Possible Vindication in Alabama?

Breaking News

A respected Democratic political leader and a former health care business owner who were scalped by the Rove Republican Racket are seeking vindication from the political persecution they suffered during the Rove Bush Cheney years. The Birmingham News reports tonight:

Former Gov. Don Siegelman and former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy asked the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals today to toss out all charges against them, arguing that money Scrushy gave Siegelman's 1999 lottery campaign could not be considered a bribe. The U.S. Supreme Court in June sent the case back to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to review in the wake of a recent order from the high court limiting the use of the "honest services" fraud statute in public corruption cases.
   

The Supreme Court in a case involving disgraced Enron Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Skilling curtailed prosecutors' use of the honest services fraud statute, saying it can be applied only in cases involving bribes or kickbacks. A jury convicted Scrushy and Siegelman on charges that Scrushy bribed Siegelman for a seat on the state Certificate of Need Review Board with $500,000 in contributions to Siegelman's lottery campaign.
   

Lawyers for Siegelman and Scrushy wrote in their court filings that there is a significant difference between giving money to someone personally and giving money to an issue advocacy campaign. "Siegelman was not paid anything. The prototypical bribe involves a pay-off," lawyers for Scrushy wrote. "The Eleventh Circuit should dismiss all charges against Governor Siegelman, based on Skilling. That would be the correct legal outcome, based on the law as the Supreme Court has explained it," Siegelman lawyer Sam Heldman said this evening.

Alabama's New Race War

If there is one thing the Rove Republican Racket  hates worse than prominent Democrats are economically independent African-Americans.

In backwards Alabama, Republican Governor Bob Riley has teamed up with the Republican-packed Alabama Supreme Court, and the U.S. Attorney in Montgomery, a left over from the Bush era, to shut down  and seize electronic bingo machines in Greene County, a heavily black and economically poor area of Alabama in the heart of the Black Belt.

African-Americans have been arrested for voicing opposition to Riley's New Race War.

To date, no dogs or water hoses have been used by Riley and his henchmen.

The Associated Press reports:

Sixteen protesters who refused to leave the Greenetrack casino in west Alabama during a night-long standoff were arrested Thursday as state police entered to seize more than 800 electronic bingo machines. Alabama Public Safety Director Christopher Murphy said the 16 had been blocking the entrance to the casino at Eutaw for 12 hours after the Alabama Supreme Court cleared the way for state troopers to conduct the raid. One of the protesters, Democratic state Sen. Bobby Singleton of Greensboro, told WBRC television they wanted to demonstrate their opposition to Republican Gov. Bob Riley's gambling task force. Protesters contend Riley is wrongly closing a major employer in the poor, rural county.

Alabama Asst. DA Arrested for Extortion

As the Rove Republican Racket slowly falls apart,  followers of the Rove machine in Republican strongholds like Alabama are screwing up.

Last week, Assistant DA Frank Selman Teel of Alabama (pictured) allegedly tried to shake down millions of dollars from a defendant in a civil matter who could have face capital murder charges in a criminal case.

The defendant was involved in a 1995 explosion that killed two men.

A local NBC affiliate from Montgomery reported:

[Alabama] Attorney General Troy King and the Alabama Bureau of Investigation announced Thursday the arrests of an assistant district attorney in Coosa County, Frank Selman Teel, and a Gadsden attorney, Frank Wayne Bailey, for felony charges of extortion, bribery and ethics violations. The two are accused of using the threat of indictment to force the settlement of a civil lawsuit for millions of dollars, and alternatively, offering to try to keep the man from being charged if he did pay the money. Agents of the Attorney General's Office and the ABI arrested the two men late Wednesday night after they accepted a check for $1 million. This morning they were being held in the Etowah County Jail, with bond totaling $10,000 for each defendant.Teel, 59, of Sylacauga, is an assistant district attorney in Coosa County who also practices private law in Rockford.  Teel and Bailey, 58, were handling a civil lawsuit against a man who could face capital murder charges. Warrants were issued detailing charges in Etowah County District Court against the defendants.

 This is the video report from the same NBC TV station.

Million-Dollar Bingo Jackpot

Almost exactly a year ago, with the aftermath of the prosecutorial misconduct case against former U.S. Senator Ted Stevens, we introduced our readers to  Brenda K. Morris (pictured) , a Rove Republican Racket federal prosecutor in the U.S. Department of Justice, who was one of the six prosecutors accused of withholding evidence in the Stevens case.

Our post was about how Morris had to settle another prosecutorial misconduct case for $1.34 million and appeared to have had a pattern of engaging in cases shrouded with controversy or misconduct.

Now Morris has reappeared in another case shadowed with controversy and misconduct. Main Justice reports:

The lead prosecutor in the government’s botched case against former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens has resurfaced in  a controversial federal corruption investigation in the Middle District of Alabama.

Brenda Morris, a veteran trial lawyer in the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section, was among a group of federal law enforcement officials who met with Alabama legislators on April 1 to inform them of the probe, which is related to a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would legalize electronic bingo.

The investigation has inflamed tensions between state Democrats and Republican-appointed U.S. Attorney Leura Canary, who prosecuted former Gov. Don Siegelman (D) and whose husband has close ties to Republican Gov. Bob Riley, who strongly opposes the amendment. Canary’s office and the Public Integrity Section are jointly investigating bingo proponents’ quest for votes in support of the amendment, which the state Senate passed on March 30.

The state House of Representatives has yet to vote. Alabama Democrats sent a letter to Lanny Breuer, the head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, charging that the “unprecedented” disclosure of the investigation was meant to have a “chilling effect” on state legislators who otherwise might have voted for the amendment.

 Who said Democrats weren't still being targeted?

Harpooning the Media Show

The drama and sensational prosecution of a sushi restaurant that served whale in Santa Monica, California has been harpooned.

Obama-appointed U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte, Jr. who sought the national spotlight and boosted his ego on the Sei Whale controversy is now walking on worn out soles and a semi-deflated ego.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

A Santa Monica sushi restaurant facing federal charges for serving endangered whale meat appears set to close its doors Saturday, according to a statement posted to The Hump's website Friday which called the decision a "self-imposed punishment."

"The Hump hopes that by closing its doors, it will help bring awareness to the detrimental effect that illegal whaling has on the preservation of our ocean ecosystems and species," read the statement on the restaurant's longstanding website.

All that is left is a simple press release about what plea bargain and fine is dealt out. The media show is dead, suffering a quick and bloody death.

Rove and the Conspiracy Buffs

In yesterday's Washington Post, we finally obtained some understanding on what Karl Rove feels about the unwarranted dismissals of seven U.S. Attorneys in 2006 and the Rove Republican Racket that has politically prosecuted, incarcerated, and humiliated Democrats of all shapes and sizes from coast to coast.

"In a tone of obvious irritation, [Rove] asserts that he did not have any role in the Justice Department's 2005 decision to prosecute the Democratic former governor of Alabama, Don Siegelman, on bribery and other charges, an accusation Rove fought for years. He also takes on what he calls a "bunch of conspiracy buffs" who accused him of ordering the removal of seven U.S attorneys for their failure to prosecute Democrats. The Justice Department, he says, had grounds for all of the dismissals."

Karl Rove has excused himself from the obvious: the U.S. Department of Justice became a political arm of the Republican Party during the Bush years and wrongly went after political enemies.

Besides Siegelman, there is Paul Minor, there is Pierce O'Donnell, there is Ted Stevens, there is Sue Schmitz, there is Jim Tobin, and there is a list that goes on and on and on.

We are not conspiracy buffs. From the inside of law enforcement to the backrooms of Congress, we are professionals from Washington, D.C. and have blown open the truth about DOJ scoundrels that paid political homage to Karl Rove. We have exposed the political cronyism of Acting U.S. Attorney Timothy M. Morrison, to the wasteful spending habits of former U.S. Attorney Brett Tolman, to the shameful and disgraceful “secret contract” of former U.S. Attorney Jim Greenlee. We have brought about national exposure on prosecutorial misconduct from the Silicon Valley to Western Michigan.

Karl Rove knew he was the "architect" during the Bush-Cheney Adminstration and now he tries to play it down on the eve of his book release.

The reality is political prisoners sit in prison not because of "conspiracy buffs" but because of  the uncontrolled lust for power by Karl Rove and his henchmen in the Rove Republican Racket.

Kentucky Woman

Sue Schmitz, the former Democratic State Representative of Alabama and grandmother, reported to prison on January 28th. She is serving a 30 month prison term at a minimum-security prison camp for women in Lexington, Kentucky.

Her political crime? Being a Democrat during the Rove Bush Cheney era. What was she convicted of? The silliest of non-crimes: doing little or no work for a nice salary. Problem was her salary was funded in part by federal funds. Karl Rove and friends said, "Gotcha!"

Ass of the Year

Time Magazine may have the Person of the Year, but our blog names the Ass of the Year, a loyal member of the Rove Republican Racket.

This year's honor goes to none other than the witch of Alabama, Queen of the Rove Racket, Alice H. Martin (pictured).

Ms. Martin, the former U.S. Attorney in Northern Alabama, targeted and terrified Democrats and engaged in political prosecutions.

From former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman to former State representative Sue Schmitz, Martin ran-over the constitution and applied the dishonest honest services crime against anyone not carrying a Republican registration card.

Martin truly is the Ass of the Year!

A Month More of Freedom in Alabama

Former Democratic Alabama State Representative Sue Schmitz, who was targeted and prosecuted twice by the Queen of the Rove Republican Racket, Alice H. Martin,was given a month more of freedom this week.

Schmitz (pictured) was eventually convicted for a non-crime--being paid to do little or no work.

The Birmingham News reports:

Former State Rep. Sue Schmitz will not have to report to jail Dec. 30 as scheduled after a federal judge extended her reporting date to Jan. 28. Schmitz, 65, was convicted in February on fraud and mail fraud charges involving federal money that paid her salary while she worked in Alabama's two-year college system. She served in the Legislature at the same time. Prosecutors argued that she did little work for her pay.

U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor Monday issued the order to extend her reporting date, following a request by Schmitz's attorneys. Federal prosecutors opposed the request, noting that Schmitz had already obtained two extensions. Schmitz is appealing her conviction and also has a request before the 11th Circuit Court to allow her to remain free on bond during her appeal.

Dawson's Dilemma

Tom Dawson, the embattled former Assistant U.S. Attorney of the Northern District of Mississippi and former protege of Ken Starr, is trying to hide the truth, even on live radio!

He has co-authored a book with right-wing blogger Alan Lange mostly about the prosecution of famed anti-tobacco attorney Dickie Scruggs and his associates who foolishly bribed a state judge.

As Main Justice reports today:

The book has created a stir in Mississippi; Dawson was still working for the government when he agreed to write it. Dawson retired in January and returned to the office on an usual contract basis until June.

Twice now, once on Mississippi public radio last week and previously on the Northern Mississippi Mike Gallo Radio Show, Tom Dawson has stated he left the U.S. Attorney's office in January.

That's a bold-face lie.

Days after retiring in January , Dawson signed a Secret Contract with U.S. Attorney Jim Greenlee that paid him a monthly retainer through June.

Dawson's dilemma is this:

1. Did he sign the Secret Contract so he could research and access files and staff of the U.S. government for his book?
2. Or did he sign a Secret Contract and receive thousands of dollars in fedral funds for little or no work?

The latter sounds like honest services fraud and Dawson should be prosecuted vigorously like Sue Schmitz of Alabama was by the Rove Republican Racket.

We remind readers that Dawson has yet to publicly answer our three questions.

Alabama Slammer

Sue Schmitz, the grandmother and popular former Democratic State Representative from Alabama who was targeted by the Rove Republican Racket, is going to jail, won't pass go, and won't receive $200.

Schmitz was sent to trial twice (she won the first round) for a non-crime: being paid to do little or no-work. What Karl Rove's friends did is drag her through some Alabama mud after the entity that paid her used federal funds to do so. Read more background here.

We hope the Obama Administration pardons or commutes her sentence as a Christmas gift.

FOX Affiliate WBRC writes:

Former State Representative Sue Schmitz begins her prison sentence on December 31st. A judge denied her request to remain free while she appeals her conviction. In February, Schmitz was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for a fraud conviction. She must also pay $171,000 in restitution. Prosecutors say Schmitz was paid for a job with the two-year college system, but did little or no work.

The Endgame in Alabama

From 2001 through 2009, the Rove-Bush-Cheney Administration and left-over members of the Rove Republican Racket have successfully targeted leading political operatives across the country for political crimes against the state.

From Pierce O'Donnell in Los Angeles to Jim Tobin in Maine, politicians have been dragged through a deep puddle of vengence with a strong stench of injustice by U.S. Attorneys.

So what is the endgame? In other words, what pieces are left after all this turmoil?

In Alabama, the question has been answered. From the Associated Press:

The Alabama Republican Party has a new campaign video filled with lots of Democrats — the convicted kind. State Republican Party officials unveiled a video Tuesday that they plan to use in campaign ads and online during the campaign for the 2010 legislative elections as they push for GOP majorities in the House and Senate, which Democrats have controlled for more than a century.

The video includes images of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman; former state Reps. Bryant Melton and Sue Schmitz; former Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford; former Democratic Party chairman Bill Blount; former Democratic Party executive director Al LaPierre; former state two-year-college chancellor Roy Johnson; and former state Sen. E.B. McClain. All are Democrats, and all have been convicted or pleaded guilty to government corruption charges.

The sound of jail doors closing can be heard in the background of the video, which then shows screens with the words “Alabama Democratic Party leaders. Scandal, corruption, crime.”

Going to Jail in Alabama?

Former Democratic State Representative of Alabama Sue Schmitz (pictured) was targeted by the Rove Republican Racket in 2008. In our previous posting about Schmitz, we told you how former U.S. Attorney Alice H. Martin tried her twice for a bogus crime.

Schmitz worked for a not-for-profit and since her position was funded by federal dollars, Martin, the Queen of the Rove Republican Racket, took the opportunity to scrutinize Schmitz's work and throw her behind bars.

Her crime? Not sitting behind a desk, using a computer, or working a full 40 hours a week. Smells like that dishonest "honest services" crime!

No one would really give a damn if Schmitz were non-political and if the position had been funded by private donations.

Last month, a federal judge ordered Schmitz to prison on December 4. She was sentenced to two years in the big house. Now Schmitz is appealing that decision as she also appeals the entire case.

We believe this is one of the worst examples of political persecutions by the Rove-Bush machine and hope she prevails.

Too Many Laws

When the Rove Republican Racket went after political operatives, sometimes they would lose during the first trial with a hung jury. They came back again and again, eventually winning and in some cases losing. Prominent Democrats plead out and went to jail. Others, like Governor Don Siegelman of Alabama, are still appealing.

U.S. Attorneys of the Rove-Bush machine were successful in part because of the enormous number of laws on the books. They can pick and choose what law fits the concocted "crime." (Be sure to see yesterday's post on the Dishonest Honest Services Charges.) In an eye-opening post today, Thomas Lifson of American Thinker writes of a new report:

When there are so many laws that are vague, contradictory, and unfathomable, anyone can become a criminal if the state chooses to prosecute. America is too rapidly approaching this state, as a horrifying report from Brian W. Walsh of the Heritage Foundation in the Washington Times indicates. George Norris, an orchid importer, spent two years in prison for paperwork errors in the course of operating his business of importing and distributing orchids. No illegal substances were involved, and so far as I can see there was no tax evasion going on. It was paperwork.

Two years in prison for paperwork errors!

The plain reality is U.S. Attorneys and their assistants wield too much power with too many laws. And if they subjectively feel you haven't cooperated, they can throw the entire penal code at you.

Rove's Goal: Staying in Power

Wayne Slater, political columnist of the Dallas Morning News, (pictured) writes an interesting analysis of Karl Rove based on the book by Matt Latimer.

Slater writes, "There is a view that Rove's politics were never about advancing conservatism, but staying in power. He was about winning – every dispute, every point, every difference, even if it meant dividing your own team."

With the take-over of the U.S. Department of Justice in 2006, Rove was able to gain political power by using criminal charges to go after political operatives in Alaska, Wisconsin, Alabama, California, Mississippi, Maine, and elsewhere.

Using the DOJ for political purposes was not a conservative position. It was shamefully about staying in power.

Read the entire analysis here.

Explicit, Unequivocal Evidence Against the Rove Racket

The ethical lapses of the Rove's brigade of politically-charged U.S. Attorneys are coming out in the open and providing a black-eye to our system of justice.

We have written about the remnants left over by the Bush Administration, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, and their lack of ethics, temperance, and fairness.

Today, new developments from Alabama highlight these problems.

The Queen of the Rove Republican Racket, former U.S. Attorney Alice H. Martin of the Northern District of Alabama, and her subordinates (Assistant U.S. Attorneys) allegedly "failed to disclose exculpatory information about a government contractor who stood trial in 2007 on arms control charges, defense lawyers said in a court filing last week, citing newly disclosed emails," according to a post today on the Main Justice website.

Main Justice writes:

Lawyers for Alex Latifi wrote...that former U.S. Attorney Alice Martin and two Assistant U.S. Attorneys violated their Brady obligations by withholding information from the defense. Latifi was acquitted in October 2007 of charges that he violated the Arms Export Control Act. Prosecutors alleged that Latifi falsified a report to the Defense Department and sent a drawing of a Black Hawk helicopter part to China. He is CEO of Axion Corp., which manufactured military equipment, including Humvee machine-gun mounts. The defense team ... said they have “explicit, unequivocal evidence” that Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Estes and Angela Debro and Army investigators David Balwinski and Marcus Mills allegedly conspired with trial witness James Oglesby to conceal evidence and defraud the court.“All of these individuals sought to present false evidence to the court with the hope of convicting defendants of a crime they knew defendants had not committed,” the defense filing says.

Now, every case that Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Estes and Angela Debro have been involved with are now suspect. What other evidence in the the past has been concealed? How many times has the court been defrauded?

The Rove-Bush-Cheney legacy is a legal nightmare ready to implode.

Read the full story here.

Justice in Birmingham

Today, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was present for the swearing in of the new U.S. Attorney in Birmingham, Alabama: Joyce Vance (pictured) who takes the reins from Alice Martin, the Rove Republican Racket's dearest political prosecutor of Democrats.

With Vance sworn in, true justice returns to Alabama. As you may recall, Martin was a vicious and extremely partisan prosecutor.

From the Associated Press:

Vance takes over an office that under former U.S. Attorney Alice Martin began an intensive investigation of Alabama's two-year college system. That investigation led to convictions or guilty pleas from three legislators and the former chancellor of the state's two-year-college system.

Some Democratic leaders have said the investigation was partisan and targeted at Democratic office holders. Vance did not mention those cases in her brief remarks, but said her office would dispense justice equally.

Some supporters of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy have pressured Holder to clear the two of their 2006 convictions in a government corruption case.

Siegelman has charged that his prosecution was pushed by the administration of former Republican President George Bush and Bush aide Karl Rove.

There was one reference to the Siegelman case. That came when the master of ceremonies, Birmingham attorney Barry Ragsdale, introduced U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller, the chief judge in the Middle District of Alabama who presided over the trial of Siegelman and Scrushy. "We are pleased that Karl Rove gave you permission to come," Ragsdale joked as he pointed at Fuller.

Read the full article here.

Firing Back at Karl Rove's Lies

The political fallout from Karl Rove's Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal is escalating.

In the piece, the father of the Rove Republican Racket demands an apology from the New York Times, The Washington Post and Congressman John Conyers, and states his role in the 2006 firing of U.S. Attorneys was "minimal."

Now two leading Democrats mentioned in his op-ed are firing back.

From Dana Beyerle of the Gadsen (Alabama) Times:

In a Wall Street Journal opinion piece, Rove put his spin on his testimony saying neither Siegelman nor Rainsville lawyer Jill Simpson, who publicly stated allegations about Rove's alleged involvement in events surrounding Siegelman's challenge to Gov. Bob Riley's 2006 re-election. Rove said Siegelman and Simpson "refused to cooperate with the Justice Department's review" while (Rove) willingly testified. Simpson said that's a lie. She gave sworn testimony to committee staffers on Sept. 14, 2007. And Siegelman was never called to testify, although he said he would have. "In fact, there's no indication that the Justice Department has considered the prima facie evidence of lying, concealment of evidence and witness intimidation by federal prosecutors," the Huffington Post reported. Siegelman's attorney, Vince Kilborn, in the Birmingham News, said he doesn't believe Rove's denial.

Rove Denies Siegelman Role

Breaking News from The Birmingham News...

Karl Rove denies having a role in the political prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman. Rove arrogantly told congressional investigators that he had "more pressing" matters to attend to.

Here is today's breaking news story:

WASHINGTON -- In an interview with congressional investigators last month, former White House adviser Karl Rove again denied pressing the federal prosecution of former Democratic Gov. Don Siegelman as a way of helping to elect current Republican Gov. Bob Riley, according to a transcript released today by the House
Judiciary Committee.

"I had a lot more pressing things on my platter than the Alabama governor's race, and, as a result, a lot more significant things to worry about than the Don Siegelman case," Rove said under questioning by a committee attorney. Although Rove did not testify under oath, it is a crime to lie to Congress.

The deposition took place July 30 as part of the committee's probe into whether that top members of the Bush administration improperly sought to politicize the Justice Department. Siegelman, who served as governor from 1999 to 2003, is free on bond as he battles to overturn his 2006 conviction on federal corruption charges. While no conclusive evidence has so far emerged to support Siegelman's charge that he was the victim of political prosecution, a bi-partisan group of 75 former state attorneys general asked the Justice Department in April to look into the matter. Siegelman defense attorney Vince Kilborn of Mobile could not immediately reached for comment this afternoon on Rove's testimony.

Sex, Drugs, and the Rove Racket

When the Rove Republican Racket targeted former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, they went the extra distance.

Now comes explosive testimony accusing Rove's henchmen of intimidating and possibly blackmailing a witness with an alleged sex and drug scandal.

From the Huffington Post:

The top government witness [Nick Bailey] in the 2006 federal conviction of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman on corruption charges is providing new evidence that prosecutors failed to fulfill their legal obligation to provide the defense with all records documenting witness-coaching....Even more explosive than an alleged failure by prosecutors to comply with federal trial procedures is a sworn statement by Bailey's current employer Luther "Stan" Pate, another Alabama businessman. "Nick was told that the government was working to prevent the publicizing of an alleged sexual relationship between Nick and Don Siegelman," Pate wrote. "Nick also told me that one of the agents working the Siegelman/Scrushy prosecution asked him whether he had ever taken illegal drugs with Governor Siegelman or had a sexual relationship with him. These comments had a dramatic effect on Nick, and, in my observation, added significantly to the pressure he felt to go along with whatever the prosecutors wanted him to say."

Read the entire story here and the sworn statement here.