Great job getting out the spin and avioding these facts. You earned your money this week.
Two other criminal cases were initiated against Siegelman and later dropped because other prosecutors thought the cases were not just.
Fifty-two current and former attorneys general - Democrats and Republicans - requested that Congress look at the case because of appearances of politically motivated prosecution.
A key witness in the current case, Nick Bailey, said he met with prosecutors 70 times and they asked him to write his story down several times so he could keep it straight.
The judge’s decision to put Siegelman in chains and send him off immediately was certainly unusual, especially for a white-collar crime. Normally, those convicted have 45 days to get their affairs in order before reporting to prison. Usually, they also are allowed to stay out on bail during an appeal process. But the judge, a former state GOP executive committee member who was appointed to the judgeship by President Bush, went another away.
Almost everyone in the judicial system says a seven-year prison term does not fit the crime, but Fuller actually could have made the sentence longer, based on law. Yet, former Alabama Gov. Guy Hunt, a Republican, never spent a day in jail for state ethics violations.
The heart of the case against Siegelman is that he accepted a $500,000 contribution to his education lottery campaign from HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy. In return, Scrushy was appointed to an influential medical board that he had been appointed to previously by two other governors. Siegelman never personally pocketed any of the money, but he was responsible for repaying the lottery campaign fund. People contributing to political funds and candidates is nothing new, and it’s nothing new for those who give the most to obtain government jobs or appointments. It happens almost every day in every state. (Shout out and waves to all those Bush Pioneers!!!
A GOP operative in the state, attorney Jill Morrow, said Karl Rove was involved in a plot to get Siegelman and even suggested trying to get evidence of him having an affair.
The Justice Department won’t provide Congress with documents critical to the probe.