WAPO: Siegelman "Turns Tables On Justice Department"

[kpete]

Former Ala. Governor Turns Tables on Justice Department
Siegelman Connects His Case to Accusations of Interference

By Carrie Johnson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 13, 2008; A02



The successful criminal prosecution of former Alabama governor Don Siegelman (D) has become tangled in political charges and countercharges that reflect contrasting views about the independence of the Justice Department.

In the two weeks since his release from prison pending an appeal, Siegelman has sharply increased the volume of his assertions that he was railroaded. He says that Karl Rove, who was a White House adviser, targeted him for prosecution to ensure he did not win reelection to the governor's office and displace a Republican there.

Siegelman is seizing on a theme that is newly popular with politically connected defendants: turning the tables on a Justice Department vulnerable to accusations of interference because of missteps last year under then-Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales.

An appeals court panel in Atlanta will decide whether Siegelman, the governor from 1999 to 2003, should win a new trial because of what he contends are faulty jury instructions underpinning his 2006 conviction on bribery, conspiracy, mail fraud and obstruction charges.

more at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/12/AR2008041201903_pf.html

[annabanana]

1. "a theme that is newly popular "

What the hell kind of snarky tilting is THAT? "Oh my!.. I's POP-ular". Doesn't that just say it's "trendy", it's the "thing to do"..

Talk about framing it to sound somehow "less true". And if not explicitly "less true" than certainly less real, less concrete and less than important.

Shame on WaPo..

"liberal media" my sweet Aunt Fanny. .

[pacalo]

4. And the WaPo considers it a "theme" haunting the 'thugs because of mere "missteps".

Ignoring & dismantling the constitution are a lot more serious than "missteps". And dismissing U.S. attorneys because they don't play the political persecution/protection game to strengthen one political party is certainly more serious than a "misstep".

[alfredo]

2. It would be wonderful to see Don go free and Karl go to prison.

[pacalo]

5. I'm thankful to hear that the appeal will be set in another state.

[alfredo]

6. Great. He cannot get justice in Alabama.

[Donnachaidh]

7. err -- it's being done in GEORGIA

Right next door and a RED red state. Keep fingers, toes and eyes crossed for him getting real justice here in Georgia. Who knows what sort of backroom *good ole boy* antics are being planned by the pukes in Atlanta.

[peacetalksforall]

3. Justice - themed. I say propaganda - themed. Crap on the wapo..

What a waste of university degrees. Pathetic.

Add specialized seminars and private degrees in Rovian at the Karl Rove-Lee Atwater Advanced Seminars in Sewer Dump.