larisa

has the latest (and most detailed) scoop on the siegelman fiasco. justice must be served here (as well as with the entire king george administration AND entities like blackwater too!). may them ALL accountable. don siegelman was framed and even a 3 year old can see that

The Siegelman nail in the Bush administration coffin...

Or as they say, time to pay the piper:

Next month in Atlanta, a federal court will hear the high-profile appeal of former Alabama governor Don E. Siegelman, whose conviction on corruption charges in 2006 became one of the most publicly debated cases to emerge from eight years of controversy at the Bush Justice Department. Now new documents highlight alleged misconduct by the Bush-appointed U.S. attorney and other prosecutors in the case, including what appears to be extensive and unusual contact between the prosecution and the jury.

Remember, we knew about this, but Time has gotten the documents. Remember too, that the Bush appointed-Karl Rove-friend-judge on the case, Mark Fuller, knew about the jury tampering and discounted it. Onwards:

The documents, obtained by TIME, include internal prosecution e-mails given to the Justice Department and Congress by a whistle-blower during the last 18 months. John Conyers, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which investigated the Siegelman case as part of a broader inquiry into alleged political interference in the hiring and firing of U.S. attorneys by the Bush Justice Department, last week sent an eight-page letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey citing the new material.

Conyers says the evidence raises "serious questions" about the U.S. Attorney in the Siegelman case, who, documents show, continued to involve herself in the politically charged prosecution long after she had publicly withdrawn to avoid an alleged conflict of interest relating to her husband, a top GOP operative and close associate of Bush adviser Karl Rove. Conyers' letter also cites evidence of numerous contacts between jurors and members of the Siegelman prosecution team that were never disclosed to the trial judge or defense counsel.

Remember too, that the DOJ lied to me when I demanded to know if Leura Canary had recused herself from the case. I was told that she had. When I demanded documentation, they told me that the documents were not public (really? a federal prosecutor's rescusal documentation are private?). And the cover-up continued:

When the House Judiciary Committee looked into the Siegelman affair earlier this year, DoJ issued statements, placed in the Congressional record, maintaining that the case had been handled only by career prosecutors, not political appointees, and that Canary had recused herself in 2002, "before any significant decisions ... were made."........

the continuing saga of don siegelman

and the injustices wrought upon him (and us as americans). do we really need any more proof this was a mock trial and mock conviction? not me at any rate. i was convinced long ago governor siegelman got the shaft.

A Smoking Gun Incriminates the Judge Who Ruled Against Don Siegelman

David Fiderer

Before commencing deliberations, jury foreman Sam Hendrix began each day with his fellow jurors by holding hands and saying a payer. They prayed for the defendants, including former Governor Don Siegelman, who had been indicted for bribery and government corruption. "We didn't want to crucify people," Hendrix told the Auburn Villager, "but we did want to send a message."

As for the jury comprised of five whites and seven blacks, "we were all really good friends," Hendrix told the Montgomery Advertiser in July 2006. "There was a bond between us. It never got personal. I think we were very fortunate that we had a very congenial group of people who respected each other and listened to each other.".........

............

Other jurors saw it differently. Here's how one juror, in a sworn affidavit, describes the deadlock vote:

"Five for guilty, five for not guilty, and two undecided. The jurors 100% not guilty were [redacted]. Two jurors had hostile words at each other and at this time, the foreman [Hendrix] slipped a note to the judge without our knowledge and told him that we were deadlock.

[Hendrix's private note said that some on the panel were being "lackadaisical."]...........

.......If Hendrix and Langer told stories that jived, it may have been because they compared notes via email. They purportedly used Hendrix's address at Auburn and Langer's gmail account. Evidence, sent anonymously to defense counsel after the trial, shows that the Hendrix and Langer sent each other private messages prior to and during deliberations.......