Know your BFEE: Bush and His Crooks with Badges Sent an Innocent Man to Jail

[Octafish]

Hey America! Can it get any more obvious?

The Siegelman case shows Bush is more than a crook.

Bush is a TRAITOR!



The little turd from Crawford and his brain grossly abused their authority.
As Adlai Stevenson noted, “Corruption in public office is treason.”
Perhaps most of you reading will agree with that great statesman. I do:
What Bush and Rove and their flunkies in the Department of Just-Us have done is TREASON.

The Siegelman Case — A Political Prosecution Exposed

By: Scott Horton Monday March 3, 2008 12:00 pm
Firedoglake.com

EXERPT…

Republicans Lead the Attack

But the show was dominated by one of 52 former attorneys general from 40 of the 50 states who have called for a Congressional probe of the conduct of the Siegelman case, former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods. He leveled a series of blistering accusations at the Bush Administration’s Justice Department. With the Alabama G.O.P. this evening issuing a near-hysterical statement in which it characterizes the CBS broadcast—before its transmission—as an anti-Republican attack piece, it was notable that Woods, like the piece’s other star witness, is a Republican. Not just any Republican, either. Grant Woods is co-chair of the McCain for President leadership committee, and a lifelong friend and advisor to the presumptive 2008 G.O.P. presidential candidate. Woods is also godfather to one of the McCain children.

SNIP…

First, we know that the first two career prosecutors assigned to the case, including the most experienced prosecutors who worked on it, came to the same conclusion that Grant Woods did: no reasonable prosecutor would ever have charged this case. The Justice Department has consistently made false statements about the roles of the two earlier prosecutors, and their role only emerged in the last few months. It’s extremely noteworthy that throughout the history of this case, whenever a career prosecutor concluded that charges should not be brought, that career prosecutor ran into a bump in his career and was off the case. The message to the remaining career prosecutors was plenty clear. In fact it is clear that the career prosecutors’ views were overridden by political appointees driven by a strong partisan political agenda.

Second, they claim that the case was brought on a fair reading of the law. It was not, and indeed reasonable career prosecutors never would have acted on the basis of the reading they advanced, and a fair detached judge never would have allowed the case to go forward. This case offered neither.

Third, they claim that evidence was produced to sustain the charges. But the key evidence that the prosecutors brought forward was false, and they knew it was false. In this case proceeding on the basis of that false evidence was a corrupt wielding of prosecutorial power, pursued for a corrupt partisan political end—the elimination of a political adversary. They withheld the Bailey notes which would have demonstrated that his memory on this was conflicted or wrong and would therefore have devastated his testimony. There is mounting evidence that one or more witnesses were unethically pressured to give false evidence or face retaliation. This suspicion surrounds not only Nick Bailey, but also Jefferson County Republican Commissioner Gary White. Note the affidavit of his wife, which a federal judge in Birmingham stated only two weeks ago he found “established a prima facie case of impermissible conduct” by the prosecutors. The claim put forward there goes precisely to these facts. White was pressured to give false evidence supporting Bailey on his false claims about the meeting. It is suggested that he would be prosecuted if he failed to do so. He refused, saying the testimony would be false. And he was prosecuted. This seems to summarize the crooked criminal justice system that Karl Rove and his friends have promoted in Alabama.

This is Only an Introduction

CBS conducted dozens of interviews and has much more that it hasn’t shown. The additional footage concerns the Canary team—husband Billy who advised the campaign of Republican gubernatorial candidates against Siegelman, and wife Leura Canary, whose prosecution of Siegelman was essential to the G.O.P.’s efforts to secure the Montgomery statehouse. And they have much more on the inexplicable conduct of federal Judge Mark Fuller, appointed by George W. Bush, a former member of the Alabama G.O.P.’s Executive Committee, and a man who publicly stated that Siegelman had a grudge against him—but who refused to recuse himself from the case.

CONTINUED…

http://firedoglake.com/2008/03/03/first-monday-the-siegelman-case-a-political-prosecution-exposed/#comments

Rove and Bush have abused their authority to and the Department of Justice to prosecute an INNOCENT MAN.

That makes the case against Bush and his regime clear and simple:

Bush and Rove abused their authority, using their offices to commit the crime of imprisoning an innocent man who also is a political rival.

That’s something Mao Tse Tung would do.
That’s something Josef Stalin would do.
That’s something Adolf Hitler would do.
That’s something Augusto Pinochet would do.

That’s not something a GOOD American president would do.
Only an evil one would.

One whose family does business with Mao's heirs.
One whose family did business with Stalin.
One whose family did business with Hitler.
One whose family did business with Pinochet.

Going by the kind of people who evil presidents have appointed to the federal bench, it certainly may be that this isn’t America any more.

It does happen in America

The political trial of Don Siegelman

By Paul Craig Roberts
Online Journal Guest Writer
Special Reports
Feb 29, 2008, 01:03

EXCERPT…

However, Federal District Judge Mark Fuller, a Bush appointee, ignored the tainted jury. Fuller himself was part of the prosecution. He bore a strong grudge against Siegelman. Fuller had been an Alabama district attorney before Bush made him a federal judge. Fuller’s successor as district attorney was appointed by Siegelman and produced evidence that Fuller had defrauded or attempted to defraud the state retirement system.

Despite his known animosity toward Siegelman, Fuller refused to recuse himself from Siegelman’s trial. According to the WOTM Special Report, Fuller owns a company that was receiving federal money during Siegelman’s trial. Fuller did not disclose this conflict of interest. Everyone knew the trial was Karl Rove’s effort to rid the Republicans of the candidate they could not beat, and the Republican judge presiding over the trial had a company whose coffers were being filled with federal money.

The Justice Department’s answer to the exposure of its frame-up of Siegelman is that Siegelman was indicted by career prosecutors and convicted in a fair trial by a jury of his peers. These claims are no more truthful than anything else the DOJ says. Horton reports that career prosecutors advised against the case, concluded it was a political vendetta and walked away from it. Canary’s "girls" were "flailing about trying to find loyal troopers who would shut up and do what is expected of them," a category into which Scott Horton says Louis Franklin and his deputy Stephen Feaga fell. The jurors were presented with Bailey’s perjury suborned by the US attorney‘s office and misled about what the testimony actually meant.

SNIP…

Unable to defeat Siegelman even with leaks from a phony investigation designed to smear him, the Republicans decided to steal the election. After all districts had reported the vote count, Siegelman thanked the voters for reelecting him and went to bed. During the night the Republicans, with no Democratic voting officials present, "recounted" the ballots in Baldwin County. Six thousand Siegelman votes that had been reported disappeared in the recount. The next morning Republican Bob Riley declared himself the winner.

The theft was so hastily arranged that the thieves forgot to change any of the other vote outcomes on the ballots. All other races had the same totals as originally reported, a statistical impossibility had there actually been a computer glitch as the election thieves claimed.

The Republican attorney general, Pryor, refused a recount. The Republican Justice Department and Republican federal judges looked the other way, as did the Republican propaganda sheets that masquerade as news media in Alabama.

CONTINUED…

http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_3013.shtml

Here's what could get people -- the supposed 19-percent of Americans who support the crooked warmonger -- to change their minds about him (never thought I’d write these words):

Must-see TV

the CBS 60-Minutes broadcast on the case.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4511971799162153726&q=Siegelman+60-minutes&total=20&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1

But wait, thanks to DU and the miracle of the Intertubes, there’s more to send.

The brilliant and heroic lala_rawraw and other great DUers helped shine the light of Truth on a most hideous chapter of American history. And you know what? It has started to make a difference.

Hissyspit
*** Official 60 Minutes Siegelman/Rove Story Thread *** Blocked in Alabama! (TRANSCRIPT & VIDEO)

L. Coyote
Political Prisoner Don Siegelman: Will the 60 Minutes Spotlight Make a Difference?

L. Coyote
HORTON on McCain, Abramoff and the Riley Band of Choctaw Republicans

blm
Kerry to FCC: Will be monitoring Siegelman story blackout investigation closely.

sfexpat2000
FCC looks into "60 Minutes" blackout

L. Coyote
HORTON on McCain, Abramoff and the Riley Band of Choctaw Republicans

happydreams
HERO ALERT: FCC Commisioner Michael Copps

Pamela Troy
"Grotesque Imaginings"

fascisthunter
Have any Democratic Officials Said anything about Siegelman?

MelissaB
Finally in local paper (Siegleman): Alabama in spotlight not always good

trof
Mobile Register: "CBS (60 Minutes) guilty of bad journalism."

sfexpat2000
Someone needs to ask McCain about Don Siegelman.

Jeffersons
History on Siegelman's Opponent Bob Riley from ALABAMA...

mod mom
Harpers: The Pork Barrel World of Judge Fuller (GOV SIEGELMAN'S JUDGE)

Trof
Here's how you can help Don Siegelman:

bleever
Dana Siegelman coming up on Dan Abrams

marmar
The Nation: The 60 Minutes Blackout

CatWoman
Will Newsweek fire Rove over Siegelman scandal?

Hissyspit
BREAKING: Larisa Alexandrovna - Alabama Dems Call For Special Prosecutor

Hissyspit
Scott Horton: Birmingham News (Unofficial Voice Of Alabama GOP) Dispense More Koolaid

Junkdrawer
Scott Horton: CBS Says WHNT-TV Lying About "Technical Problem"...

kpete
NYTimes editorial covers 60 minutes Siegelman 'blackout'

whereismyparty
Don Siegelman can't appeal his conviction!

McCamy Taylor
Karl Rove's Glass House Problem: Or How Governor W. Used the Texas Lottery To Pay Off Ben Barnes

Originalpckelly
WHNT-TV (station Siegelman blackout) is owned by close Bush ally. Robert Bass...

samplegirl
"Free Don Siegelman Thread" Let's keep this horrific story alive

lonestarnot
"(S)iegelman whistleblower on MSNBC! Siegelman political prisoner.

Joanne98
Alabama Democratic Party Calls for Special Prosecutor

Junkdrawer
Old Time DUers: Remember Lee Bass and Harken Energy?

pnorman
Siegelman of Alabama -- help needed

Phoebe
Don't forget that Siegelman story is just a metaphor for the perversion of the Justice Department

sfexpat2000
Don Siegelman's birthday is on Sunday. Please send him a note.

burythehatchet
The media lock down on the Don Siegelman story must be broken.

L. Coyote
Siegelman judge's firm got $18 million contract

L. Coyote
A Political Prosecution Goes Under the Microscope ** USAs = the “Gonzales Eight”

santamargarita
Let's not Forget Political Prisoner, Don Siegelman

lala_rawraw
A Letter from Dana Siegelman...

If it weren’t for Democratic Underground, I probably wouldn’t have known about Gov. Siegelman's case.

Detroit's newspapers, I remember, did mention the conviction of an Alabama govenor on "bribery charges" getting sentenced, but they provided zero detail. And that was a while ago. Today, even with the “60 Minutes” broadcast, odds are I wouldn’t have heard about the circumstances. No one at work talked about it, without me bringing it up.

Now, if the media blackout can be broken for this story, why not break the Cone of Silence that has enveloped the rest of the BFEE’s criminality? Who knows? It might change things.

Not that Bush is a traitor is news to good DUers. Who can forget Valerie Plame? Please share this information with your family and friends in Alabama—across America and around the world. It won’t be too long before those who want justice will see the likes of Karl the Nazi Rove and his body, the monkey, doing their own perp walks. On that day, America will again be a nation of laws.



That will be due in large part to DUers. Thank you all.

[malaise]

1. Thanks Octafish

Bookmarking for my weekend read

[Octafish]

13. The Pork Barrel World of Judge Mark Fuller

You're welcome, malaise. Thank YOU for all that you and many DUers who I have not named in the OP because of my own indolence have done for Gov. Siegelman, even more than my own enlightenment.

Honest. No one in Minkowski Space has told me to my face what I've learned on DU regarding Gov. Siegelman.

For example:

The Pork Barrel World of Judge Mark Fuller

Harper's
DEPARTMENT No Comment
BY Scott Horton
PUBLISHED August 6, 2007

For the last week, we’ve been examining the role played by Judge Mark Everett Fuller in the trial, conviction, and sentencing of former Alabama Governor Don E. Siegelman. Today, we examine a post-trial motion, filed in April 2007, asking Fuller to recuse himself based on his extensive private business interests, which turn very heavily on contracts with the United States Government, including the Department of Justice.

The recusal motion rested upon details about Fuller’s personal business interests. On February 22, 2007, defense attorneys obtained information that Judge Fuller held a controlling 43.75% interest in government contractor Doss Aviation, Inc. After investigating these claims for over a month, the attorneys filed a motion for Fuller’s recusal on April 18, 2007. The motion stated that Fuller’s total stake in Doss Aviation was worth between $1-5 million, and that Fuller’s income from his stock for 2004 was between $100,001 and $1 million dollars.

In other words, Judge Fuller likely made more from his business income, derived from U.S. Government contracts, than as a judge. Fuller is shown on one filing as President of the principal business, Doss Aviation, and his address is shown as One Church Street, Montgomery, Alabama, the address of the Frank M. Johnson Federal Courthouse, in which his chambers are located.

Doss Aviation, Inc. (motto: “Total Quality Service Isn’t Expensive, It’s Priceless”) and its subsidiary, Aureus International, hold contracts with a number of government agencies. Quoting from defense counsel’s motion for recusal (emphasis in the original):

Doss Aviation, Inc. has been awarded numerous federal military contracts from the United States government worth over $258,000,000, including but not limited to: An August 2002 contract with the Air Force for $30,474,875 for Helicopter Maintenance, a November 2003 contract with the Navy for $5,190,960 for aircraft refueling, a February 2006 contract with the Air Force for over $178,000,000 for training pilots and navigators, and a March 2006 contract with the Air Force for $4,990,541.28 for training at the United States Air Force Academy. The February 2006 contract with the Air Force for over $178,000,000 is for 10 ½ years, but is renewable from year to year . . .

An Enterprise Ledger article dated April 3, 2005, states that “FBI agents, military and civilian pilots and medical professionals all over the world wear (Aureus International) products which are cut, sewn, inspected, bagged and shipped from its home in Enterprise.”

Doss Aviation and its subsidiaries also held contracts with the FBI. This is problematic when one considers that FBI agents were present at Siegelman’s trial, and that Fuller took the extraordinary step of inviting them to sit at counsel’s table throughout trial. Moreover, while the case was pending, Doss Aviation received a $178 million contract from the federal government.

CONTINUED...

http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/08/hbc-90000762

Annual report details, Doss Aviation, 2002

Gawsh. Ain't that a drag for the klan. That's the judge's name, right there as a principal owner of a company doing MILLIONS -- maybe BILLIONS by now, in the manner of Blackwater and ENRON -- in the warmonger business with Uncle Monkey.

[EFerrari]

2. . . .

:loveya:

[Octafish]

18. Doss Aviation awarded a USAF contract worth $178 million.

Now Poppy's privatizing the Air Force! Tsk. Tsk.

(Doss Awarded Flight Screening Contract Worth $178 Million)

PRESS RELEASE
DOSS AVIATION, INC.
Colorado Springs, CO
4 P.M. GMT, April, 2006

Doss Aviation, Inc, of Colorado Springs, CO was awarded a US Air Force flight training contract potentially worth $178.2 million over 10 years. The program calls for the flight screening of US Air Force pilot candidates prior to their attendance at formal Air Force flight training courses. Doss will provide a turn-key operation that will provide flight training, aircraft maintenance, lodging, food service, 24/7 security, and fitness facilities at its 209,000 square foot facility at Pueblo Memorial Airport in Pueblo, CO. Doss will build up the training program to full capacity during the first 1 ½ years of operation. At its full operation, the Doss facility will train up to 1,700 officers per year in 45 company-owned aircraft. The operation will employ over 170 people.

According to Colonel Bernard Schwartz, the senior Air Force officer of the Doss contract, “This marks the first time that a base and flight training school have been contracted through a private company.” Previously, the Air Force contracted flight training programs to 600 aviation support companies throughout the country.

Company President and CEO, Mr. Frank Hunter, said, “This is a real coup for Doss Aviation. The competition was tough, but our hard work to build a model training facility paid off.” Mr. Marvin Stein, Chairman of the Pueblo Economic Development Corporation added, “This has been the product of two years of hard work. The impact that this Air Force program will have on our airport and the community will be phenomenal.”

SOURCE: http://www.dossaviation.com/page.asp?id=60&name=April%202006

Right back at 'ya, sfexpat2000! Thanks for the light!

[blm]

3. You're the best....always.

A patriot of the first order.

[Octafish]

20. A Very Republican Justice: Judge Mark Everett Fuller, Rep. Terry Everett, and others

A Very Republican Justice: Judge Mark Everett Fuller, Rep. Terry Everett, and others

Harper's
DEPARTMENT No Comment
BY Scott Horton (with contributions from Evan Macgruder)
PUBLISHED August 1, 2007

The legal career of Alabama Judge Mark Everett Fuller, who presided over the conviction and sentencing of former Governor Don Siegelman, has always been linked to the Republican party. Fuller was appointed as a district attorney by G.O.P. Governor Fob James, and appointed to the bench by George W. Bush with the backing of Alabama’s two G.O.P. Senators, Richard Shelby and Jefferson Beauregard Sessions.

Moreover, throughout his rise Fuller has enjoyed a close relationship with another key Republican political figure: Congressman Terry Everett, a family friend (and the source of the “Everett” in “Mark Everett Fuller”). They both attend the same Baptist church in Enterprise, Alabama, and public records show that Fuller has donated to Everett’s campaigns, and that he has in the past served as Everett’s campaign manager.

Congressman Terry Everett (R-Al.)Everett, who ran a small empire of local newspapers, was first elected to Congress in 1992, surprising political analysts when he beat Montgomery-based George C. Wallace Jr. (then a Democrat, now a Republican). “One thing that was curious,” a Montgomery-based political observer (who asked not to be identified) told me, was that “suddenly a lot of outside folks started showing up to manage Everett’s campaign; word was that Everett had reached out for top-tier political campaign support, that he had gone out-of-state.”

In any case, Everett is also a political powerhouse, with seats on three committees of vital importance to his constituency: armed services, intelligence, and agriculture. He is one of the most conservative members of the house, with views that seem well in tune with his district. His grounding in world affairs relevant to the intelligence post is, however, subject to some question. The Congressional Quarterly’s Jeff Stein conducted a test of the basic knowledge of key decision-makers about basic facts related to the current war on terror. Among other things, he asked Everett: “Do you know the difference between a Sunni and a Shiite?” He reports the answer:

Everett responded with a low chuckle. He thought for a moment: ‘One’s in one location, another’s in another location. No, to be honest with you, I don’t know. I thought it was differences in their religion, different families or something.’

CONTINUED...

http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/08/hbc-90000690

YOU're the best, my Friend. You...



Thanks, blm. You always make me feel important. Calling me a patriot makes me feel as special as can be.

[HuffleClaw]

4. you REALLY should have posted something with at least SOME detail !

ok, just kidding. wow, what an impressively comprehensive mess 'o info. i hadn't heard before about the stolen election bit. it is still a sad statement about the media though, that this tale is only marginally public knowledge. if we're lucky it might grow legs.

[Octafish]

22. Feeding at the Pentagon Trough...

Stolen elections are Karl Rove's speciality.

And they don't steal elections to do good things.

They steal to steal more.

For example, here's where Abramoff and Duke Cunningham and the rest of Congress come in...

What Mike Hale said...

Fuller blamed Siegelman for exposing him. Fuller owns 47% and is/was president of Doss Aviation of Colorado, Springs, CO. He was working both jobs. His uncle Everett Terry serves on several Congressional Defense Committees and made his nephew Mark Everett Fuller a wealthy man through military contracts.

SOURCE: http://eatatjoesplace.blogspot.com/2007/12/from-words-of-power.html

I used to keep things simple, but these treasons long ago reached the point of complexity.

Praise be to Rev. Moon for computers.

Speaking of giving a story legs: Where's the rest of Congress? Where's former President Clinton?

[formercia]

5. Great as always. n/t

[Octafish]

28. Judge Mark Fuller, Bert Barr and Clifford Wentworth may be birds who flew together.

Unlike so many politicians these days, I don't avert my eyes -- I plagiarize.

Mike Hale (again) adds detail to how Judge Fuller happened upon ownership of Doss Aviation:

Mike Hale
Birmingham, AL Reply »
|Report Abuse |#1 Oct 19, 2007

Siegelman served as Alabama's Secretary of State from 1979 to 1987 and as Attorney General from 1987 to 1991. In his roles of registering corporations in Alabama and overseeing criminal investigations by the state, Siegelman had obtained evidence linking Fuller, Bush, and other top Alabama and Florida Republicans to drug trafficking and the beginning of election manipulation in Alabama favoring the GOP. Caylor claims that Mark E. Fuller, listed as Doss official in Montgomery, is the same person as Mark J. Fuller of Enterprise. Judge Mark Fuller's Enterprise residence was 10 Indigo Place.

Bert Barr, listed as Doss' registered agent, was Fuller's law firm partner in Enterprise. Fuller also inherited Cargo International, another drug running firm, from Wentworth.
Siegelman ran for Governor to go after the GOP mobsters who had bought their way into practically every state office, including the commissions that oversee and regulate dog and horse tracks, real estate, trucking, and business practices.

What we have discovered is that Judge Fuller inherited an extensive aircraft and money laundering network from one Clifford Wentworth who was busted for drug trafficking in the Drug Enforcement Administration's Operation Sunburn in 1981. In a deal worked out between then-Vice President George H. W. Bush, who was in charge of Ronald Reagan's "War on Drugs," Wentworth was sentenced by U.S. Judge for the Northern District of Florida Maurice Paul to 20 years in prison and a $25,000 fine with all but six months suspended. Wentworth, who served his short prison term at Eglin Air Force Base in North Florida, agreed to turn his entire air drug smuggling and money laundering operation over to Barry Seal, a contract CIA pilot, and the business network operated out of Enterprise, Alabama by current U.S. Judge Fuller. Wentworth was then ordered into the federal witness protection program and he continues to provide lucrative real estate and other services for top GOP officials in Florida and elsewhere. Seal was gunned down gangland-style at a halfway house in Baton Rouge after his conviction and agreement to turn state's evidence against the Medellin cartel and his U.S. government handlers, one of whom reportedly included Vice President Bush.

Using airfields in Dothan and Fort Rucker, Alabama, Fuller's network ensured a steady stream of drugs from Colombia and the Dominican Republic to enter the United States. Then-Alabama Attorney General Siegelman became aware of these network after being elected in 1987 and he started to crackdown.

Fuller's inherited criminal network included one money laundering operation disguised as a mobile phone firm, STN, which physically operated out of Dothan. Cassady Fuller & Marsh was Fuller's law firm in Enterprise. Most of Fuller's enterprises maintained their "DBA" (do business as) addresses in Enterprise. Another Fuller company, German Imports, was also a money laundering operation.

SOURCE: http://www.topix.com/forum/city/fort-payne-al/T2RH9JNLR0T90Q0NF

Weird how so many, er, enterprises orbit around a certain class of American.

Thanks for giving a damn, my Friend!

[formercia]

30. Poppy likes to cover his tracks.

I spent some time in 1991-92 being chased around Alabama by Bush gang. I knew they had extensive connections there, and this proves it.

[wildbilln864]

6. k&r! thanks octafish. nt

:hi:

[Octafish]

34. The Gulag comes to America

Corporate McPravda is no longer hiding the criminality of the BFEE.

Who knows where that may lead?

The gulag comes to America: The Don Siegelman case

By Ernest Partridge
Online Journal Guest Writer
Feb 1, 2008, 01:00

Larisa Alexandrovna, one of the few journalists to investigate this case in depth, writes: "For most Americans, the very concept of political prisoners is remote and exotic, a practice that is associated with third-world dictatorships but is foreign to the American tradition. The idea that a prominent politician – a former state governor – could be tried on charges that many observers consider to be trumped-up, convicted in a trial that involved numerous questionable procedures, and then hauled off to prison in shackles immediately upon sentencing would be almost unbelievable."

Less "unbelievable," perhaps, if we reflect upon a dominant Republican mind-set: politics as warfare, the Democrats are "evil" and "the enemy," and not "the loyal opposition." "You are either with us or with the terrorists," said George Bush -- no compromise, no alternatives, and no middle ground. Thus the goal of the GOP warrior is not merely to defeat the Democrats; the goal is to destroy them.

SNIP...

If, somehow, we follow the road to restoration of democracy and the rule of law, we should see at the beginning of that journey the release and exoneration of Don Siegelman, the disgrace and punishment of his tormenters, and the end of political prosecution.

SNIP...

Every day that Siegelman remains in prison every American citizen who openly dissents from the policies and protests the criminality of the Bush/Cheney regime is less free and more vulnerable to politically motivated prosecution.

http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_2905.shtml

CONTINUED...

http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_2905.shtml

Hi, wildbilln864! Interesting times, wot? And WHERE were the Democrats and the Democratic Party in this story? Spines, anyone?

Perhaps we will see Smirk, Sneer and the rest of the BFEE locked up. They sure as heck deserve it.

[Hissyspit]

7. Excellent. Let's keep the pressure on.

[Octafish]

35. It Does Happen In America—The Political Trial of Don Siegelman

Even Good Republicans are on to the BFEE:

It Does Happen In America—The Political Trial of Don Siegelman

By Paul Craig Roberts

EXCERPT...

How in the world did a jury convict two men of a non-crime?

The answer is that the US Attorney used Governor Siegelman's indicted young assistant, Nick Bailey, to create the impression among some of the jurors that "something must have happened." Unbeknownst to Siegelman, Bailey was extorting money or accepting bribes from Alabama businessmen in exchange for state business. Bailey was caught. Presented with threats of a long sentence, Bailey agreed to testify falsely that Siegelman came out of a meeting with Scrushy and showed Bailey a $250,000 check he had accepted in exchange for appointing Scrushy to the Certificate of Need board. Prosecutors knew that Bailey's testimony was false, not only because, according to Bailey himself, they had Bailey rewrite his testimony many times and rehearsed him until he had it down pat, but also because they had the check. The records show that the check, written to a charitable organization, was cut days after the meeting from which Siegelman allegedly emerged with check in hand.

It is a crime for prosecutors to withhold exculpatory evidence. The Washington Post reported on February 26 that Siegelman's attorneys have called for a special prosecutor after CBS quoted prosecution witness Bailey "as saying prosecutors met with him about 70 times. He said they had him regularly write out his testimony because they were frustrated with his recollection of events. The written notes, if they existed, could have damaged the credibility of Bailey's story, but no such notes were turned over to the defense, as would have been required by law."

In video documentaries available online, Bailey's friend, Amy Methvin, says that Bailey told her that he was going to parrot the prosecutors' line, "pay for play," "quid pro quo." Methvin says Bailey went into a speech about money exchanged for favors. "You sound like a robot," Methvin told him. "You would have it memorized, too, if you had heard the answers as many times as I have heard the answers," Bailey replied.

The prosecutors also had help from some jurors. On a WOTM Special Report hosted by former US Attorney Raymond Johnson, Alabama lawyer Julian McPhillips produced emails from two jurors about influencing other jurors in order to achieve a conviction. Jurors are not supposed to discuss a case outside the court or to consider information other than what is presented in court and allowed by the judge. The outside communication among the jurors is sufficient to declare a mistrial.

However, Federal District Judge, Mark Fuller, a George W. Bush appointee, ignored the tainted jury. Fuller's handling of the case suspiciously favored the prosecution. He bore a strong grudge against Siegelman. Fuller had been an Alabama district attorney before Bush made him a federal judge. Fuller's successor as district attorney was appointed by Siegelman and produced evidence that suggested that Fuller had connived with his former senior assistant in a "pension spiking" scheme, which some viewed as a fraud or attempted fraud against the state retirement system.

CONTINUED...

http://vdare.com/roberts/080304_siegelman.htm

It DOES happen here.

http://www.motherbird.com/Can'tHap.htm

Thanks for giving a damn, Hissyspit!

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

8. OMG! *LOL* Those pictures made me want to chew at the screeen and remove their noses!

:rofl:

I don't mean to make light of these criminals.

It's just that, they have taken 'abuse of power' and 'crimes against humanity' and 'high crimes and misdemeanors' to such an extreme, my outrage reverts to silliness, I guess.

What is truly disturbing is this: if they are allowed to get away with all they have done against this nation, its people and human beings around the globe, they WILL BE BACK, with a vengeance.

[Octafish]

36. 'Rocky Rococo at your cervix.' And NO free pass for BFEE in 2009.

It's good to ridicule these traitors. Morale and all...

You also are quite correct: We can not let them off the hook in 2009, like in 1993.

Robert Parry: Hillary Clinton Signals Free Pass for Bush

AMY GOODMAN: You also talked about President Clinton—that’s President Bill Clinton’s statement on December 17th. Explain what he said.

ROBERT PARRY: Well, he was asked what his wife would do if she became president, and he said the first thing that President Clinton—I guess you might say Clinton 44—would do would be to have him, Clinton 42, and former President Bush, Bush 41, go off on a worldwide fence-mending tour, in effect, around the world to sort of clean up some of the problems that had been created by Bush 43. And again, it reflected a kind of sense that they’re all in this together, that there wasn’t the kind of breaking from the policies of the Bush administration that some of the other Democrats have been advocating. It suggested that, in effect, that a Clinton presidency would not hold Bush 43 accountable in a serious way. It would be very difficult to recruit Bush 41 into this kind of an operation, if the new administration was pursuing possible criminal or other actions against Bush 43.

AMY GOODMAN: You also have written further about this following in line with the first—well, President Clinton, when he was in office, his so-called bipartisan approach.

ROBERT PARRY: Right. One of the most troubling things to me about the first Clinton administration was that in late ’92 and early ’93, after the election and after Bill Clinton won, he had a real opportunity to do many things. First, there were a number of investigations that were still underway. The Iran-Contra investigation was still alive. Special Prosecutor Lawrence Walsh was beginning to actually open up new areas of his investigation, including going after a possible obstruction of justice by then-President Bush. There was also the Iraqgate investigation was being pursued, that was the arming—helping to arm Saddam Hussein in the 1980s. And there were other ones, like the October Surprise investigation, of whether some of those contacts between the Republicans and the Iranians went back to 1980 in the campaign then, and also the Passportgate investigation, which was a dirty trick that the Bush administration had tried to pull by searching through Bill Clinton’s passport file to find dirt that they could use against him. So all those investigations were going.

Plus, Bill Clinton had the opportunity, because he was the first president elected after the end of the Cold War, he had a real chance to do a serious historical review, a truth commission, if you will. He essentially threw all those things aside, as did other Democrats in Washington. They were looking, as they said, to the future, not to the past. They didn’t really want to get into these kind of, what they thought, refighting the old battles of the ’80s. And essentially they swept much of this very important history and these very serious issues of wrongdoing by the Reagan-Bush administrations under the rug.

And the results of that, while they may have thought it was very clever at the time, the result was to essentially establish Reagan’s legacy in a very positive light, to establish George H.W. Bush’s legacy quite well, and that opened the door—left open the door for the restoration of the Bush dynasty in 2000. So what Bill was doing in terms of his efforts to play politics, if you will, with this information, and even if he had a good intention of trying to use that to increase chances of passing domestic legislation, what he really ended up doing was giving the American people a false history of that era and enabling the Republicans to reorganize and to come back with—based on what essentially were false narratives of that period.

AMY GOODMAN: Now, of course, this is not a comment about what his wife, the New York senator, Hillary Rodham Clinton, would do if she were president.

ROBERT PARRY: Right, but if he indeed is telling the truth—and I presume they have talked about this—that if the first thing, as he put it, she would do would be to have him and George H.W. Bush go off on this worldwide trip, it suggests again an unwillingness to really hold this administration, the second Bush administration, accountable. There are many serious issues that will be left hanging, in terms of possible criminal proceedings against this president: his involvement with torture, the possibility there was obstruction of justice in terms of investigations of things like that, the pending issues about Valerie Plame and her exposure, and any number of others. So you have—you can have either an effort to really dig into that and hold them accountable, or you can have this effort to sort of all be in this together and sweep it under the rug and move on, which seems to be what Bill Clinton is talking about.

CONTINUED w AUDIO, too...

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/1/2/robert_parry_hillary_clinton_signals_free

"This land has lots of trousers, this land has lots of mousers, and pussycats to eat them when the sun... goes... down!!"

http://thewreckroom.blogspot.com/2005/03/regnad-kcin.html

[Pastiche423]

9. Since the transcript from his trial are now finished

does anyone know when the appeal will begin?

Recommend.

[Octafish]

38. Prosecutors say Siegelman should remain in prison during appeal

Soon. Goober Goopers say, "Never."

Prosecutors say Siegelman should remain in prison during appeal

By BOB JOHNSON
Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Story last updated at 3:45 p.m. on Tuesday, March 4, 2008

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Federal prosecutors have told appeals court judges that former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman should remain in prison while his conviction in a government corruption case is being appealed.

Prosecutor Louis Franklin said the government believes Siegelman's attorneys have not shown that the former governor has a substantial chance of winning his case on appeal and therefore should remain incarcerated.

The filing Monday by prosecutors disputed Siegelman's claim that there was no proof that there was a "quid pro quo" agreement between him and then-HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy in the bribery case.

SNIP...

Meanwhile, both prosecutors and attorneys for Siegelman said the process of preparing a transcript of the two-month-long trial is finally nearing completion. Preparation of the transcript was delayed by the death of the original court reporter, Jimmy Dickens.

Attorneys for Siegelman and Scrushy can't file the official appeals to the 11th Circuit until the clerk for the federal courts' Middle District of Alabama certifies the transcript is complete.

"It looks to me it's substantially complete," Siegelman attorney Vince Kilborn said. He said attorneys had already started working on the briefs for Siegelman's appeal.

SNIP...

The 11th Circuit judges have not indicated when they will rule on Siegelman's request to be released on appeal bond.

CONTINUED...

http://www.jacksonville.com/apnews/stories/030408/D8V6QRS05.shtml

Thanks for giving a damn, Pastiche423. The railroading of Gov. Siegelman needs as much attention as possible.

[EFerrari]

40. I think we should put together a mail campaign to the Birmingham paper.

They're in it up to their eyeballs.

And raise some questions about Abramoff and Scanlon, Rove and Riley. It doesn't even matter how close we get to a bull's eye. Let's see how long they can take it. :grr:

[Hissyspit]

10. Here's Larisa's latest:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=2965926&mesg_id=2965926

[Octafish]

41. Hmmm. lala_rawraw wants to know: 'What could Franklin and Rove discussed over din-din?'

lala_rawraw asks:

1. Did Mr. Franklin ever have dinner with Karl Rove in Washington DC during 2004 - 2007?

2. Did Mr. Franklin ever have dinner with Karl Rove in Alabama during 2004-2007?

Gee. Could they've been talking about "taking out" a good man?

EXCERPT...

Career Prosecutors Opposed Siegelman Case

DEPARTMENT No Comment
BY Scott Horton
PUBLISHED October 29, 2007

EXCERPT...

Rove Called the Shots

The new posture taken by the increasingly implausible defense of the Siegelman prosecution is simple. Louis Franklin called all the shots. And Franklin insists that Karl Rove had no dealings with him and thus no influence on the case.

But these claims simply cannot be squared with the record, and with repeated statements that Franklin himself made to the court. But maybe we should start just with the accounts published previously by the Birmingham News itself, such as its March 26, 2006 report on the Siegelman case in which it offers its signature Franklin exclusive:

Louis Franklin, the acting U.S. attorney in the case, said career employees from the Middle District of Alabama and the Public Integrity Division in Washington have made the major decisions in the case.11. Kim Chandler, Siegelman Ties Riley to Indictment, Birmingham News, Mar. 26, 2006, p. 21A.

On February 29, 2006, Franklin filed a sworn affidavit, in which he discussed the decision making process:

We informed defense counsel that the investigation was a joint effort involving the USAO-MDAL , DOJ Public Integrity Section and theAlabama Attorney General’s Office and each entity would participate in all decision-making processes.

Franklin goes on to describe a negotiation session with Scrushy’s counsel in which, even by his account, Noel Hillman played the leading role. In para. 18 of the same affidavit, Franklin states that he is uncertain about a new indictment because whether charges can be brought requires the approval of the Criminal Division in Washington, and they have not yet informed him of their decision.

On April 14, 2006, Louis Franklin filed a motion to block Governor Siegelman from arguing or presenting evidence that the prosecution was politically motivated—and won. Here’s what Franklin told Judge Fuller:

In this case, the only person associated with the prosecutors who is accused of discriminatory motive is U.S. Attorney Leura Canary…

Former Attorney General, and now United States Circuit Judge Bill Pryor publicly announced the joint state and federal investigation of Defendant Siegelman’s administration in June 2001—months before Ms. Canary was appointed U.S. Attorney. The federal grand jury did not convene in connection with this investigation until June 2004 — well after Ms. Canary’s recusal from the case. . .

Louis Franklin, the acting U.S. Attorney in the case, and career employee from the Middle District of Alabama’s U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Public Integrity Division of the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., and the Alabama Attorney General’s Office have jointly made all of the substantive decisions in the case since Ms. Canary’s recusal, including the decisions to convene a special grand jury in 2004 and to present charges to that grand jury. None of these individuals have been accused of political motivations by the defendants, either in the case or in the press. Moreover, any claims regarding Ms. Canary’s political motivations cannot be imputed to them.

CONTINUED...

http://harpers.org/archive/2007/10/hbc-90001540

Thanks in no small part to Scott Horton, lala_rawraw, Hissyspit and a whole lot of good DUers and people across the net, Gov. Siegelman may soon go free. Conversely, Rove, Fuller, Franklin and a whole lot of the BFEE may soon be in prison.

[mod mom]

11. DAN ABRAMS COVERING THIS ON MSNBC RIGHT NOW!

[Octafish]

42. The guy must be one of the few reporters on TV.

Abrams covers the story, including an interview segment with Dana Siegelman, the governor's daughter:

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5749

Thanks mod mom. Truth be told: I probably wouldn't have known about this injustice if it weren't for you and a bunch of good DUers.

[annabanana]

12. Kick!. . Rec! . . & bookmark!. . . . . n/t

[Octafish]

44. William Pryor: Unfit to Judge

As Alabama attorney general, Bill Pryor ordered investigations of top Democrats, including Gov. Siegelman. That's what qualifies somebody in the eyes of the BFEE for promotion. And Bush has been appointing these turds to lifetime positions on the federal bench, ensuring Bush league justice for generations to come.

William Pryor: Unfit to Judge

Appeals Court Nominee Promotes Extreme Right-Wing Ideology, Undermines Individual Rights and Constitutional Liberties

People for the American Way

As Attorney General of the state of Alabama, William Pryor — nominated by President Bush to a lifetime seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit — has amassed a staggering record of hostility toward the rights and interests of ordinary Americans, including attacks on the authority of Congress to prohibit discrimination and to protect the environment, separation of church and state, reproductive freedom, and equal protection of the laws for gay men and lesbians.

Pryor’s right-wing ideology is far outside the mainstream of American legal thought. Releasing a detailed report today on Pryor’s record and in opposition to Pryor’s confirmation, People For the American Way President Ralph G. Neas called Pryor “one of the most dangerous judicial nominees of this administration that we’ve seen yet.”

“What can President Bush be thinking?” asked Neas. “Maybe President Bush thinks Bill Pryor will make other far-right judicial nominees look tame. Maybe he thinks any Supreme Court nominee will look good in comparison. Or maybe Pryor is this month’s political protection payment to satisfy the demands of the Religious Right political leaders and their allies who are constantly on guard for any signs of moderation. Whatever the explanation, there is no excuse for this nomination.”

SNIP...

Other aspects of Pryor’s record discussed in People For the American Way’s report include:

* Pryor defended Alabama’s practice of handcuffing prisoners to a hitching post in a case in which an inmate alleged he was left in the hot sun for seven hours without water or bathroom breaks. The Court rejected Pryor’s argument, holding that “the use of the hitching post under these circumstances violated ‘the basic concept underlying the Eighth Amendment, is nothing less than the dignity of man.’” Pryor decried the ruling, quoting Justice Clarence Thomas’ dissent in calling the decision a case of the majority applying “its own subjective views on appropriate methods of prison discipline.”

* Pryor urged the Supreme Court to hold that, under the Americans with Disabilities Act, state employees cannot sue for damages to protect their rights against discrimination. The Court agreed, in one of a series of 5-4 decisions on “states’ rights” questions. Although the ADA is regarded as one of the landmark civil rights laws of the past fifteen years, Pryor said he was “proud” of his role in “protecting the hard-earned dollars of Alabama taxpayers when Congress imposes illegal mandates on our state.”

* Pryor has offered steadfast support inside the court and out for a state judge who has officially sponsored sectarian prayers in the courtroom before juries and who has installed religious displays of the Ten Commandments in his courtroom and in the state judicial building. Pryor has outspokenly deplored rulings by the courts to uphold the Establishment Clause of the Constitution.

* Pryor has called Roe v. Wade “the worst abomination of constitutional law in our history” and has supported efforts to erect unconstitutional barriers to the exercise of reproductive freedom. He defended a “partial-birth abortion” ban in Alabama, although it lacked the constitutionally required exception to protect the health of the pregnant woman.

* Pryor believes that it is constitutional to imprison gay men and lesbians for having sex in the privacy of their own homes, and has filed a brief urging the Supreme Court to uphold Texas’ “Homosexual Conduct law,” which criminalizes such conduct. Pryor believes that singling out gay men and lesbians in this manner does not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In the same brief, Pryor equated for purposes of legal analysis sex between two adults of the same gender with “activities like prostitution, adultery, necrophilia, bestiality, possession of child pornography, and even incest and pedophilia…”

* Pryor has criticized as “political correctness” the Supreme Court’s ruling that the denial of admission to women by the Virginia Military Institute, a public, taxpayer-supported institution, violated women’s rights to equal protection.

CONTINUED w Links...

http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=10911

Just-us. Thank you for understanding, annabanana!

[lonestarnot]

14. K & R and

:applause:

[Octafish]

46. Bush DOJ 'evaded the law, misrepresented the truth, and imposed a veil of secrecy...'

A whole bunch of the sitting federal judges will need to be impeached for real Justice to return to the USA. People at the Alliance for Justice are on to what I call the BFEE or Bush Crime Family:

Press Release from the Alliance for Justice

Alliance for Justice Statement on House Judiciary Subcommittees Joint Hearing on 'Allegations of Selective Prosecution'

House Judiciary Subcommittees on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security and Commercial and Administrative Law joint hearing on: "Allegations of Selective Prosecution: The Erosion of Public Confidence in Our Federal Justice System"

October 22, 2007, Washington, DC—Today's hearing presents a chance to shed light on a branch of government that has managed to escape oversight and operate in the shadow of the White House for many years. It offers an opportunity for Congress and the public to learn about the workings of a Justice Department which has evaded the law, misrepresented the truth, and imposed a veil of secrecy on a wide range of its activities. Alliance for Justice commends the Committee for holding this important oversight hearing and urges Committee members to continue their vigorous oversight of the federal justice system, which is currently in a shocking state of disrepair.

Politicization has run rampant in the Justice Department during the Bush administration, erasing the line between politics and federal law enforcement and eroding public confidence in a Department tasked to "ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans." Evidence has surfaced that politics infected not only hiring and firing but also federal prosecutions. Even more disturbingly, the allegations of misconduct surrounding selective and politically-motivated prosecutions do not stop at the Department of Justice. The prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman raises a host of disturbing questions about partisanship in the judicial system, particularly concerning the involvement of three sitting federal judges: Mark Fuller, William Pryor and Noel Hillman. The impropriety allegedly occurred in some instances both prior to and after their confirmation to the federal bench, and only a handful of the allegations are described below.

Judge Mark Fuller was nominated by President George W. Bush to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama in 2002. Judge Fuller had formerly served as district attorney for Alabama's 12th Judicial Circuit. When then-Governor Siegelman appointed Judge Fuller's successor, Gary McAliley, Mr. McAliley launched an investigation into Judge Fuller's accounting practices in the district attorney's office. This investigation revealed evidence that Judge Fuller had undertaken salary spiking with the purpose of defrauding the retirement system of Alabama. Judge Fuller dismissed these allegations, and the entire investigation, as "politically motivated." Judge Fuller then worked to defeat Governor Siegelman, a Democrat, in the next election, which Governor Siegelman lost in the closest gubernatorial election in Alabama state history. Shortly after his defeat, Mr. Siegelman was indicted in federal court. Judge Fuller was assigned the case, and he refused to recuse himself, despite motions by Mr. Siegelman's lawyers to remove him from presiding over the case. Serious allegations have arisen that Judge Fuller conducted the trial in a manner favoring the prosecution. Whether or not accusations of actual misconduct by Judge Fuller during the trial are borne out, it is clear that hearing a case against the man Judge Fuller accused of conducting a politically motivated investigation against him undermined the appearance of impartiality required by the federal rules of judicial conduct.

Judge William Pryor was nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in 2004 and was confirmed by the Senate in 2005. Judge Pryor was formerly the Attorney General of Alabama. Recently, information has surfaced that Lanny Young, the same Alabama lobbyist and landfill developer who provided the information that sparked the Siegelman investigation, also gave federal prosecutors and investigators information about Young's illegal contributions to Judge Pryor's 1998 campaign for attorney general. Several of the lawyers on the Siegelman case who received this information were from Judge Pryor's office. It is standard practice for lawyers in such a situation to recuse themselves in order to avoid a conflict of interest, but it is alleged that in this situation they simply chose to ignore Young's allegations against their boss. In appealing his conviction, Mr. Siegelman is arguing that although Mr. Young provided similar information about donations to both himself and Attorney General Pryor, the allegations against Attorney General Pryor were not even investigated, demonstrating once again the selective nature of Mr. Siegelman's prosecution. Judge Pryor sits on the court that will hear Mr. Siegelman's appeal.

Judge Noel Hillman was nominated to U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in 2006. Prior to his confirmation, Judge Hillman was the head of the Public Integrity Section of the Justice Department—the section responsible for the federal prosecution of Mr. Siegelman. Former U.S. Attorneys in California and Arizona have cited lengthy delays and other problems in sensitive cases involving Republicans during Judge Hillman's tenure. And a recent study done by two University of Minnesota professors found that the Public Integrity Section opened seven cases against Democrats for every one opened against a Republican—a politicized ratio that is completely unparalleled by any other Public Integrity Section in recent history. Evidence has emerged that Karl Rove was in direct contact with Mr. Hillman and explicitly encouraged him to go after Mr. Siegelman.

The Bush administration has engaged in a campaign to turn the Department of Justice into an arm of the White House, but it has not stopped there. It has also attempted to stack the federal bench with ideologues who will further the administration's agenda in the courts. The American people cannot have confidence in the federal justice system unless both prosecutors and judges are free from political interference and ideology. This Committee's work is crucial to re-establishing faith in the independence and fairness of the federal justice system. The Department of Justice should cooperate fully with this Committee's investigation in order to speed along those efforts. Rebuilding this tattered Justice Department will be a monumental task. Without full disclosure of past misconduct and vigilant Congressional oversight of future Justice Department activities, the reputation of the federal justice system cannot be successfully restored.

SOURCE: http://www.afj.org/about-afj/press/10222007.html

Thanks for giving a damn, lonestarnot. If the BFEE can imprison an innocent man -- a former Governor! -- you know what they have planned for the rest of us who "oppose" them.

[conscious evolution]

15. Kicking for impeachment

[Octafish]

48. lala_rawraw and Ms. Kane on 'The permanent Republican majority'

The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.

--U.S. Constitution, Article 2, Section 4

This would include federal judges, starting with William Pryor and Mark Fuller.

Embarrassing questions
A RAW STORY investigation shows that as early as 1998, when Siegelman was first elected governor, Alabama corporate interests already saw him as a looming threat. (See timeline.) These interests were aligned with GOP operatives who would emerge again during the 2002 election cycle.

One of those well-known Republican operatives was William "Bill" Canary, who was a longtime Alabama hired gun before he became a Bob Riley campaign advisor in 2002. In 1994, Canary -- whose focus at the time was on defeating Democratic judges in Alabama -- brought in outside help in the form of yet another GOP operative by the name of Karl Rove.

At that time, Rove had been active in Republican political campaigns for more than 15 years and had recently been hired as an advisor to George W. Bush's campaign for governor of Texas. A wider public would learn of Rove only six years later, when he was tapped as Bush’s White House Deputy Chief of Staff after the 2000 election. Rove's name would then appear in almost every scandal involving the Bush White House, the most infamous of which involved revealing the name of a covert CIA officer as political retribution for her husband’s refusal to endorse bogus intelligence leading up to the Iraq war.

Rove and Canary managed Attorney General William Pryor's re-election campaign in 1998. It was Pryor who would later seal the Baldwin Country ballots in the 2002 governor's race, ensuring the victory of a candidate who had been advised by his own former campaign manager, Bill Canary. All three men -- Rove, Canary, and Pryor -- are also known to have a close political and social relationship. In addition, then-Lieutenant Governor Siegelman appears to have made an enemy of Pryor as early as 1997, when he criticized Pryor's close relationship with the tobacco industry.

After Pryor was re-elected as Alabama Attorney General in 1998, he almost immediately began the investigation into Siegelman which would eventually lead to Siegelman's conviction and imprisonment nearly a decade later.

Pryor's history and relationship with Canary and Rove should have been reason enough for the Alabama Attorney General to recuse himself from the November 2002 election controversy. But Pryor refused. The following April he was nominated by George W. Bush to serve as a federal judge on the Eleventh Circuit Court. He was eventually installed by a recess appointment, overriding the objections of Senate Democrats.

CONTINUED...

http://rawstory.com//printstory.php?story=8381

In order to avoid a second civil war, impeachment is the answer.

Goodness knows: There are a lot of them.

[Swamp Rat]

49. Impeachment is the answer,

in order to avoid fascism taking root and becoming the norm. We already have hyper-nationism.



Way'at Octafish! :hi:

[Octafish]

50. Blackwater Blowback

The team at Raw Story and lala_rawraw have put together an extraordinary timeline. It is my opinion that the timeline would greatly serve a prosecution of the treason by Bush and his brown-shirted gang of traitors:

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/timeline_don_siegelman_1126.htm



¿Como 'anda', Compay? ¿To' bien?



Dias de locos.

Gracias a ti, 'erman', no tengo na' c'acer con Ello.

[Swamp Rat]

51. As you can see from my pic above, Bushler and McMaverick are 'centrists',

but they are, nonetheless, authoritarians... dangerously stupid authoritarians.



Y gracias a tí, carnal, espero que un día podemos tomar unas cervecitas juntos. :toast:

[MojoMojoMojo]

16. I hope this case isnt an indication of where the Rezko case is headed

Bush is using the justice dept as a political weapon.
Siegelman is innocent.But who knows what went on in Chicago.
Rezco was a major Bush fundraiser so maybe he'll get off easy.
I fear the real targets could be the Democratic politicians.

[Octafish]

52. Bush: Attorney Firings Just Need Better Press

The media will draw the American people's attention to an ALLEGED relationship between Rezko and our guy.

In the process, they'll ignore the REAL criminal relationship between the DOJ and the BFEE.

Visual proof:

The honest former Govenor Don Siegelman's serving seven years.

The traitor Scooter Libby's off scot-free.

Bush: Attorney Firings Just Need Better Press

Trish | Apr. 8, 2007

Who’s behind the payback firings of U.S. attorneys? Do you think it’s:

a) Attorney General/Bush personal lawyer Alberto Gonzales
b) Deputy Chief of Staff/Bush Brain Karl Rove
c) Bush, Bush, Bush, Bush, Lying Weasel Asshat Bush
d) All of the above

Yes, students. Both answers and “c” and “d” are correct.

Which is why it rankles so to hear Bush talk about it they way he did during a press conference with Mexican President Felipe Calderon this week. Bush makes it sound as if the skullduggery manifested out of thin air, not unlike a plop of pigeon poo on your shoulder as you walk beneath telephone wires. Except the pigeons all have the seal of the Oval Office on their wings.

SNIP...

We need to be straight about what the problem is, folks. What we have here — and follow me closely now — is a failure to communicate. It’s not that anyone did anything wrong. No, Bush somehow managed to effectively pass along complaints without naming names, and by some miracle of coincidence Gonzales correctly identified who needed to be fired and did so.

CONTINUED...

http://www.pensitoreview.com/2006/05/30/quote-du-jour-36/?p=3853

A hearty welcome to DU, MojoMojoMojo!

[bobthedrummer]

17. K&R#27. We are all political prisoners until these enemies in office are removed. n/t

[Octafish]

53. Bush CRIMINALIZED the United States Department of Justice.

There were a handful of U.S. Attorneys who wouldn't go along, though.

Carol Lam, for one. She uncovered the connection between the CIA, Congress and BFEE pals. She also was investigating Cong. Jerry Lewis - puke o' Calif. Of course, she busted Duke Cunningham, Dusty Foggo, Brent Wilkes. She got a conviction on Duke, then she got fired. Let's see how her successors due with Dusty and Brent.

That corruption in Congress is understandable, considering how the place pretty much lets Bush be Bush. The people who framed and imprisoned an innocent man have direct FINANCIAL ties to the military-industrial complex. They are capable of anything. Even starting a war.

Who knows what a country full of honest U.S. Attorneys could uncover?

[Rex]

19. K&R

Awesome post Octafish, thanks for all those links.

[Octafish]

54. Brett Blackledge of the Birmingham News is the Steno Judy of this Caper

Thanks, Rex! Wish I could've linked ALL the great DUers and their posts on Gov. Siegelman.

This one, from BabylonSister, f'rinstance:

Mr. Blackledge’s Black Helicopters

By Scott Horton
08/03/08 "Harpers"

Back in October, as the House Judiciary Committee was conducting its first hearings into the prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don E. Siegelman, I spoke with Simon Heller, the legal director of a Washington-based advocacy organization called the Alliance for Justice. Heller told me he had gotten a telephone call. “It was strange. The man on the other end of the phone identified himself as a reporter. But he certainly didn’t act like one. We had put out a press release talking about Judge Mark Fuller and the role he played in the Siegelman case, and questioning how, given his many conflicts, he had failed to recuse himself. But this reporter wasn’t interested in our view. Instead he was hysterical, screaming into the phone, asking how we dared to criticize such a great American? I’ve never had a press experience quite like that one.”

The name of the reporter? Brett Blackledge, the award-winning prize star of the Birmingham News. Blackledge has carried the paper’s water in its two major campaigns of the last six years. The first was its effort to take down former Governor Siegelman through a blizzard of innuendo and tendentious reporting straight from the files of a group of partisan prosecutors. And the second, still running, is the effort to reshape the state’s legislature by demonstrating that a large part of it is enmeshed in hopeless graft and corruption by working simultaneously as junior college teachers and administrators. In most states, a reporter like Mr. Blackledge would not venture very far. But in ‘Bama, where they take their Koolaid unalloyed, he’s the real thing.

So it comes as no surprise that when 60 Minutes at length runs its story on Karl Rove and the Siegelman case, Blackledge scoops a print media exclusive: an interview with Karl Rove. In sum, Rove views his paper, the Birmingham News, as the print media equal of Fox News. The interview ran and looked indistinguishable from a Karl Rove press release. No tough questions. Indeed, not even essential information explaining how, when and why the interview was conducted. The article insists there was an interview, even though it provides no evidence of one having occurred.

SNIP...

We could recount once again the four campaigns on which Rove worked in our newspaper, which we have done numerous times. Frankly, I’m not sure any of that matters. But again, you must remember, I do not, as a matter of routine, believe that black helicopters are flying above.

So there you have it. A serious reporter would have plowed in and asked Rove questions about his actual involvement in electoral politics in Alabama—that is, he or she would have examined the predicates of the Simpson story to see if any of them tally. But not Blackledge. In his mind, Rove is uninvolved, so there is no point in asking any such questions. Moreover, people who believe that he is involved “believe that black helicopters are flying above.”

And certainly, Blackledge speaks conclusively from real life when he tells us that the simple fact that a man was involved in four races long ago does not mean he has any interest in things transpiring today. I’d love to know what kind of real life experience that is. No doubt about one thing: Blackledge is just the kind of reporter Karl Rove loves.

CONTINUED...

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19499.htm

Thanks for understanding what it's all about, Rex. Very much appreciate that you give a damn!

[crimsonblue]

21. Treason is punishable by death...

but good luck with that one. The only way Bush will see the inside of a court room is if one of our allies decides to prosecute him for war crimes. If he were to be convicted, maybe they could execute him like they did Saddam, and I hope someone is there to catch it on a cellphone. Hell, I want HD cinema cameras covering that shit. Sigh.... ok.. I'm back from my daydream...

[Octafish]

55. Normally, I oppose capital punishment. OTOH...

...these warmongers DID lie America into an illegal and immoral war.
Yet, even with their genocidal invasion,
I would recomment that, upon conviction, they spend the rest
of their natural days in solitary confinement of a federal super-maximum security penitentiary.
No television. No radio. No phone calls. Nothing, except maybe a book or two.

Exercise would consist of 12 hours per day hard labor -- making big rocks into little ones.



They could earn some chump change punching plates -- alone, after the shop has closed for the day.

And they'd always feel like they were being watched,
as the public would watch them 24/7/366 on a webcam.

[Swamp Rat]

57. "They could earn some chump change punching plates"

I agree. :hi:

[Octafish]

58. Amerika's McBushed

You summed up the winning campaign, Bro-der.

Changing the subject, here's something sick:



¡Bueno verte, Compay! ¡Pa'lante!

[Swamp Rat]

59. ¡Híjole!

¡Que feo es el McBushler! That's some pic you got there. :puke:



¿Todo bien? Tengo un midterm mañana... necesito estudia ahora. :(

[Swamp Rat]

23. Gracias para tí, mi amigo.

:hi:

¡Mira a los pendejos todos!

[Octafish]

56. Weird how the Spitzer case has moved this story off the front pages...

Google News, March 11, 2008:

Spitzer sex stories: 2,468

Don Siegelman political prisoner stories: 250 (no longer "front page Google")

Gee.

"Middle of the roaders." Heh heh hah hah hah hah hah!

[Initech]

24. Those traitors should be awaiting trial, not serving in the white house.

[blm]

29. THAT is exactly what pisses me off the most. They SHOULD'VE been jailed after BCCI report

and all its matters were revealed and resolved. By the end of 1994 most of BushInc should have been sentenced and some hung as traitors.

[alittlelark]

25. Octafish, you are always sooo on top of it all!

O8)

[wiggs]

26. There will be no perp walks without impeachment. I'm for impeachment, then jail. And

that's getting off easy, in my book.

Good post and should be front page news every day.

[zonmoy]

39. If anything the democratic party is just as treasonous

for not impeaching bush as bush is.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

27. Kick!

[ellie]

31. The thing that

I don't understand is why Alabama? Is the state such a political prize that the repukes would break the law, really do anything, to get in power? Or is it along the lines of Abramoff that they did it because they could? Because if it is the second reason, then these people need to be jailed, executed, or banished from this country.

[tom_paine]

32. K & R Octafish.

[eppur_se_muova]

33. K&R, and another (REALLY appropriate) Palubinskas painting:

Rising of a New Man
48" x 24" Oil on Canvas, 1998

I swear, I thought of Bu**sh** the very instant I saw this.

[EFerrari]

37. KIck

[mod mom]

43. this needs to remain on top until justice is served!

[trof]

45. Thanks octafish, and everyone.

I'm doing everything I can to get the word out.
It was in my county that Riley stole the election.
And I'm still pissed about it.

I've written to Don, and I put $20 into his commissary account.
I told him that when he gets out I want to meet him and shake his hand.

His website:
http://donsiegelman.org/

[Pastiche423]

47. Back to the top

This very important thread needs to be seen by as many people as possible, so that what the * administration and the republic party has done to an innocent man................. because he is a Democrat can be seen by all.