Closing the Book in Northern Mississippi

With the headline, "Scruggs Investigation Over," and sub-headline, "Closing Book in Bribe Scandal," the Jackson, Mississippi Clarion Ledger declared the Rove Republican Racket's largest and most famous  investigation and prosecution of some of the wealthiest Democratic boosters ever is finally over. 

Dickie Scruggs, the once famous and one of the wealthiest trial attorneys in Mississippi, and his Democratic friends were cleverly set up and stupidly ate the bribery bait of a questionable state judge, who happens to be a Republican. Scruggs and friends were prosecuted and all of them went to jail.

Jim Greenlee, the former Bush-Rove appointed U.S. Attorney of the Northern District of Mississippi, prosecuted Scruggs and friends. Greenlee, who left in disgrace and scandal last January after being involved in a racial profiling case, used the power of his office to investigate, intimidate, retaliate against, and scare other prominent Democrats, even some innocent folks associated with Scruggs.

But Greenlee is gone. Gone with the winds of change.

So, finally yesterday, those left behind in Oxford saw the light: no evidence and no political support. Thus, with newly discovered courage, they closed the politically-charged investigation.

The Ledger writes:

Federal prosecutors have ended their criminal  investigation into political operative P.L. Blake in the judicial bribery scandal that imprisoned former trial lawyer Dickie Scruggs, according to those close to the probe. The decision to drop the case involving Blake means  the federal investigation into Scruggs and others officially has ended. Contacted about the decision, Blake's attorney, Doug Jones of Birmingham, confirmed the matter involving his client had been closed, saying prosecutors declined to prosecute.  "We obviously are very pleased," he said, adding that he felt with a fair review of the evidence that  prosecutors would make the right decision.

Rove Racket Victim Sues Ex-U.S. Attorney in Mississippi

Former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz, Jr. and his wife are suing former U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton of the Southern District of Mississippi for invasion of privacy and last month they won a major decision in the case.

Lampton became a high priest in the Rove Republican Racket after he had targeted and prosecuted Diaz not once but twice, and lost both times. Diaz, a prominent Democrat, has since sought justice against Lampton personal vendetta against him.

Coincidentally, Lampton was going to be fired by the Bush administration in 2005 but saved his scalp when he started targeting and prosecuting Democrats.

In this case, after losing both trials, Lampton foolishly handed over Diaz's confidential and personal income taxes to a state commission, where Lampton's cousin worked.

The Sun Herald reports:

Dunn Lampton’s former position as a U.S. attorney does not give him immunity from a lawsuit in which former state Supreme Court Judge Oliver Diaz Jr. and his wife, Jennifer, accuse Lampton of invading their privacy and disclosing confidential information, a federal judge has ruled. “The times that someone has been allowed to sue a U.S. attorney in the history of the United States are extremely rare, and this is one of them,” Diaz said Thursday. Dunn Lampton had asked that the lawsuit against him be thrown out because federal prosecutors have immunity from prosecution. U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan denied his request. Jordan found a criminal investigation of Diaz had ended, and Lampton was acting outside the scope of his prosecutor’s job, when the alleged misdeeds occurred.

[After losing his criminal case against Diaz,] Lampton then filed a complaint against Diaz with the state’s Judicial Performance Commission. The Diazes allege he gave the commission confidential tax records the U.S. Attorney’s Office had secured during the criminal investigation. Leslie Lampton, Dunn Lampton’s cousin, served on the commission and was involved in the investigation. When the Diazes learned the commission had their tax records, they requested the documents be returned. Commission attorney Darlene Ballard instead sent the records back to Lampton. The commission complaint against the Diazes was dismissed in December 2008.

“In the present case, (Dunn) Lampton provided the tax records to the commission after Diaz was acquitted,” Jordan wrote in his order. “The prosecution was over; the conduct was neither part of his prosecutorial function nor part of his role as an advocate.”

Mississippi Judge Gives Rove Racket the Finger

The Rove Republican Racket is stronger than ever in Mississippi. And they are embittered as ever.

Last week, Judge Larry Buffington, a Democrat aligned with former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz, Jr., bluntly told the Racket and its goons to "move on," politely giving them the finger.

Readers may recall that former Justice Oliver Diaz, Jr. was a siting judge who was dragged through the Mississippi mud and brought to trial twice by the Rove Republican Racket. Diaz was acquitted twice. Sadly, he lost re-election after the Racket smeared his good name.

Last year, Buffington helped Diaz get a low-paying job that will help Diaz qualify for a state pension. He was a year short of qualifying.

The Racket went after Buffington, leaking the appointment. Buffington tried to find out who leaked the information, issuing subpoenas, and a Republican stooge filed a complaint since it was beyond Buffington's authority to do so.

At the end, Buffington was slapped on the hand and will probably be fined $100. The Jackson Clarion Ledger reports:

The Commission on Judicial Performance said Thursday it found Buffington lacked authority to command Supervisors Pete Lowery and Randy Moore to appear before him to answer questions about who leaked to the media his appointment of a former state justice as a Simpson County Youth Court public defender. "Judge Buffington admitted that he had failed to comply with the law when issuing the subpoenas, but did not care," the commission report said. The commission is recommending to the state Supreme Court that Buffington be assessed $100 court cost with the reprimand.The state's highest court has ultimate say on punishment for judges. Reached Thursday evening via phone, Buffington said of the commission's recommendation: "It's fair. It's time to conclude this and move on." In January 2009, Buffington ordered the Simpson County Board of Supervisors to hire Oliver Diaz Jr. as a Youth Court public defender at $400 a month, plus state retirement.

Tea Party Dawson

Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Dawson, the dishonest former federal prosecutor from Mississippi who obtained a secret six-month (book writing?) contract from his former boss days after retiring in January of 2009, has gone stupid.

From prosecuting prominent Democrats, to having book writing discussions with a right-wing blogger while STILL SERVING as a federal prosecutor, to hiding his secret contract during live on-the-air radio interviews, Dawson is not the brightest fellow.

But now he's a founding member of the Oxford, Mississippi chapter of the Tea Party, according to a detailed posting on the blog North Mississippi Commentor. Even the Main Justice blog picked up the story.

We always knew that Dawson was a member of the Rove Republican Racket and that innocent Democrats were targeted, prosecuted and tossed in jail. But now Dawson has exhibited his true political underwear: he's a right-wing kook.

With a pile of boxes of unsold books in storage, Dawson's book about the prosecution of two Democrats, which we call "Flop of Tort," has sold miserably.

Maybe Dawson can sell them at bargain prices to his fellow right-wingers of the Tea Party brigades or better yet, dump them in the harbor like tea from the East Indies.

Transparent Flops

As we wrote earlier this year, right-wing blogger Alan Lange and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Dawson of Mississippi (pictured) have written a flop of  a book called "Kings of Tort."

The book is a collection of "inside" knowledge about the political prosecution of a Democratic fundraiser, Paul Minor, and the set-up and prosecution of a Democratic booster and famed-trial lawyer,  Dickie Scruggs, by agents of the Rove Republican Racket.

Last week, supposedly these "co-authors" had a book signing in Jackson, Mississippi with yet another dismal showing.

With boxes and boxes of books still to be sold, we won't be surprised if you'll  find copies selling for $2.99 in a year or so.

On the eve of their book signing fiasco, Lange boasted on his right-wing blog about winning a court ruling in Mississippi that opens sealed documents in a court case involving the embattled State Attorney General of Mississippi and State Farm Insurance. Lange relishes about how the media won and there would be more government transparency.

Maybe Lange can get his co-author to demonstrate some transparency about his secret government (book writing?) contract and the use of federal employees to research the book. Maybe Lange and Dawson can be more transparent about when they actually met, planned, outlined, and started writing their flop of a book.

Our strong guess is they won't and Dawson, like his "Flop of Tort," will become more irrelevant as the days go by.

Flop of Tort

Right-wing Mississippi blogger Alan Lange and his lying co-author, former Assistant U.S. Attorney of the Northern District of Mississippi Tom Dawson, self-published a 288-page book that has flopped titled, Kings of Tort.

Sources tell us sales were so awful that each author has lost a huge chunk of change and the only ones to make money on the deal were the owners of Pediment Publishing.

The co-authors, members of the Rove Republican Racket, relied on inside knowledge and set up the idea of writing the book while Dawson was still serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the fall of 2008. Days after retiring in January of 2009, Dawson obtained a secret six-month (book writing?) contract from then-U.S. Attorney Jim H. Greenlee.

Dawson, a former protege of Ken Starr, tells media that he only worked two-days a week on contract and was serving in a "consiglieri" position like in the movie The Godfather.

As they would say in Italy, bugiardo!

Dawson was intricately and centrally involved in plea deals involving a corrupt lawyer and state judge while serving supposedly as a "consiglieri" for the Rove Republican Mafia.

As one reader put it, "Dawson acts like he was the grandfatherly advisor two days a week in Oxford [Mississippi]. He should add a rocking chair and pipe to his bullshit story."

The only thing the Flop of Tort has produced is questions, lots of questions, including the suspicion that a federal employee on the clock was used to help write the book.  The book is about the prosecution of two well-known Democrats: trial lawyer Dickie Scruggs and fundraiser Paul Minor.

Besides being a flop, the book has had disastrous implications about the professional ethics of Dawson and his supervisors in the U.S. Department of Justice.

With a hefty debt and hundreds of copies in storage, sometimes Lange and Dawson may feel they are waking up with a bloody horse's head in their bed, only to realize the nightmare was caused by their own, self-aggrandizing egos.

Who is this Contractor?

The Neilson saga of Northern Mississippi is possibly creating an even larger web of lies. 

The public relations war between disgraced former U.S. Attorney Jim H. Greenlee (pictured) and indicted FBI Agent Hal "The Canary" Neilson has escalated.  Last week, when discussing the secret property partnership Neilson allegedly had in a building and for which he was indicted, we pointedly asked:

How did Greenlee's office learn of Neilson's financial interest in the building?

Now an answer has been given in an article in The Oxford Enterprise:

Sources also say that Neilson’s part ownership of the FBI building was discovered after a local contractor tipped off the U.S. Attorney’s office.

So now we ask: Who is this local contractor? What is his relationship with Greenlee's staff? Does he have some connection to the other three partners of the property deal?

Greenlee looks like he set Neilson up, recused himself, and then kicked the ball over to Louisiana (which eventually indictedNeilson).

And now, are we to believe the U.S. Department of Justice's entire investigation is based on the allegation of a single building contractor?  How did he know? 

This smells dirty. Real dirty. Mississippi dirty.

Neilson Sings like a Canary

The Mississippi Canary has begun to sing.

Let the hemorrhaging begin! Greenlee and his racist, corrupt, unconscionable, and unethical stooges deserve to be publicly humiliated.

As details emerge, it looks more and more like FBI Whistleblower Hal Neilson was set up and retaliated against by Rove Racket Republican and former U.S. Attorney Jim H. Greenlee of the Northern District of Mississippi.

With the headline "Greenlee was out to get me," the Daily Journal reports:

FBI agent Hal Neilson’s professional troubles apparently began some five years ago, when he says he discovered a U.S. attorney’s office investigation for “no reason” into nearly 150 north Mississippi residents of Middle Eastern origins and then later questioned the handling of the Mississippi Beef Plant investigation. When Neilson reported his concerns, he asked his employer for protection against retaliation. At that time, he was the FBI’s resident agent in Oxford. As of today, he reportedly has never heard a response.

Neilson’s accusations come from his own e-mail to Mississippi’s congressional delegation months ago and other documents supplied to the Daily Journal, though not by him. In the messages, he voices his concern about his job and why he believes his relationship with Greenlee fell apart starting about 2004. Chiefly, Neilson points to his opposition to the so-called Convenience Store Initiative, which involved the Middle Easterners, and internal pressure about the beef plant case.

After leading the [Beef Plant] effort for about a year, [Neilson] was removed from the investigation and told by his supervisor that Greenlee complained the case was at a standstill. Neilson apparently told his supervisor that any holdups were due to attempts by the U.S. attorney’s office to steer the investigation.

Neilson, who was indicted last month on a property scheme, states in documents obtained by the Daily Journal:

“A subsequent FBI Inspection investigation followed and found absolutely no wrongdoing on my part,” Neilson’s e-mail said. A few months later, Neilson wrote, he learned he was under investigation about a 2005 investment and its financial disclosure – which bypassed the FBI to the Department of Justice’s inspector general and the Baton Rouge, La., U.S. attorney. Neilson told the congressional delegation he received an “oral” OK from the FBI to make the investment, and offered to take a polygraph and leave the area to get away from the situation.“It has cost me my lifetime savings for my four children’s college education and more,” he noted. “I have just one year left to retire and am concerned if I will even make it.”

We alluded to this scheme last week as Greenlee and friends attempted damage control.  Now the mainstream media has confirmed it.

Sing. Sing a song. Sing out loud. Sing out strong!

h/t NorthMissCommentor

Goodbye Jim!

Embattled and disgraced U.S. Attorney of the Northern District of Mississippi Jim Greenlee served his last day in office yesterday.  But it ain't over, yet!

Greenlee, one of the Rove Republican Racket's most loyal members racially targeted innocent convenience store owners for having Islamic-sounding names, offered a "sweet deal" of immunity to a corrupt DA named Ed "Pied Piper" Peters, handed out a secret six month (book-writing?) contract to his lying and "retired" Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Dawson, and finally, retaliated against FBI whistleblower Hal Neilson for betraying his loyalty to Greenlee.

Now that he is a private citizen, Greenlee will most likely be deposed over his immunity deal to the Pied Piper Peters that let Peters keep $425,000 of a $1 million bribery pay-off. Peters claimed he had losses.

Patsy R. Brumfield, a Mississippi journalist, reported last week:

Attorneys for attorney Roberts Wilson of Oxford will ask former State Auditor Steven Patterson under oath questions in their quest to get the federal court to turn over $425,000 to Wilson in the aftermath of the Scruggs et al prosecutions. Wilson claims he is owed the money, which allegedly is what’s left of former D.A. Ed Peters’ fees related to his help against Wilson’s lawsuit v. Scruggs, presided over by then-Judge Bobby DeLaughter in Hinds County.

The questioning, called a deposition, is set for Feb. 24-25 at the Federal Prison Camp at Montgomery, Ala., where Patterson is serving his sentence for his guilty plea in the case in which he and others were accused of attempting to bribe Circuit Judge Henry Lackey of Calhoun City. Wilson also has asked to do the same with others accused of knowledge about these cases.

Justice, even in backwards Mississippi, shall prevail.

Greenlee's Oral Flatulence

Last week, we reported how retiring and disgraced U.S. Attorney of the Northern District of Mississippi Jim H. Greenlee retaliated against whistleblower FBI Agent Hal Neilson who was recently indicted for not disclosing a property partnership in which he was a principal.

We raised serious questions including the fact that Greenlee, member of the Rove Republican Racket, was indirectly involved and probably "set the b**ch up."

Following our post, Greenlee and friends began damage control. The Oxford Enterprise reported last Sunday:

Greenlee’s office was never directly involved with the investigation. According to two well-placed sources, Grenelee’s office learned of Neilson’s financial interest in the building and first thought of it as an ethical violation. They referred the case to the Department of Justice’s Inspector General’s office, which reviewed the case, decided it was a criminal matter and immediately assigned it to the Baton Rouge office.

This only leads to further questions.   

1. How did Greenlee's office learn of Neilson's financial interest in the building?
2. How did Neilson become a secret partner?
3. Did Greenlee and friends set Neilson up?
4. Speaking of ethical violations, why didn't  Greenlee's office submit a review of Tom Dawson's book writing deal to the IG's office?

We suspect they had something on one of the other partners involved in the property deal and struck a tit-for-tat deal.

Time that someone write to the IG's office about Dawson, Greenlee, and the secret six-month (book writing?) contract.

Sacrificing for Dawson

Former Assistant U.S. Attorney of the Northern District of Mississippi Tom Dawson has done himself in.  The controversial  former prosecutor, who received a secret six-month contract from disgraced U.S. Attorney Jim H. Greenlee a few days after "retiring" last January, co-authored Kings of Tort with right-wing blogger Alan Lange (see post below). Dawson allegedly planned, outlined, and discussed the writing of this book while still serving as a federal prosecutor.

In the Acknowledgements section of the book, Dawson thanks Karen Rushing, his "former legal assistant who not only lived this saga with the rest of us, but endured many sacrifices in helping this technologically challenged co-author get his contributions in on time."

So was Ms. Rushing working on the federal clock? Did she use federal equipment, email servers, fax machines, telephones to help Mr. Dawson? Did Ms. Rushing pull, summarize, or photocopy any files for Mr. Dawson? What "sacrifices" did Ms. Rushing perform on-duty and as a paid employee of the federal government for Mr. Dawson?

Now, come on Tommy. You are not going to tell us Ms. Rushing did all her sacrifices off-hours, on her cell phone, on her own personal computer and gmail account during the evening re-runs of Desperate Housewives, are you?

Alan Lange's Fall

Alan Lange, the right-wing blogger and Kings of Tort author from Mississippi who foolishly wrote to this blog last year when news reports came out that his co-author, the illustrious Tom Dawson, was planning, outlining and preparing to write the book about active cases while still serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney of the Northern District of Mississippi, is a hypocrite.

Over the past weekend, the explosive indictment of FBI Agent Hal Neilson in Oxford, Mississippi revealed that internal questions of ethics against Dawson rose up long before their book was published.

Interestingly, in a recent post, Lange berates Charles Evers, brother of assassinated Mississippi civil-rights worker Medgar Evers, for even suggesting that a former local judge be given a full-pardon for lying.

The former judge, Bobby DeLaughter, was recently tossed in jail by the Rove Republican Racket for lying to the FBI but is considered a hero among civil-rights advocates. As a local prosecutor, Delaughter re-opened the civil rights-era case 30 years after the fact and prosecuted the Klansmen that murdered Medgar Evers.

Lange writes:

Evers was quoted as saying, “All he (DeLaughter) did was lie . . . What man can tell me he hasn't lied? You're telling me he should spend 18 months in prison for that?" In fact, Mr. DeLaughter lied about his own involvement in a scheme to improperly influence a proceeding over which he presided. And yes, Mr. Evers, I am telling you that he should spend 18 months in prison for that. As a judge, as a lawyer, and as a smart person, he knew better, which is precisely why he pleaded guilty to the crime.

Lange is a hypocrite.

Lange and Dawson have lied repeatedly about their involvement in a scheme to improperly write, outline, and plan a book while Assistant U.S Attorney Tom Dawson had influence over proceedings he was investigating and eventually wrote about.

The three questions remain unanswered.

Hope for Paul Minor

Paul Minor, the prominent Democratic fundraiser from Mississippi, targeted by the Rove Repubican Racket in part with the "dishonest" honest-services crime, now sees hope and possible liberation from federal prison. Earlier this month, several criminal charges against Minor were tossed out.

The Associated Press writes:

JACKSON (AP) — Disbarred lawyer Paul Minor and two judges he’s accused of bribing hope an unrelated case before the U.S. Supreme Court will get them out of prison. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has said the federal statute for honest-services fraud is too broad, joking it could make a crime of a worker calling in sick so he could go to a ball game.

A recent hearing before the Supreme Court has many legal experts believing the high court is poised to strike down the statute, which makes it illegal for public officials to fraudulently deprive constituents of honest services. Some observers say such a move would help Minor and former Coast judges Wes Teel and John Whitfield.

In March 2007 a federal jury convicted the three on corruption charges because Minor had helped to guarantee or pay off loans of the judges, who heard some of his cases. It was a scheme, prosecutors said, to influence the judges’ decisions and deprive the state of their honest service. They were convicted of bribery, conspiracy and fraud, and Minor also was found guilty of racketeering.

If justices throw out the statute, it would be the second victory for the three, which saw a panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently toss out all their bribery convictions after finding a lack of federal jurisdiction. Matt Steffey, professor at the Mississippi College School of Law, said the application of the federal bribery statute to a state court judge whose salary and office receives no federal funds is “shaky at best.” He said he believes they would go free if the high court finds the honest-services statute unconstitutional.

“There is some possibility that prosecutors will say the claim is procedurally barred,” he said. The 5th Circuit ruling on the bribery charges means they could be resentenced on the remaining charges. It’s not clear how much the reversal will reduce Minor’s sentence; he got the most time for a racketeering conviction, which was upheld.

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.

Media Leaks Lead to Stunning Dismissal

The U.S. Government suffered a "stunning" dismissal of a guilty plea last week of Henry Samueli (pictured), owner of the Anaheim Ducks hockey team, after Assistant U.S. Attorneys were accused of engaging in prosecutorial misconduct: intimidating defendants and leaking information to the media.

All of this happened in the heart of the Rove-Bush-Cheney Republican world: Orange County, California.

According to the Orange County Register:

A federal judge's decision to toss the guilty plea of Broadcom Corp. co-founder Henry Samueli – in the middle of the trial of another defendant – was highly unusual and has implications for related cases, lawyers unconnected to the case said today. "I have never, ever heard of this from any judge anywhere in the country," said Lawrence Rosenthal, a former federal prosecutor who is a professor at Chapman University School of Law in Orange. "It is stunning." After hearing Samueli's testimony, and without giving prosecutors a chance to argue, Carney told Samueli on Wednesday that he was setting aside his guilty plea and throwing out the criminal charge against him of lying to the Securities and Exchange Commission. John Hueston, a former top federal prosecutor in Orange County who now does white-collar defense work, said Carney's ruling was "virtually unprecedented and extraordinary." "Here, the defense effectively put the government on trial but was aided by some real-time misconduct by the government during the trial itself," Hueston said.

Bloomberg news wire gives more details and insight:

“I’ve looked at the plea agreement, I’ve listened to your testimony, and you didn’t make a false material statement,” Carney told Samueli, according to a transcript of the proceeding. Carney said that answers Samueli provided to the SEC may have appeared evasive and non-responsive. Based on Samueli’s testimony in court, those answers were truthful, the judge said. Samueli could have faced five years in prison for making a material false statement which his response to the SEC’s questions didn’t justify, Carney said.

“The fact that you truly understood what happened here means a lot to me,” Samueli said to the judge according to the transcript. “You have restored my faith in the criminal justice system, and I must be honest, that faith was shaken in the early days of this whole process.” Carney said he was “a little bit disturbed” by the way the government had treated Samueli and that he would take appropriate action at the appropriate time. The judge earlier agreed to Samueli’s request to bar one prosecutor from cross- examining him because he allegedly leaked information about Samueli’s grand jury testimony to reporters.

Media leaks to traditional reporters and bloggers appears to be standard operating procedure for many corrupt Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the Rove Republican Racket.who wish to influence the jury pool.

Readers may recall that big-mouth New Jersey U.S. Attorney or that leaky U.S. Attorney's office in Mississippi.

Paul Minor Conviction Tossed Out

Breaking News: The government's case against Mississippi Democratic fundraiser Paul Minor was dealt a huge blow today by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Jackson Clarion Ledger reports:

A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has tossed out a bribery conviction in the public corruption case against former lawyer Paul Minor, but the remainder of his convictions remain intact.  It will be up to U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate to decide what reduction, if any, he will give Minor in his 11-year sentence as well as $3 million in fines and restitution.

In 2007, a federal jury in Mississippi convicted Minor and two former Mississippi Gulf Coast judges — Wes Teel and John Whitfield — of corruption because Minor had helped guarantee or pay off loans of judges who heard some of his cases. The three-judge panel had previously raised questions about federal jurisdiction, asking prosecutors how a bribery charge could constitute a federal crime if it didn’t involve "any business, transaction, or series of transactions of such organization, government or agency involving any thing of value of $5,000 or more" as required by statute.

Readers may recall that the Rove Republican Racket went after Minor because of his Democratic political connections in Mississippi.

Mississippi Liar

Former Assistant U.S. Attorney from Mississppi Tom Dawson,who appeared to be planning, outlining, and preparing to write a book while still serving as a federal prosecutor and consultant to the local U.S. Attorney, appears to have shown the world he is a liar.

Dawson co-authored a book with right-wing blogger Alan Lange about the Scruggs judicial bribery cases and the political prosecution of Paul Minor, a Democratic fundraiser from Mississippi.

Dawson has repeatedly said his motives in writing the book are for the public good not greed. As Steve Seale commented on the Magnolia Marketplace blog:

I do have concerns about Mr. Dawson’s role and said so. To amplify, I don’t believe a prosecutor (particularly one with the major role Mr. Dawson had in this case) should profit in any way from the sale of a book or otherwise about the investigation or the prosecution of the parties concerned. While I don’t question the fact that he followed whatever rules are established in this regard, Mr. Dawson himself spent several paragraphs at the beginning of the book explaining how he followed such rules and why he felt it was his duty to the public to participate. One question: absent participation in any profits/pay for being an author, why didn’t Mr. Dawson just make himself available to Mr. Lange as a source for the information in the book?

What we find ineresting is Dawson is now attempting damage control by having handlers boast about an award he recently received from fellow members of the U.S. Department of Justice or shall we more accurately say, fellow members of the Rove Republican Racket.   As we all recall, Dawson has failed to answer three simple questions about when he started to plan to write this book. Why? The writing could be a breach of ethics and involve prosecutorial misconduct.

An Important Question from Mississippi

On Sunday night, the Greenwood (Mississippi) Commonwealth newspaper's editorial asked, "Why isn't Peters facing prison, too?"

Ed Peters is the corrupt DA from Mississippi who we affectionately call the "Pied Piper." Pied Piper Peters plays a tune so wonderfully that he worked out a sweet immunity deal with disgraced and embattled U.S. Attorney Jim Greenlee of the Northern District of Mississippi. The immunity deal has been sealed tight and the U.S. Department of Justice won't provide details.

The Commonwealth correctly opines:

Why has Ed Peters, who was hired by [Richard] Scruggs and his friends to try to bribe [Judge Bobby] DeLaughter, gotten off so lightly? It was Peters who federal prosecutors say dangled the poisoned fruit -- a lifetime judicial appointment in exchange for a favorable ruling in a multimillion-dollar dispute over legal fees -- in front of DeLaughter. It was Peters who was the go-between, ferrying messages and documents between the judge and the Scruggs team. Yet, the former Hinds County district attorney has been able to skirt prosecution by turning on his onetime protegé. Peters’ only penalty, other than losing his law license, was giving back what was left of the $1 million the Scruggs team had paid him.

“I find it rather odd that the man who got $1 million is out fishing, and Bobby DeLaughter is going to prison,” [DeLaughter's lawyer] said. “At least in Chicago we chase the money.”

So have federal prosecutors in Mississippi, except when it comes to Peters. So far, six plaintiffs’ attorneys, three state judges and a former state auditor have drawn prison time in three judicial bribery cases -- some of them for misdeeds that were a lot less culpable than Peters’.

Why did he get such a sweet deal? That’s a question the feds have yet to answer.

Three Questions for Tom Dawson

Members of the Rove Republican Racket have screwed up in possibly one of the worst cases of prosecutorial misconduct. And now they don't know what to do as the hole gets bigger and bigger.

Two weeks ago, we wrote about two individuals in Mississippi who had written a book and were seeing green.

One of them is former Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Dawson who, according to the Main Justice website, was discussing writing the book in the summer of 2008 when he was still a federal prosecutor with the other co-author, a right-wing Republican blogger, Alan Lange.

The political irony is that the book is about prominent Democrats and trial lawyers who were prosecuted by Dawson.

Many believe this was a serious breach of ethics and blatant prosecutorial misconduct especially since Dawson was actively involved in pending investigations related to the original cases and appeared to have a bias in favor of Republicans.

Last week, we posted two posts. One was about Dawson's two contracts: the book contract and a secret employment contract Dawson obtained from the U.S. Attorney just days after he had retired. The other was an expose about how Dawson had been a protege of Kenneth Starr during the Whitewater Investigation of President Bill Clinton.

Then, to our surprise, Alan Lange, the Republican right-wing blogger who has written the book with  Dawson, contacted us by email. 

Lange wrote:

 "I'd like to visit with you about your latest post. You have some completely erroneous information on your post that I'd like to help you clean up."

What a generous blogger!

When we asked, what was exactly erroneous with our two posts, Lange replied:

You stated in your posts that Tom (a) had a contract to work on a book while still a DOJ employee and (b) actually did do work on the book while still a DOJ employee. Both are absolutely false. I'd ask that you to correct that immediately in all posts on your site and cease printing maliciously inaccurate information.

Lange went on to quote three different parts of our posts and claimed our allegations were untrue or our time frame was way off. The three quotes were interestingly all about Tom Dawson.

We replied with three follow-up questions:

Our intent is never to maliciously or intentionally post information that is wrong. To make sure we are understanding one another before we make any editorial changes, we have three follow-up questions based on your email:

[1.] So what you are saying is that you and Dawson didn't discuss the possibility of writing a book last year at the Ole Miss football game, correct?

[2.] When did you and Dawson begin discussing the possibility of writing a book and what date did you both agree to proceed with the project?

[3.] In addition, are you saying unequivocally that Dawson never planned, outlined, or wrote any part of the book while serving as an AUSA or paid consultant for the USA?

What was Lange's reply?

"I don't answer questions from people I don't know."

Wait a minute? Didn't Lange contact us? So, we replied:

You certainly answered our emails before. Now that we wanted to [understand] the whole truth, you don't answer questions. We do not know you either.

So what is the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help us God?

Tom Dawson has an ethical and moral responsibility to the U.S. Department of Justice and citizens of the Northern District of Mississippi to answer those three questions. Dawson and company should be prepared for the most intrusive investigation of prosecutorial misconduct in recent times.

Weiner Conspiracy

The case against Dr. Roger Weiner (pictured) was formally dismissed by Federal District Judge Neal Biggers on Monday.

It was a dismal failure for embattled and disgraced U.S. Attorney of Northern Mississippi Jim Greenlee, a pillar in the Rove Republican Racket, who at one point dropped the ball on this same case 27 times.

Greenlee has been in the news lately for offering a secret employment contract to Ken Starr's protege and targeting convenience store owners based on their "Islamic sounding names."

In this debacle, Weiner had been charged with interstate prostitution charges where no interstate or federal crime occurred.  He was prosecuted under the infamous Mann Act which historically has been used for political or racially inspired prosecutions. Besides being a cardiologist, Weiner serves as a County Supervisor in Coahoma County, Mississippi.

And now the federal judge in the Weiner case lays out a stunning conspiracy in his dismissal order:

The court is aware from arguments and briefs submitted to the court that Dr. Weiner has acted as a strong advocate for quality healthcare in Clarksdale and the surrounding area. As part of this advocacy, Dr. Weiner has been an outspoken critic of the health care organization which manages the local hospital there – a publicly-held company which Dr. Weiner holds responsible for various deficiencies in the provision of healthcare at the hospital. As a result of his criticism, Dr. Weiner is apparently not in good favor with that company as evidenced by statements such as that made by an agent of the company, a former hospital administrator in Clarksdale, who defense counsel advise allegedly stated prior to Dr. Weiner’s arrest that the corporation was “going to get Dr. Weiner out of there even if it had to do it in handcuffs” (or words to that effect). An e-mail from this same administrator reveals his reaction to the arrest of Dr. Weiner. When advised that Dr. Weiner’s office computer was searched, that the search revealed that Dr. Weiner communicated with persons he thought were women visiting the SugarDaddyForMe website, and that information was taken which, inter alia, led to the indictment herein, the administrator responded in an e-mail, “Alright!!!!!!” The court is also advised that another official in this management company with whom Dr. Weiner has had numerous conflicts is a retired veteran of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The court is further advised that SugarDaddyForMe.com receives thousands of hits a day; yet, according to the information from defense counsel herein, the government has prosecuted not one other individual besides Dr. Weiner for an alleged Mann Act violation accomplished via this website.

We hope Weiner and his legal team file for Hyde Act sanctions and get all defense fees refunded by the federal government. In addition, they should request internal investigations at the FBI and Greenlee's office by approaching the Office of Professional Responsibilty at the U.S. Department of Justice.

Read the full dismissal order here from the North Mississippi Commentor website.