NYT Reporting now 75 former state AGs Urge Review of Siegelman Case

[mod mom]

WE MUST CONTINUE TO PRESS THIS UNTIL IT IS RESOLVED!

April 22, 2009
The New York Times
Review of Governor's Conviction Sought

By JOHN SCHWARTZ and CHARLIE SAVAGE



Less than a month after the Justice Department asked a judge to drop the case against former Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska because of prosecutorial misconduct, 75 former state attorneys general from both parties have urged Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to conduct a similar investigation of the prosecution of former Gov. Don Siegelman of Alabama, who was convicted nearly three years ago on bribery and corruption charges.

In a letter to Mr. Holder, the attorneys general said Mr. Siegelman's defense lawyers had raised "gravely troublesome facts" about his prosecution that raise questions about the fairness and due process of the trial.

"We believe that if prosecutorial misconduct is found, as in the case of Senator Ted Stevens, then dismissal should follow in this case as well," the group said in the letter, which was organized by Robert Abrams, a former attorney general of New York.

Lawyers for Mr. Siegelman, a Democrat, have long accused the Justice Department under President George W. Bush of conducting a politically motivated prosecution that they say was filled with irregularities, including a failure to turn over pertinent information to the defense team.

In the weeks since the Stevens prosecution was dropped over similar issues, Mr. Siegelman's team has made efforts to draw parallels between the two cases.
One of Mr. Siegelman's lawyers, Vincent F. Kilborn III, said in an interview from his office in Mobile, Ala., that at least three of the officials who have been accused of misconduct in the Stevens investigation have played a role in the Siegelman case, including Patty Merkamp Stemler, the chief of the appellate section of the criminal division at the Justice Department, who is being held in contempt in the Stevens case over documents demanded by the judge that were not produced.

-snip

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/22/us/22justice.html?scp=1&sq=siegelman&st=cse


Here is an email address to express your outrage at the DoJ's lack of attention to this case:

[e-mail]

[FSogol]

1. K & R. n/t

[merh]

2. Broad Coalition of Organizations and Individuals Launches 'Restore Justice At Justice' Campaign

Broad Coalition of Organizations and Individuals Launches 'Restore Justice At Justice' Campaign

Demands Redress For Those Politically Prosecuted Under Bush Administration, Beginning With Governor Don Siegelman And Paul Minor

WASHINGTON, April 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today a broad coalition of organizations and individuals dedicated to an honest and accountable government launched "Restore Justice At Justice," www.RestoreJusticeAtJustice.com, a campaign to clean up the Department of Justice's sad record of political prosecutions under the Bush Administration. These organizations, representing hundreds of thousands of members, have a strong track record of spurring action on crucial issues. The coalition has sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, available on the Restore Justice At Justice website, requesting that he quickly investigate and identify those targeted, and vacate their convictions, beginning with Alabama ex-Governor Don Siegelman and Attorney Paul Minor.

The coalition asserts that under the Bush administration, the Department of Justice was driven by ideology, and prosecutions were often used to settle scores and intimidate the opposition. The GOP, at the direction of Karl Rove, used the DOJ to target political enemies including Democratic contributors and those who were a threat to GOP electoral gains and big business interests. The Department was used as an arm of the White House to destroy these Democrats. This political profiling resulted in the criminal prosecution of many on the GOP list, including Don Siegelman and Paul Minor.

"Last week, Attorney General Holder ordered the dismissal of charges against Senator Ted Stevens because of prosecutorial misconduct," said coalition spokesperson Brad Friedman. "Because targeted political prosecutions also constitute prosecutorial misconduct, AG Holder should apply the same standard to Siegelman, Minor, and all the others identified as targeted by the Bush DOJ," said Friedman. "Siegelman and Minor were targets of political profiling, which is as unjust as racial profiling. President Obama and Attorney General Holder promised to return justice to the Justice Department and free the Department from politics. We demand that they do so."

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., one of the signers at RestoreJusticeAtJustice.com, has stated publicly that "Paul Minor is an innocent man" who was targeted by Karl Rove, prosecuted by "crooked Justice Department prosecutors," and sentenced to "a breathtaking 11-year sentence for non-violent, white collar crimes he did not commit," while Minor's wife of 41 years lies in a hospital dying from cancer, unable "to utter the word l-o-v-e to her husband." Kennedy summarizes the case this way: "Karl Rove's crooked henchmen at the U.S. Justice Department have turned this dignified gentleman's life into a horrible ordeal that is a disgrace to American democracy." **Late Monday, Sylvia Minor died without her husband by her side after the DOJ opposed Minor's bail pending appeal and a compassionate furlough.

The campaign is spearheaded by VelvetRevolution.us (http://www.velvetrevolution.us/), a national non-profit affiliated with over 150 organizations. The coalition urges other organizations that care about justice to sign on to this campaign by sending an email to RestoreJusticeAtJustice(at)velvetrevolution.us. Individuals can sign on at www.RestoreJusticeAtJustice.com.

SOURCE www.RestoreJusticeAtJustice.com

http://news.prnewswire.com/ViewContent.aspx?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/04-15-2009/0005006299&EDATE

[mopinko]

3. knr

[mod mom]

4. Here is some background if there is anyone who is still unfamiliar w this travesty of justice:

Judge Fuller and the Trial of Don Siegelman
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/08/hbc-90000714

The Pork Barrel World of Judge Mark Fuller
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/08/hbc-90000762

What the Justice Department Is Hiding
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-11-14/will-the-tables-be-turned-on-the-siegelman-prosecutors/p/

[Adelante]

5. I hope Holder takes this to heart

Thanks for posting :thumbsup:

[glitch]

6. K & R nt

[gulfcoastliberal]

7. Holder doesn't give a fuck unless the person involved has an -R behind their name.

What a sick joke that dude is. He couldn't rush to exonerate sen stevens fast enough... The wall of silence from him regarding Siegelman says everything we need to know regarding where his true loyalties are.

[No More Bushbots]

19. Link Please

[Elwood P Dowd]

8. K&R. (nm)

[robertpaulsen]

9. K & R!

:kick:

[HCE SuiGeneris]

10. Justice has a hard time gaining a foothold these days...

the GOP slime has greased has all the outcroppings of legitimacy within the DOJ.

[pleah]

11. K&R

[mod mom]

12. Afternoon folks, please consider writing the DoJ (in OP) to voice outrage that

nothing is being done to remedy this!

[Mithreal]

16. The very least we can do. Just sent my second email to DOJ in the past 2 weeks. nt

[Uncle Joe]

13. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, mod mom.

[NoSheep]

14. K&R

[katty]

15. great news

[seemslikeadream]

17. K&R

[NoSheep]

18. email sent to DOJ. n/t

[Sunnyshine]

20. K,R, & E-mailed DoJ

Thanks for keeping us informed.

[madfloridian]

21. Eric Holder says no review underway for Siegelman.

We need to push him hard.

Eric Holder says no review underway for Siegelman

"Holder told reporters Thursday he's taking "a hard look at a variety of things in the department" as a result of the problems with the high-profile congressional corruption case.

"There are things that we have to take into account given what has happened recently, with regard to training, with regard to resources, and I expect that we'll have some announcements to make to you all in the not too distant future," Holder told reporters in a brief news conference at the Justice Department.

Asked whether he was taking another look at other public corruption prosecutions, such as the conviction of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman or cases against others in Alaska, Holder said he didn't have any reviews under way.

"But I always want to ensure that the Justice Department acts in a way that is consistent with the long tradition of this great department - that we treat people fairly, that if we make mistakes we admit them and that we then take the appropriate action," Holder said."

[mod mom]

26. Correct you are, madfloridian-"We need to push him hard". This isn't a partisan issue.

This is about a great injustice that must be corrected.

[blaze]

22. K&R

And thanks for the link to the DOJ.

Letter written. :patriot:

[stillcool]

23. here's mine...

Good evening. I am emailing to request that the prosecution of Governor Siegelman be reviewed. I would think when there are legitimate questions about the false conviction of anyone, the Justice Department would automatically review the case. In such a high profile purely political prosecution, I do not understand the failure to act. How difficult is it to review a case? Please give the Governor the same consideration you gave the Senator from Alaska. He has waited far too long to have his case investigated by proper authorities.

[defendandprotect]

24. Aah, sweet news -- Siegelman deserves help - from Democrats and AGs -- all he can get!!

[malaise]

25. Kick for justice n/t

[RB TexLa]

27. And their position on the jury tampering in the Edwards trail?

Oh, of course no mention of or concern for that.

[northofdenali]

28. Kicking & Rec this one - Siegelman is FOR Alabama

My daughter and her husband, my ex-husband, and lots of friends live in the Birmingham area; Don Siegelman has been a force in that state for years. He's not just a Democrat - he's a GOOD Democrat, he truly believes in bringing Alabama into the 20th (no typo there) century and farther (hopefully).

FREE DON. :P

[midnight]

29. How interesting that the some of the same people

acting improper in Stevens case are involved in Siegelman's.

[democrank]

30. That is one screwed up Department of Justice.

Really frightening.

[road2000]

31. Siegelman should receive a complete exoneration. n/t