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.

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.

Scandal as Disgraced U.S. Attorney Exits

U.S. Attorney Jim H. Greenlee of the Northern District of Mississippi (pictured), a pillar of the Rove Republican Racket, will be retiring according to the Main Justice news website.

In September, we called on this disgraceful character to resign or be fired amid the revelation that after 9/11, Greenlee conducted an investigation of convenience store owners with Islamic-sounding names. There were no links whatsoever to terrorism and no one was ever prosecuted for acts of terrorism.

In other words, this backwards Mississippi prosecutor went after "colored" folks just for the hell of it. To justify his broad investigation, Greenlee busted a few convenience store owners for selling too much Sudafed.

But Greenlee is surrounded by scandal.  Main Justice writes:

Greenlee’s departure has been rumored for months, amid various reports that made his Oxford-based office seem something of a soap opera.

The latest: Mississippi journalist Patsy Brumfield reports that an FBI agent who was indicted last week for failing to disclose a personal financial interest in the FBI building in Oxford had sought whistle blower status a couple of years ago after reporting concerns that Greenlee’s office had improperly targeted area Muslims for investigation after the 9/11 attacks.

The so-called Convenience Store Initiative didn’t find any terrorist links, but prosecutors did end up charging some 60 people with selling excessive amounts of pseudoephedrine, used to make methamphetamine, an illegal drug.

The agent, Hal Neilson, also reportedly raised ethics concerns about a book that a former Assistant U.S. Attorney in the district, Tom Dawson, wrote about his prosecution of billionaire Mississippi trial lawyer Richard “Dickie” Scruggs in a judicial bribery scandal, Brumfield wrote.

The limited comments on the conflict, scandal, and retaliation between Neilson and Greenlee are just the tip of the iceberg as this Titanic sinks.

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.

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.

Secret Contract for Ken Starr's Protege

On Monday, we wrote how a former Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Dawson from Mississippi discussed writing a book with a right-wing, Republican blogger in the summer of 2008 while still serving as a federal prosecutor, according to the website Main Justice. 

The book, not surprisingly, is about the prosecution and jailing of prominent Democratic boosters and trial lawyers. Dawson also obtained a secret six-month contract from embattled U.S. Attorney Jim Greenlee a few days after retiring in January of this year.

So who is Tom Dawson?

We found this flattering introduction from a CNN transcript dated February 5, 1998:

"Let me introduce Tom Dawson, who will be representing the United States as first chair in the trial. Mr. Dawson is a career prosecutor. He's an assistant United States attorney from Oxford, Mississippi, for the District of Mississippi, has tried many cases -- a variety of trials over many years. He has also served in the Justice Department in the criminal division, is one of the Department of Justice's most experienced senior career prosecutors. "

And who was introducing him? None other than the illustrious Kenneth Starr, then the Independent Counsel of the Whitewater and Lewinsky scandals. 

In 1998, Dawson was one of the lead trial attorneys in the Whitewater controversy.  Dawson was part of the legal team that targeted and failed to prosecute the President of the United States Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton in relationship to an obscure land deal.

Seeing Green

What do you get when you mix a Rove Republican Racket prosecutor who tossed many leading Democratic boosters in jail and stir him together with a local Mississippi Republican online blogger who rejoiced in the public political lynchings?

A book.

Alan Lange, blogisher of Y'All Politics, and  former Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Dawson. who worked under disgraced Northern District of Mississippi U.S. Attorney Jim Greenlee, announced today that they're publishing a book about the political prosecutions of Richard Scruggs and Paul Minor.

Lange even says it will make a "GREAT Christmas gift."

As former President George W. Bush is selling himself out as a motivational speaker, his former lieutenants and political prosecutors in the Justice Department are selling themselves out as authors.

To paraphrase U.S. Representative Alan Grayson, what "K Street whores!"

Read the full post here.

Bias Biggers Recuses Himself

Breaking News....Earlier this week, we talked about Federal Judge Neal Biggers, who is overseeing the CIVIL trial against famous tobacco trial lawyer Dickie Scruggs, is the same judge who threw the book at Scruggs in the related CRIMINAL trial. Talk about extreme bias!

Well today, Biggers has done the right thing and recused himself. See the full story here.

Will Bias Biggers Recuse Himself?

Federal Judge Neal Biggers of Mississippi has been in the middle of some key political prosecutions of leading Democrats by the Rove Republican Racket.

Biggers, who chastised one prominent Democrat operative for having made millions off of judicial litigation while being a non-lawyer, may have a chip on his Republican shoulder against successful Democratic lawyers who happen to be key Democratic Party boosters.

Now comes the case of Dickie Scruggs (pictured), the wealthy tobacco settlement attorney and Democratic Party supporter who is rotting in jail for bribery, sent away by the "Honorable"Judge Biggers.

Judge Biggers' friend Judge Henry Lackey spent about five months setting up Scruggs and his idiot friends on taking the bait.

Biggers also threw the concrete book at Scruggs in another CRIMINAL bribery case called Wilson vs. Scruggs.

But new questions have arisen because Biggers is now overseeing the CIVIL bribery case against Scruggs related to Wilson vs. Scruggs.

Everyone should be asking: Will bias Biggers recuse himself?

The blog Slabbed writes:

The defendants face a mindfield of bias. I find it somewhat incredible, although it may not be unusual, that a judge can preside over a defendant’s criminal trial and then preside over a similar action in a civil trials. Judge Biggers is further compromised by circumstance because the Luckey trial on this same matter was conducted by one of his Magistrate judges. In that case Magistrate Judge Davis gave no consideration to the equity that defines constructive trust. Luckey lacked the clean hands and never denied Scruggs had fired him for cause directly related to the asbestos litigation. When it comes to just treatment of Dick Scruggs by our judicial systems, I’ve yet to see a clean hand although some may only have a smudge.

Read Slabbed's full post here.