The article states:

"Forty-four former state attorneys general — Republicans and Democrats — have cited 'irregularities' in the investigation and prosecution" [against Siegelman].

The Time article begins with this interesting tidbit:

"On May 8, 2002, Clayton Lamar (Lanny) Young Jr., a lobbyist and landfill developer... settled into his chair, personal lawyer at his side, and proceeded to tell a group of seasoned prosecutors and investigators that he had paid tens of thousands of dollars in apparently illegal campaign contributions to some of the biggest names in Alabama Republican politics....

"Young, whose detailed statements are described in documents obtained by TIME, became a key witness in a major case in Alabama that brought down a high-profile politician and landed him in federal prison with an 88-month sentence. As it happened, however, that official was the top Democrat named by Young in a series of interviews, and none of the Republicans whose campaigns he fingered were investigated in the case, let alone prosecuted...."

Prosecutors wield the enormous power of deciding whether or not to even pursue cases; for obvious reasons, cases are supposed to be based on evidence -- not political agendas. 

This is not the first time the Justice Department has been accused of blending politics with prosecution. In June 2007, for example, former U.S. Attorney John McKay (a republican) said that he felt pressured by Justice officials to pursue bogus voter fraud cases after a Democrat won Washington's 2004 gubernatorial election (BN-Politics-1).

Also in June, the Senate Judiciary Committee pointed out that former interim-US-Attorney Bradley Schlozman had pursued questionable voter fraud cases that harmed Missouri Democrats in violation of written Justice Department policy. (BN-Politics-2)  Schlozman came up with justification for his actions (i.e., that other Justice officials had approved it); later, Schlozman edited his testimony in such a way that he essentially negated those officials' purported approval. (BN-Politics-3)

By this point, I hope your bones' temperature has dropped, too.

Comments

[The Crazy King of Clowns]

Hi! You've been linked!

Please link back, and thanks for the exchange!

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[Bill]

This story is fascinating. I read about Simpson's testimony and wonder whether there'll be any more witnesses to back it up. Her allegations are pretty incendiary, going all the way up to Rove.

With the further angle you describe here, if there's evidence to show a link, you would see the tie back from Rove to the Justice Department and the US Attorneys. Kind of a perfect (or perfectly corrupt) political storm keeping the prosecutions in line with electioneering. Puts the firing of US Attorneys who wouldn't go along last year into a stark relief, no?

[helenhunter]

Why doesn't the Alabama media cover thiw here locally?

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