Don Siegelman coverage ~ The B'ham News is crowing and The Decatur Daily is speculating

On a recent Daily Kos post I asked How will Alabama's media explain Don Siegelman's release? Well, they are hardly eating crow if the B'ham News' A federal appeals court ruled former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman can stay out of prison for now and may have valid grounds to appeal his public corruption conviction is representative. They opine:

His release is no affront to taxpayers or to justice, assuming the court didn't give Siegelman any consideration it wouldn't give any other defendant. ...

The bigger issue is whether Siegelman's conviction will stand. ...

But it's foolish to predict victory for Siegelman at this point. ...

That doesn't mean the 11th Circuit has made up its mind. ...

In our view, Siegelman's actions leading to this case didn't serve the taxpayers' interests at all, and his justifications of those actions reflect a terribly cynical and sad view of political service. His actions as part of this criminal case haven't always reflected well on him, either.

With all the clamor about injustice in this case, a number of people already have decided Siegelman didn't get a fair deal. But the legal process must take place apart from the political sideshow that has accompanied so much of this case. It's important to note that most of the talk about political conspiracies and Karl Rove schemes hasn't come in court filings, at least so far.

But because so many of the political allegations have taken on a life of their own, the appeals court has an extra-important role to play in ensuring the federal government took no improper shortcuts and that the case against Siegelman can withstand scrutiny.

To get in a few licks after what they've done to Don seems rather shameless. How they manage to try to stand up for "the taxpayers" seems odd. How they remind us that the appeals process isn't certain seems like a way to merely fill space. What I'd have liked them to do is look through how they've opined about this case from the get go. They are due some crow eating but we get more crowing.

Finally, I'm somewhat troubled by the Decatur Daily's Politics put Siegelman in prison, politics get him out. Their pointing out that two Clinton appointees (see update below) ruled in his favor simply offends me. Do they really impugn these Judges' integrity so cavalierly? That's totally out of bounds. That they just label Judge Mark Fuller a Republican bothers me as well. He's an active Republican with ties to the Defense Department and GOP Congressman Terry Everett plus ... but they seem to be painting with a very broad brush. "Whether the threat of the government not allowing Mr. Siegelman out to testify had anything to do with his release is speculation." So why did this make it into print? I don't follow this paper very often so I'm not sure they've covered this case or politics in general.

Thank goodness for The Anniston Star. John Gunn

UPDATE ~ March 31,2008 - No eating of crow from B'ham News but the Mobile Press-Register's JD Crowe draws up Siegelman the Avenger giving The Don prison tats and muscle. Very cute.

UPDATE ~ April 3, 2008 - Bob Martin tells us "The two United States Circuit Court judges who signed the order were Susan Black, who was appointed to the court by President George H. W. Bush, and Stanley Marcus, appointed by President Bill Clinton. " I failed to try to verify The Decatur Daily's assertion and have yet to verify Bob's. However, his specificity makes me think he's right. As is so often the case, it would appear Alabama papers go out of their way to accept and even outright spin GOP talking points.

Precious little reason to believe exactly what?

Good grief B'ham News! Over to the left we have Victor Hanson III who once said "Though we are owned by the Newhouse family, The News is still run locally as it always has been." Whoever is running this paper ought to be ashamed of their treatment of Don Siegelman. Plenty of folks believe the entire Newhouse line here in Alabama has it in for Don yet the way they continue to cover his trial and incarceration seems like it will only add fuel to the fire. And maybe that's good? Let's see what all they twisted in their Siegelman's Seige editorial ...

Although a jury concluded otherwise, (Former Arizona Attorney General who remains a strong Republican) Woods said the case wasn't valid because the money went to Siegelman's lottery campaign, rather than to him personally.

Was this the jury that had to be sent out several times with instructions that they better render a verdict? And of course Mr. Woods is just one of several former AGs that have asked for a further review of Don Siegelman's situation.

It's not as if Rove hasn't dabbled before in Alabama politics, and it's certainly not as if Rove is above playing dirty.

Yup! And then you add ...

Yet the Justice Department's actions in some cases outside of Alabama make it hard to flat-out disregard Siegelman's complaints. That's unfortunate.

I'd think it a little more than "unfortunate", especially if you're in federal prison. And reckon Karl Rove and other movement conservatives might have had something to do with this monkey business at Justice?

The problem is (former GOP operative Dan Jill) Simpson. She has dribbled outdamaging allegations in such a way as to undermine her credibility.

Actually she's testified under oath. She's got her law license on the line plus perjury charges. Until some of these folks in the story testify under oath I'd think her side of the story counts for plenty. Also, since when does one have to tell the full story to make what she's said true? Maybe having her house burn down early on was what cause her to dribble? Dribbling is allowed I'd think and perhaps could even make her more credible. She's said she mentioned this plan to follow Don to see him fooling around on the wife to Congressional aides and they passed on questioning her on that part of her story. And what about all those records she's claiming to have to back up her side of the story. Think y'all might want to try to get a look at them?

But wait, it gets better with ...

Then again, the problem with this whole controversy is so many sides aren't wholly believable.

So we'll leave a man, a former Governor no less, in prison and deny him the normal bail pending appeal? The News' contempt for the legal system continues with ...

... Siegelman's defense lawyers seized on the show's less glamorous claim that former-aide-turned-witness Nick Bailey had made notes about his testimony that weren't furnished to his former boss' legal team. Prosecutors denied knowing of any such notes, but if the claims were borne out, they could provide a legal hook for Siegelman to win a new day in court.

A "legal hook"? Reckon how those claims will be "borne out" without an investigation? It looks rather glamorous to me to have the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and probably a likely Brady Order from the bench ignored. As I recall the story Bailey is to have said people from the prosecution team were there helping him write (over and over) out his story until he got it right. Am I wrong? If this is so, that's prosecutorial misconduct perhaps rather than a "legal hook". Than new day is court might be a dismissal, especially if somebody other than Judge Mark Fuller is hearing the evidence.

The close is priceless. The B'ham News writes ...

Politics should not play any role in launching a criminal investigation, or in ditching a case, either.Unless there is more evidence Siegelman was prosecuted for the wrong reasons, or that he wasn't provided a fair playing field, there's precious little reason to believe justice wasn't served when a jury found him guilty.

What else do y'all need? So are you calling for an investigation? Or are you selectively examining the case to justify keep Don in the can? I'm furious. And now I'm running late. I needed to vent. More to come perhaps? Hang in there Siegelmans. John Gunn

Mobile Press-Register gets twofer in Editorial

After yesterday's "precious little reason to believe "garbage from the B'ham News, the Newhouse paper in South Alabama got in their obligatory defense of those who prosecuted and jailed Don Siegelman. And they also managed to get a hit in on The New York Times for mistreating St. John McCain. I do understand that some people aren't thrilled with not just the NYT but also other sources for suggesting a sexual relationship with Vicki Iseman. I also wonder if there's more to the story or if maybe that part could have been culled. But the story wasn't about sex. More on that to follow.

My question is how the Mobile Press-Register can claim CBS show guilty of bad journalism? They write:

Let's go over their "journalism" ... It was perversely fitting that "60 Minutes" fired a wild shot at Mr. Rove just a few days after The New York Times tried to out-tabloid the tabloids with a story suggesting a romantic link between Republican presidential candidate John McCain and an attractive blonde lobbyist.

Following the lead of the Gray Lady, "60 Minutes" used sex to promote a weak story that rounded up a high-profile Republican suspect and then failed to present convincing evidence of corruption. The CBS program's descent into tabloid journalism consisted of uncorroborated and mostly repackaged charges about the prosecution and conviction of Mr. Siegelman on bribery charges.

"Perversely fitting" for a "wild shot" at Karl Rove? Damned if the Mobile P-R doesn't make the B'ham News look almost fair. At least they had the decency to give some credence to the many, many questions raised by this saga. "Failed to present convincing evidence of corruption" is the standard for printing? Aren't serious questions enough, especially for a politician that has repeatedly claimed to be above such unseemly behaviors? Is "uncorroborated" always forbidden?

Let's also back up for some background on the NYT story that Kevin Drum supplies. Once again, who cares about the sex! He might be cheeky ... yet it's not about him being randy but rather bold to claim he's St. John the Maverick. Even Faux News has reported some differences with St. John's recollection and Paxson Communications in that period of FEC activity. Here's some more. And I do ponder why Don Siegelman goes to prison for perhaps getting something from somebody and then perhaps helping them out when Senator John McCain did a favor for Bud Paxson who gave money and plane rides and ... to St. John.

Like I posted in my reponse to the B'ham News, Dana Jill Simpson had told Congressional aides that Karl Rove had wanted her to document Don being naughty. They correctly avoided that testimony. Ms. Simpson has testified under oath to Congress. Has anyone on the other side of this story? Providing lots of advice to 60 Minutes on being "diligent" and asking "pertinent" questions, the M P-R closes with:

Nothing presented by "60 Minutes" changes the basic facts of the case. The former governor was prosecuted by career federal prosecutors who were spurred on by stories in the Press-Register. Mr. Siegelman was found guilty by an Alabama jury. He is now pursuing appeals in the court system -- the proper venue for resolving questions about the case.

Mr. Siegelman will not be exonerated by a politicized campaign in the press to convict Karl Rove of pulling the strings of dozens of puppets, including career prosecutors and other court officials. This sort of conspiracy-mongering hurts the reputation of journalists much more than it hurts Mr. Rove or helps former Gov. Siegelman.

Mercy if that's not rich. Spurred on indeed. Larisa Alexandrovna certain is right to remind us of the M P-R's reporter Billy Curran's stake in Don's conviction. She writes, "... his entire career now rests on the very notion that he was either used to launder lies or that his own lies are about to be exposed."

Also, a main role of the press is I thought to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Don Siegleman is in prison and denied bail. Don wasn't even given time to get his affairs in order before being hauled off to prison in shackles. This seldom if even happens in a white collar case. Being treated this way is certainly afflicted I'd argue. If Don Siegelman weren't incarcerated (and waiting months or so for a transcript!) then perhaps we'd have not seen this story. 60 Minutes is smart enough to see serious questions about this case. More and more Americans, even in Alabama, are smart enough to suspect some monkey business has gone on.

Finally, Larisa has even more to offer on the way this case is being handled by the Alabama GOP and major media. I'm outraged that Don Siegelman can't at least get out pending the appellate process running its course. The M P-R knows journalism is about connecting the pieces of the puzzle. For them to claim those that are concerned about justice aren't doing good journalism is beyond belief. They surely know better. Their approach is what is doing harm to their profession. John Gunn

Today's Mobile Press-Register Siegelman sleight

Barry Lyman, of the Mobile Press-Register's Capital Bureau, reports Siegelman treatment standard?: Yes, say experts; but some surprised judge didn't allow voluntary surrender. Like their sister publication, The B'ham News, did with "there's precious little reason to believe justice wasn't served", the actual text of your work doesn't support the claim. "Yes" is hardly applicable when the body of the reporting has the following:

... Still, it (the shackling of Don Siegelman as he was immediately taken into custody) was "stunning" to one well-regarded Washington lawyer that the situation involved a white-collar criminal. "I've only heard it happening on one other occasion," said Michele Roberts, who practices at Akin, Gump, Strauss Hauer & Feld. ...

... "Unless the court is convinced there was a real risk of flight, it sounds more like a situation where the court wanted to start the punishment," William Lawler, one of (former Representative Bob) Ney's (who got a voluntary surrender date after his guilty plea) attorneys, said of the Siegelman/Scrushy case. ...

"Stunning" and "... only ... one other occasion" seems like rather strong language from a "well-regarded Washington lawyer ". Or did the mysterious "they" who claim "the treatment of Siegelman and Scrushy was no different from many others who are ordered into custody" cancel out those blockbuster claims? C'mon MP-R, do you think all your readers just read the headlines or are unable to read below the first couple of paragraphs?

Although you stacked what you wanted folks to read up top, there's some of meat here. For instance, I like how the following from Ms. Roberts made it into the piece:

Fuller has said in court filings that Siegelman's defense team has not "raised a substantial question" that would lead to a reversal or a new trial. Roberts (a well-regarded Washington lawyer) said a problem with the "substantial question" standard (applicable to a release pending the running of the appeal) is the trial judge essentially must admit fault. "The judge has to say, 'Yeah, I screwed up,'" she said. "'I ruled against you, and it's likely you'll prevail on appeal.' It's a ridiculously high standard."

Reckon you might point something like this out the next time you obviously try to justify the way Don Siegelman's case has been and is being handled? Given that the 11th Circuit had to outright force Judge Mark Fuller to provide his reasoning for the denial of bond pending appeal, plus all the many other questions about this case, I'd think you could do much better in your coverage. I know it would be hard to give balance to a matter that your paper helped bring about (and then serve as a conduit for leaks and the like) but both justice and journalism requires it to be done. John Gunn

Did Don Siegelman Get Jim Hightower Treatment?

I continue to often think about Don Siegelman. I stumbled back across this older American Spectator piece from Lou Dubose titled Did Karl Rove Help Send an Innocent Man to Jail? and thought I ought to share. The whole effort is simply damning yet I'll share just the following:

Don Siegelman's federal prosecutors were so closely associated with Karl Rove that there was enough conflict of interest to justify a change of venue to the Hague. Yet when Siegelman's defense attorneys raised the "conflict" issue, they were gaveled down. The judge refused to hear arguments that the prosecution was political. The only deference to partisan and ethical conflict was Leura Canary's recusal—and the assignment of the case to a junior attorney she supervised.

With odds like that, only an unbiased federal judge would have kept Siegelman out of a federal penitentiary. Mark Fuller was not that judge. Even if Fuller never promised to "hang" Don Siegelman, as Simpson says she was told by Governor Riley's son Rob, the judge represented something less than blind justice.

The article points out how Jim Hightower's political future was doomed once Karl Rove and a rogue FBI agent raised timely allegations of corruption against then Texas Agriculture Commissioner Hightower. I certainly knew a little about Jim Hightower yet I will try to follow him more closely now.

I also noted Scott Horton's latest Harper's work on Don. Examining the strange relationship that Nothern District U.S. Attorney Alice Martin has with The Birmingham News makes it even more worthy of reading. John Gunn

Dan Abrams & MSNBC/AP covers Don Siegelman

MSNBC/AP reports Alabama TV station red-faced after blackout: ‘60 Minutes’ story on Siegelman doesn’t air at original time and do a fine job of explaining the many questions due for this Bass Brothers station. Moreover, MSNBC's Dan Abrams is surely due a tip of the tam for examining in great detail the situation for Don Siegelman. The video above is just over ten minutes yet it is so helpful I think for exposing what appears to have been a political hit job carried out via our justice system. Truly an investigation and Don's release pending his appeal (plus increasingly available other post-conviction possibilities!) seems like the least required.

Some mention was made of similar allegations against Senator Jeff Sessions and former AG (now Bu$hCo appointed federal judge) Mark Pryor yet the explanation was lacking. The preparation of star prosecution witness Bailey plus the apparent voluminous notes of him trying to get their story straight was also covered. Dan Abrams actually called out AG Mukasey on the need to examine this case and pledged a follow up. Former Siegelman attorney Doug Jones and former GOP operative Dana Jill Simpson came across as solid and believable. I can't help but get a little excited that justice may soon come for Don Siegelman and his family. John Gunn

Rob Riley's financial gain is latest Siegelman twist

Obviously there is another Rob Riley on a "quest for justice" out there, or at least on The Google, yet let us focus on this one. I'll give Rob Riley this ... he has a serious academic pedigree. Even Hugo Black, and they hardly claim him in Clay County (it's not because of his KKK connection I regret) for the most part, didn't have that level of education. Via AlterNet I located Sam Stein's HuffPo piece titled New Evidence In Siegelman Case Points To Republican Cabal. I surely don't know if there's fire here yet there's some smoke. Sam writes:

In the early days of 2005, HealthSouth and Scrushy were in the midst of a long-waged battle over whether the company had "perpetrated an elaborate scheme to deceive HealthSouth's investors." The case alleged that the company, and its financial supporters, had "committed deceptive acts whose primary purpose and effect was to create a false appearance" of good financial results and future prospects. There were no connections to Siegelman.

On January 13, Rob Riley, a lawyer for the firm Riley & Jackson P.C. and the son of the state's governor, was abruptly added as local counsel to the New Mexico State Investment Council, a relatively new plaintiff in the case against HealthSouth. It was an interesting move. Riley, who specialized in medical malpractice law, had little history in complex securities litigation. Co-plaintiffs complained, as they often do, that his presence would simply drive up the cost of the case and cut into the pot of any settlement. But their appeal was denied.

Why did Riley come on board? According to him, it was a product of local stature and a bit of luck.

"A guy in New Mexico said, 'Hey, we are trying to get involved in this case,'" Riley recalled. "At that point, it was pretty well out in the papers that there had been fraud at HealthSouth. So I felt like it was probably a good case. I didn't know what chance we had at being lead counsel."

That settlement was a "big lick" indeed. Again, I'm not convinced this was more about Don Siegleman and lawyering up with the perfectly connected practitioner. If I'm thinking I need local counsel why not turn to the Governor's son? Even if not a securities law guru that is hardly a killer. That being offered, I do think coverage of the connections ought to make it into the Alabama papers.

Don Siegelman's case has been something I've posted on often and I remain convinced he ought to be released pending the running of his appeal. John Gunn

Mobile Press-Register ~ Publisher heal thyself

J.D. Crowe's work is pictured for two reasons. First, he provides some balance to the P-R's leanings. His recent Troy King's Office of Inflatables was priceless. Also, his take on Don Siegelman being released from prison is relevant. I'm still waiting on the P-R to eat their crow after The Don's release yet they are apparently intent on nothing of the sort.

The P-R is often the most right leaning paper of the clearly Conservative Newhouse triad. Their reporter Eddie Curran was in the lead in revealing questionable (note I didn't use illegal) behaviors by then Governor Siegelman that eventually resulted in his prosecution. I believe strongly in "comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable" so to a large extent I'll avoid piling on Mr. Curran. In a prior post from February I note the P-R bragged, "The former governor was prosecuted by career federal prosecutors who were spurred on by stories in the Press-Register."

A couple of weeks ago I posted Mobile Press-Register engages in Big Lies on their parroting right wing talking points urging drill, drill, drill. They did the same thing with a recent Editorial shilling the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's flawed and biased "study". (Here's a good chance to mention one hundred of their employees running up a $8,204 bar tab at merely one sitting.) The person or persons writing their Editorial pages are seemingly in the tank.

However, today's Rove-style justice? is a classic. It ranks up there with February's Sleight of Hand where the P-R's reporter Barry Lyman claimed Siegelman being shackled immediately was standard treatment only to have the body of the reporting hardly support such a claim. I hope the P-R's editors selected the title of Mr. Lyman's work or otherwise I'd need to point out his interesting surname. Then again, the B'ham News' Mary Orndorff did perhaps even worse when she claimed Karl Rove has submitted a "written statement to Congress". They were answered by his lawyer, hardly under oath, and from and to a wing nut GOP Congressman Miss Mary.

While I'm pleased that today's P-R Editorial mentioned Alaska's Senior Senator Ted Stevens being charged, this was likely long overdue. "A Bridge Too Far" applies yet I'll leave off a link for those willing to use The Google via Senator Steven's "tubes". Even flaming lefty sites have given Bu$hCo some snaps for isolating The Hulk (also known as Mr. Crankypants) in some matters at DOJ.

The P-R noted the falls of Ohio's Bob Ney and California's Randy "Duke" Cunningham plus the charges facing Arizona's Rick Renzi. I recall posting Bama GOP thinks we need more convicted leaders recently where I go over a list of the many, many on that side of the aisle currently facing charges. That Rick Renzi was being investigated by the Feds way back in 2006, only to have that process slow down for the election that fall followed by U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton, the fellow leading that effort, being one of eight Prosecutors canned, was left out.

Ney and Cunningham were of course caught up in the Abramoff scandals yet no mention was made of the missing e-mails from Karl Rove and others in Bu$hCo related to this investigation. Neither did the P-R comment on the faulty logs on Black Jack's many visits to the White House. "Fruit" was flowing. Any reference to Susan B. Ralston, a top aide to Karl Rove who had to resign for her ties to Abramoff, was also omitted.

Of course there was no reference to the related guilty plea by Michael Scanlon, likely especially certain given his past work with Alabama Governor Bob Riley. The whole of the Tom Delay money mess remains ripe for inquiry which surely the P-R knows. Former Bu$hCo FDA head Lester Crawford, a native son of Demopolis no less, who pled guilty to some white collar stock shenanigans didn't make the cut.

The P-R would likely dismiss allegations by former Reagan and Daddy Bu$h Attorney General Dick Thornburgh that the prosecution of Cyril Wecht is driven by politics. Also, I've already wondered how Al.com would cover Wisconsin's Georgia Thompson.

The P-R also failed to note allegations that DOJ stalled an investigation into the New Hampshire phone jamming by GOP operatives. I'm almost done ... Karl Rove's increasingly clear involvement with the outing of the CIA's Valerie Plame is also avoided.

With all of the above just as a lead, the most revealing portion of the P-R's Editorial follows:

Democrats were so busy trying to haul the former presidential adviser before Congress to testify about alleged Republican efforts to politicize the Justice Department that they probably missed the news about the latest victim of Rove justice: Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens.

Did the P-R miss the news of Internal Justice Dept. Report Cites Illegal Hiring Practices? Monica Goodling, Kyle Sampson, ... are noted by name and yet I surely think they are fall gals/guys, as was perhaps GSA's Lurita Doan. I also recall last week's reporting that For White House, Hiring Is Political revealing what we've all known about how this administration operates. What about Miers and Bolten ordered to answer congressional subpoenas which of course will help bolster efforts to haul Karl Rove before Congress? Did the P-R miss this coverage? The P-R also missed sister publication B'ham News claiming in February in their "precious little reason to believe ..." dodge that "it's certainly not as if Rove is above playing dirty."

Before the Mobile Press-Register starts pointing fingers about anyone "missing the news" perhaps they ought to take a look in the mirror. They continue to show a downright stubborn and perhaps even pathological approach to Don Siegelman's case. John Gunn

UPDATE ~ August 25, 2008 - I'll be out of pocket on the 31st of August so unable to celebrate the anniversary of Karl Rove leaving the Bu$hCo payroll in 2007. How the Mobile P-R references Rove's DOJ might be correct given those he left in place and the culture of corruption he so represented.

Tip of the tam to WHNT in Huntstville, Alabama?

To the left you'll see Robert M. Bass. He supposedly started Oak Hill Capital Partners and they (he and his brothers at least had or have a big chunk of Oak Hill) now supposedly own WHNT up in Huntsville. Scott Horton of Harper's first raised the issue of WHNT perhaps blocking the transmission of the 60 Minutes piece on Don Siegelman. Larisa Alexandrovna is writing on this at Raw Story, HuffPo, and her own At Largely. The story has made it to Daily Kos and FireDogLake and ... Larisa wrote:

WHNT in Huntsville Alabama was purchased by Oak Hill Capital Partners from the New York Times Company early last year. Oak Hill is owned by the Bass brothers, Bush fundraisers at the "Pioneer" level – raising over $100,000 for the Bush-Cheney campaigns in both 2000 and 2004. Lee Bass is perhaps the best known member of the Bass family for his role in George W. Bush’s failed energy venture called Spectrum 7 and later for his bailing out of Harken Energy.

The Oak Hill connection emerged last night on Democratic Underground.

While SourceWatch has the New York Times listed as owning the station it appears The Gray Lady sold the station recently to Oak Hill. This CBS station, whether owned by one or more of the Bass Brothers or his/their interests or not, failed to broadcast the 60 Minutes story on Don Siegelman last night at 6:00 PM claiming "technical difficulties" prevented. And given the fact that most people still get their news from on air broadcasting, perhaps especially true in poor Alabama, it would have been good to have the coverage go out at this hour of the day.

The way WHNT has finally responded to appropriate questions regarding this failure to broadcast seems solid. And yet I want to see this followed up on. If they got caught and then fixed it then not so solid. If they legitimately just had a problem then at least we'll know. Enough smoke is here that is looks like some fire might be about. Finally, I don't know enough about the technology to know if records can be manipulated one way or the other to cover up any monkey business. I hate feeling all conspiratorial and yet after these last few years maybe it can be understood and even expected.

There's I suppose time to get to the truth on WHNT's failure to originally broadcast and yet Don Siegelman remains in prison. The main thing remains getting to the bottom of his prosecution. Setting Don free pending his appeals, plus Congressional hearings and the like, surely seems merited. It's long past time to send him home to his family. John Gunn

UPDATE ~ Evening of March 1, 2008 - It appears Robert M. Bass has been sharing his wealth with plenty of Democrats as well. The NYT reporting indicates his brothers were Bu$h backers but Robert was donating to John Kerry in 2004. Although I wasn't weeping and gnashing teeth about the broadcast failure I wanted to make sure the record was correct.

Here's a great effort for Don Siegelman

Back in the day I'd get regular holiday cards from the Siegelman family and recall Dana, pictured with Lori and Don to the left, as a child. I feel even older than normal seeing this image. She's a lovely young woman. I'm sure her parents are proud of her.

Away from my own son and other loved ones, through my own decision to serve my country, as contrasted with what Don suffered as our country's judicial system was used for seemingly political purposes, I can't help but think about what Don is missing. Again, I wasn't always pleased with "The Don" but from what I've learned the cases seem weak and should have never wound up in court. "Relatively" guilty isn't justice! Don is clearly entitled to be released as his appeals wind their way through our system.

However, resources like this from Friends of Don Siegelman 2007 help me think some measure of justice may come from this mess. I'll hope it arrives sooner rather than later. I saw a Doss Aviation truck out here at Fort Lewis just the other day and got a combination of queasy and angry as I thought of Judge Mark Fuller.

Hang in there Siegelmans! P/W

East Coast Elites Control Alabama Newspapers

To the left we have Donald and Susan (presumably his bride) Newhouse via an image I found at some NYC social site of sorts. Actually Mr. Newhouse is rather the philanthropic gem it seems. Yet let's not forget deductions and access and ... also motivates "giving". Anyways, Donald is the President of Advance Publications, Inc. Brother Samuel "Si" Newhouse is the Chairman of Advance and the Chairman and CEO of the magazine unit Condé Nast Publications. Rich as Roosevelt they both are.

The reason for posting on the Newhouse clan is an editorial coming from today's Mobile Press-Register titled Siegelman's jailing backed by legal logic that reads rather contrived. I've mentioned the strange saga of The Don before, here's just one, and I remain troubled by District Judge Mark Fuller's reasoning and potential conflicts or at least the fact he failed to disclose the same. When forced, literally forced, by the 11th Circuit to explain why he failed to cut The Don loose pending his appeal, like nearly every other white collar defendant is given, the Judge finally did explain. So the Press-Register now concludes:

So it's clear that Judge Fuller didn't act capriciously or politically when he ordered Mr. Siegelman and Mr. Scrushy to prison. His decision is backed by sound legal arguments.

Huh? The 11th demanded reasons so he generated lots of paper. "His reasoning makes sense." per the PR. We'll see if the court buys it. And they might go with deference absent obvious error. However, plenty of other questions remain in this curious case and to just offer a ditto for Judge Fuller strikes me as especially odd.

I've been seeing tons of comments about how the Newhouse men control three of Alabama's main papers and have avoided or slanted coverage on this case. I've long thought the three were right leaning, even for Alabama. I'm starting to wonder if there's not some fire here.

Finally, the title of the post is in jest. I really don't care where these particular fatcats reside. I do find it interesting how the right often weeps and gnashes teeth over media ownership from the decadent East Coast. The Newhouse family might be OK with this kind of service to the cause. P/W

Bama JuCo mess still appropriately being covered

I thought I'd blogged on Jennifer Washburn's University, Inc.: The Corporate Corruption of American Higher Education previously yet apparently I've not. This book has been on my wish list for some time however. I'm an educator at heart. While hardly a fan of the excesses of capitalism I am equally bothered by corruption. And it would appear we've got a good dose of that in Alabama.

Brett Blackledge of The B'ham News, who else regular readers or those in the know might ask, is back in the saddle with Records show Alabama State Sen. E.B. McClain got paid from state grants he sent to nonprofit group. I'd built off his earlier work when I mentioned Senator McClain's latest woes in a December post.

While Senator McClain may have committed ethical and perhaps even criminal acts by getting paid via grants he helped secure, Rep. John Rogers and his bride were also cashing checks from Sam Pettagrue's "non-profit" named "Community Resource Center" which was later changed to "Heritage of Hope".

There's also a mention of former Governor Don Siegelman's aide and then ADECA director Nick Bailey, who of course in currently in the can after cutting a deal and tossing Don under the bus. The article indicates

Nick Bailey, who was then Gov. Don Siegelman's ADECA director, sent an e-mail to an agency employee in early May 2001 asking her to "check on a grant thru Knight for Sen. McClain, re: a community resource center." Within a few days, Pettagrue received the grant.

The "thru Knight for Sen. McClain" likely doesn't help Rep. John Knight, who I'm a fan of for his efforts on tax fairness, in the best light yet that's Nick Bailey's correspondence.

Then Senate General Fund Budget Committee Chairman Roger Bedford also was mentioned for approving ADECA funds through Lawson Community College that wound up with the Pettagrue non-profit. I'm fond of Roger the Dodger as well for his often relatively Progressive positions yet accept that he's had a few "stumbles" along the way. Blackledge writes

McClain, however, requested a $200,000 grant through Bedford in December 2001, records show. He made the request in the name of Lawson State Community College.

That "through" is Blackledge's own it would appear but I still don't like the way it reads. I surely hope Brett's not part of the "team" that some fear are looking for heads of Alabama Democrats to hang on the wall.

There's more in this sorry saga.

McClain helped Pettagrue's nonprofit tap into state two-year college funding in 2003 after the ADECA grant program ended. The two-year college funding continued into 2006 for the nonprofit, totaling more than $310,000, records show.

It looks like Roy Johnson talked after all. Good grief! Certainly I think there are questions about the way these investigations are being carried out, most notably in how the Middle District's Alice Martin is going about her work. Her effort to serve subpoenas while the Alabama legislature was in session was most improper and clearly grandstanding. The early morning raid on Rep. Sue Schmitz's home was even more outrageous. I'll let Bob Martin of The Montgomery Independent bring you up to speed on Alice Martin.

While this mess might have a bonus for some of the GOP persuasion to discredit the Democratic Party in Alabama, it is also appropriate for digging to continue. I started this post noting how higher education might be corrupted when corporations get involved, not that we don't see corporate corruption in plenty of other places, yet I'm perfectly steamed over what appears to have occurred up on Goat Hill and around this state with our JuCos, ADECA funds, non-profits and the like. Here's hoping Brett Blackledge and others will keep scratching about.

If public education funds in this state have been used in this manner then this former teacher is flat out disgusted. People that hear or read about this sort of thing will naturally lose trust in what good can come from grant programs and government in general. Alabama has enough to try to overcome without this.

Additional damage can come if in fact the GOP is able to effectively get voters to associate the Alabama Democratic Party with corrupt politicians. While I'm often a fierce partisan, I'll admit there's plenty here that disturbs me about several Democratic "leaders", both past and present. However, the policy positions of the GOP seldom if ever appeal to me and I'd like to think I'm sophisticated enough in being able to figure out who to vote for anyhow. Then again, I often don't have candidates I care that much for anyhow. There are exceptions of course.

I've long believed the Alabama Democratic Party needs to so ofter stop trying to be Republican Lite yet they may also want to cull a few from their ranks. A purge may be long overdue. Throw these jokers under the bus if they've done wrong. John Gunn

Nine months with Feds but Don walks tomorrow

Justice was delayed but Don Siegelman finally got at least a little. CNN, MSNBC, the Gray Lady, ... all report that he's being cut loose pending his appeals. Clearly he's no flight risk and the 11th believes "substantial questions" about his conviction have been raised. Take that Judge Mark Fuller! Via the NYT you can actually read the Court's opinion. It reads well for what's there and also for what's not. They don't go so far as using "learned trial judge" (which is a way that appeals courts at times identify "the jackass who screwed up") yet it is always significant to reverse a matter that's mostly left with a trial judge's discretion. The 11th just couldn't give Judge Fuller's "reasoning" the normal pass.

And to think the Mobile Press-Register tried to defend the denial of the normal bond pending appeal as being backed by "sound legal arguments". Asking why it took so long for Judge Fuller to actually explain his reasoning, only doing so because the 11th forced him to, twice actually I think, wasn't tackled by the MPR. The B'ham News opined "there's precious little reason to believe justice wasn't served when a jury found him guilty" as well. Apparently, the claim from David Prather of the Huntsville Times that Don is "relatively guilty" wasn't considered by the 11th Circuit. Reckon the three Newhouse Advance Publications papers will feature an eating of crow in the morning? Or will they rely on more sleights of hand?

State Representative Mike Hubbard, the chairman of the Alabama GOP, had the gall to suggest "It would be premature to turn this development into anything other than a formality." (A formality? Is that sort of like you telling people that you'd serve no more than one or two terms when you first ran Mike?) When Don gets to DC for a little chat with Congress perhaps that will merit something a little less haughty from the right wing apologists and operators. I get 333 Google hits via Google News for the story of his release so it would appear there is some interest out there.

I'm so happy for Don and his family. John Gunn

UPDATE ~ Attorney General Michael Mukasey's timing couldn't have been better as he "vowed anew Thursday to crack down on crooked politicians and public officials, dismissing critics who accuse the Justice Department of letting partisan loyalties interfere with corruption cases."

UPDATE ~ March 31, 2008 - Rep. Artur Davis has sent Rep. John Conyers, Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, a letter expressing concerns about Don Siegelman testifying. At one point I understood Don was ready to appear and yet even then I wondered if that was wise. Congressman Davis points ou the dangers of him testifying given the ongoing nature of his case.

How would Al.com have covered the case of Wisconsin's Georgia Thompson?

U.S. Attorney Steven Biskupic up north in Milwaukee is pictured to the left. Reckon the B'ham News and Mobile Press-Register would have defended him as fiercely as they've done for his counterparts down here in Alabama on their prosecution of Don Siegelman.

First of all, understanding Georgia Thompson's reversal and immediate release in the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals is required reading. Jeralyn can help get you started. Adam Cohen of the NYT also reports on this strangely similar case of Wisconsin state bureaucrat Georgia Thompson with his A Woman Wrongly Convicted and a U.S. Attorney Who Kept His Job. TPM Muckraker, a great place to understand the political work done by at least part of the Bu$hCo DOJ, shows that "How in the heck did this case get brought?" surely does apply. Didn't a jury convict Ms. Thompson? Wasn't her case brought by career prosecutors? C'mon al.com ... aren't there some parallels here?

Finally, I can't help but note via TPM Muckraker that Monica Goodling, former White House Liason to DOJ, is marrying Mike Krempasky of RedState and ... fame. Is this some sort of Republican eugenics effort? Their children, and I'm sure they will be lovely kids, will probably get jobs at The Heritage Foundation when they are old enough to start coloring. John Gunn

UPDATE - Noonish here on the Left Coast ~ I did find one reference to Georgia Thompson's case on al.com and thought I'd share since they dared to provide the full text of a letter from the House judiciary Committee to then AG Alberto Gonzales. This letter is a worthy read. I noted how the B'ham News uses language like "Now this panel, led by Democrats and armed with subpoena power, has taken up his (Don Siegelman's) cause." before providing the text of Chairman Conyer's letter. Since Democrats are asking for information then I suppose the politics is a given?

Dana Siegelman and Scott Horton on Dan Abrams

Dan Abrams is all over the Don Siegelman story. Dana (Don's daughter) does OK in her appearance and was great in putting a face to Don's family. Harper's Scott Horton seemed solid. Dan is righteous in his demand for action from DOJ. Reckon the Mobile Press-Register will soon have something going after Dan Abrams' journalistic integrity? John Gunn

More Questions on Siegelman Judge Mark Fuller

As to The Don, issues as to the trial judge, Mark Everett Fuller of the Middle District of Alabama, continue to interest me. I've found Scott Horton of Harper's to be a tremendous source of information. Serious questions do seem to be present as to Judge Fuller. His image appears to the left.

Scott Horton weighs in on Saturday with The Curious Case of the Missing Transcript and in part explains that it is rare for defendants convicted on public integrity issues to not be granted release pending appeal. Horton writes

... fair application of the rule would have gotten in the way of the theatrics that Judge Fuller had planned for sentencing day. As that day commenced, the Montgomery court room was packed with U.S. Marshals who had been summoned by Fuller. After sentencing, Fuller directed that Siegelman be placed in manacles and dragged before the camera to provide full propaganda benefit for the Alabama Republican Party, on whose Executive Committee he had previously served (a fact the defense didn’t know until it was disclosed this summer in this space). Indeed, the event appears to have been well coordinated with the Alabama G.O.P., which immediately exploited it in press releases.

More follows as to the idea that the 11th Circuit is seemingly not pleased with how the Judge responded to their last Order requesting information on why release pending appeal isn't appropriate. There's also some rebuking of David Prather of the Hunstville Times ( a Newhouse paper ... need to look at that one) although I've often found his writing solid.

On the Alabama GOP's Executive Committee and truly a fortunate son, Mark Everett Fuller was a Bu$hCo appointee. Close ties to Congressman Terry Everett (note the "Everett" in his name) from their church in Enterprise to defense contracts to ..., it would seem the Judge continues in his good fortune. Questions as to his large interest in Doss Aviation remain, at least for Scott Howard (see his The Pork Barrel World of Judge Mark Fuller and ... ) yet few if any of the press down in Alabama seem troubled. Bob Martin, Glynn Wilson, ... are exceptions.

More to follow on this mess I'm sure. In the meantime, I'd argue The Don (and Richard Scrushy for that matter) ought to be released pending the outcome of his appeal. Let's hope the 11th Circuit sees it that way. Peace ... or War!

How might Al.com cover DOJ's Special Prosecutor

The BBC (among pretty much every other paper) reports New probe into US attorney affair. In the WaPo, Dan Froomkin shares further damning details. The White House claiming Executive Privilege in response to a Department of Justice, part of the Executive Branch I'll remind you, internal probe strikes plenty of folks (like looseheadprop) as rather odd. The exodus of DOJ underlings wrapped up in this mess was per FDL's Christy Hardin Smith not only fear of Hatch Act perils but also a way to get them the hell out of DC. These minions wouldn't even testify Karl Rove style! So far I'm not seeing much if anything in Alabama papers on the DOJ report yet given the treatment Don Siegelman's case has gotten from the Newhouse Triad I'll not expect them to give the story a whole lot of coverage. "Nothing to see here folks. Move along." John Gunn

Harsh tactics in arrest of 63 year old Sue Schmitz

Alice Martin, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, is pictured to the left. Bob Martin of The Montgomery Independent reveals in my hometown paper, The Randolph Leader, some disturbing indications of heavy handed prosecutorial misconduct in the recent arrest of Representative Sue Schmitz, D-Toney.

While I noted her arrest some days back, Mr. Martin's reporting is also worth noting. He relays one version of the events:

"The morning calm in the small town of Toney,located near Huntsville, was broken at 6:15 a.m. yesterday morning. A team of five FBI agents, accompanied by a prison matron, pounded on the door. When the man of the house answered, he was forced into the yard, shirtless in the early morning cold. The team had come for his wife, Sue Schmitz. She was dragged out of her bathroom, where she was taking a shower, handcuffed, breaking her flesh and scraping her wrists, and hustled off to prison."

If this is how this arrest was handled, even more so if in fact her attorney had told Ms. Martin's office she'd willingly surrender, then shame on Alice Martin. Although Bob Martin mentioned her possible perjury issues, Scott Horton of Harper's also can add to our understanding of Alice Martin. The way the Bu$hCo DOJ has become so transparently political is of course the real story here. The allegation that she is one of Bill Canary's "girls" ready to "take care" of Don Siegelman plus her past record with Don continues to ring true for me.

Truly I do think of getting back in the lawyering game when I read of how the powerful and well connected do business. John Gunn

Total tip of the tam to Alan Breslauer & dday & ...

The lefty blogosphere is still running with Don Siegelman's plight. I guess Don's treatment represents how foundations of Bu$hCo and much of the modern GOP, certainly the movement conservatives, has operated since at least the mid-1990s and perhaps long before. dday via Digby's Hullabaloo sends us to Alan's own work. Thanks are due to both. John Gunn

Mary, Mary Quite Contrary ~ Rove's "testimony"

I generally appreciate the work of the B'ham News' Mary Orndorff yet her recent Karl Rove submits written testimony about former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman; Democrats unimpressed completely missed the mark. It was hardly a "written statement to Congress" when she even writes "Rove's answers were sent at the request of Smith, who released them Wednesday." Texas Congressman Lamar Smith (of 99% of Americans support waterboarding infamy plus the GOP tool that claimed the Alberto Gonzales/DOJ inquiry was a fishing expedition and ...) served up the questions. It also appears Rove's lawyer Robert Luskin answered the questions rather than his client. The actual "testimony" is here. I can't find the post without a length search yet I recall a good one that explained the many, many outs Karl or his counsel had left with his/their answers. C'mon Mary, you can do better. John Gunn