Constitutional Law

More Evidence Surfaces Of Political Involvement In Prosecution of Former Ala. Gov.

Newly unearthed documents relating to the prosecution of former Alabama Democratic Gov. Don E. Siegelman on corruption charges add to the developing picture of a politically tainted case. Time magazine reported recently on internal prosecution e-mails a whistle-blower turned over to the U.S. Department of Justice revealing political interference in the case. As Time noted Seigelman’s case has drawn national attention and highlighted accusations of a politicized DOJ.

A “bipartisan group of 52 state attorneys general, have raised numerous questions, including the allegation that Siegelman was prosecuted at the insistence of Bush-appointed officials at the Justice Department and Leura G. Canary, a U.S. Attorney in Montgomery whose husband was Alabama’s top Republican operative and who had worked closely with” former top Bush political adviser Karl Rove, reported Time. The documents turned over to DOJ include e-mails from Canary, “long after her recusal, offering legal advice to subordinates handling the case,” according to Time. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), who is investigating the Seigelman case, sent a letter to Attorney General Michal Mukasey, stating that the new information “raises serious questions regarding possible misconduct by the Seigelman prosecution team ….”

In an interview with TPMMuckraker, Siegelman said the new material was more proof of “outrageous criminal conduct in the US Attorney’s office and the Department of Justice.”

Earlier this year, the Department of Justice’s Offices of Inspector General and Professional Responsibility issued three scathing reports on the politicization of the Department. An extensive report issued in the fall detailed the political motivations behind the 2006 firings of six U.S. attorneys.

Full post as published by ACS Blog on November 18, 2008 (boomark / email).