Jill Simpson to Capitol Hill Today (AL Gov Siegelman DOJ prosecutors case)

[KelleyKramer]

This could get interesting.....

Lawyer to answer questions on origin of Siegelman case

Friday, September 14, 2007
MARY ORNDORFF
Birmingham News Washington correspondent

WASHINGTON - Congressional staff members today are scheduled to interview an Alabama woman about whether former Gov. Don Siegelman's prosecution was arranged by politically-motivated Republicans, part of an ongoing investigation into the independence of the U.S. Justice Department.

Jill Simpson, a lawyer from Rainsville, is scheduled to answer questions privately but on the record and under oath about discussions she says Alabama Republicans had about the long-running federal investigation of Siegelman's administration. Simpson's interview on Capitol Hill will be attended by three Democratic staffers and three Republican staffers, and one from each side will be asking her questions, according to her attorney, Priscilla Duncan. No members of Congress are expected to attend, and it will be decided later whether a transcript of the interview will be made public and whether she'll be called to testify in an open hearing.

Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee, led by Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., started looking into Siegelman's case earlier this summer as part of a broader probe of outgoing U.S. Attorney Alberto Gonzales' office and whether politics influenced who to prosecute or not prosecute. Siegelman was convicted by a jury in Montgomery in 2006 on seven corruption-related charges, and he is in prison awaiting his appeal.

Simpson in May swore in a written statement that in 2002 she heard Alabama Republicans close to Gov. Bob Riley discuss the federal investigation of Siegelman and say that White House adviser Karl Rove had knowledge of it. "William `Bill' Canary told him not to worry, that he had already gotten it worked out with Karl and Karl had spoken with the Department of Justice and the Department of Justice was already pursuing Don Siegelman," Simpson said in her affidavit about the November 2002 conference call.

More here-
http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1189758319295630.xml&coll=2

[Tarheel_Dem]

1. kick......

I can't understand why DU'ers are seemingly uninterested in this story. This story has the potential to put some real crooks behind bars, and free Gov. Siegelman. This sounds like it was a political "lynching", and it goes right to the White House.

[KelleyKramer]

2. Karl Rove, strange as it may sound...

For whatever reason, Rove has long ties to Alabama politics.. and his fingerprints are all over this.

As for lack of interest, maybe DU'ers dont realize how dirty this case was.. just unbelievable stuff that went on.

[Tarheel_Dem]

3. DU'er "LCoyote" has been all over this, but I listen to AAR all day

long. Even Keith Olbermann, who's a personal hero of mine, hasn't made mention of it yet. This case stinks to high heaven, and thank God for honest people speaking out against injustice. This is directly related to US Attorney firings.

[L. Coyote]

4. YO. Here are the threads: BUT no news yet about the testimony this week.

Political Prisoner Don Seigelman: Obstruction Of Justice Accusation Unclear = TPM
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1704777

****** Official Thread Siegelman = "KARL ROVE WAS DEEPLY INVOLVED" *******
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1777924

Political Prisoner Don Seigelman: Republican Lawyer Set To Speak With House Judiciary Under Oath
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1770148

Abramoff and Kark Rove Linked to Prosecution of Ex-Alabama Governor and Campaign Finances
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1023111

[L. Coyote]

5. Here is the best coverage I've found so far. Scott Horton's series of about 40 articles.

This may well be the Watergate of out time!

http://www.harpers.org/subjects/DonSiegelman/SubjectOf/BlogEntry
Siegelman, Don — Subject of 41 Blog Posts


There are more current posts not databesed in this list. For those, go to:

http://www.harpers.org/subjects/ScottHorton/WriterOf/BlogEntry

and scroll to the bottom for the latest

September 14, 2007
The Remarkable ‘Recusal’ of Leura Canary
by Scott Horton
http://www.harpers.org/subjects/ScottHorton/WriterOf/BlogEntry

Alabama media continue to report uncritically on almost every statement that emanates from the office of Leura Canary, the U.S. Attorney in Montgomery, who is currently in the crosshairs of the Siegelman investigation. One of the most often repeated, . . .

[KelleyKramer]

6. Thanks Coyote, I've been looking for that link...

to all the Horton articles on one page... he has done a great job of covering this case

IMHO there is a LOT more to this case that needs to come out.

Hell, just letting people know whats already been revealed should raise a lot of eyebrows.

Thanks again for the linkage.

[L. Coyote]

7. Here is the latest news, but not much on details yet. Hit the AP 6 hours ago.

GOP Lawyer Deposed on Alabama Case
Friday September 14, 2007 11:16 PM
By BEN EVANS - AP
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6922703,00.html

WASHINGTON (AP) - A Republican lawyer who says Karl Rove may have been involved in the prosecution of former Democratic Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman emerged without comment Friday from four hours of questioning at the House Judiciary Committee.

Jill Simpson was called to the Capitol to provide sworn testimony about her claim that she heard discussions in 2002 suggesting that Rove, a former top White House political adviser, may have played a role in the corruption case against Siegelman. At the time of the alleged conversation, Simpson was a campaign worker for Republican Gov. Bob Riley, who defeated Siegelman in that year's gubernatorial race.

``We answered their questions,'' Simpson's attorney Priscilla Duncan told reporters after the deposition, declining to elaborate. .........

As part of a broader investigation into political influence at the Justice Department, the Judiciary Committee recently asked the department to turn over its documents involving the case. More than forty former state attorneys general also have asked Congress to investigate.

In a letter to the committee last week, the Justice Department said it has not found any communications regarding Siegelman with the White House, members of Congress, or political party officials. The department denied the committee's request for internal documents, however .....

A Judiciary Committee spokeswoman said it could be weeks before the parties involved decide whether to release a transcript of Friday's interview, conducted by Democratic and Republican attorneys for the committee.