MSNBC’s Dan Abrams continued, for the third day in a row, on the Don Siegelman beat today. The former Democratic Alabama Governor, who still sits in jail pending an appeal for his non-violent crime, is alleged to have been railroaded by Karl Rove and political operatives in the state while running for re-election in 2006.
In 2002 he had won his election, according to the announced results on Election Night, only to wake up the next morning to find that a Republican election director claimed to have discovered a “glitch” (sound familiar, regular BRAD BLOG readers?) in the electronic vote counts overnight, resulting in Siegelman’s loss. He was never allowed a recount after the vote tallies somehow changed on the electronic voting machines due to the “glitch,” as it was described officially, by court probate officers.
In this rarely seen, 2004 video interview with Siegelman (see approx. half-way through that linked article), he alleges: “Somebody electronically manipulated the election results”¦This election was stolen”¦There is no other kind, or sugar-coated way to say it.”
Neither the 60 Minutes report on Siegelman from Sunday, nor any of Abrams’ reports so far this week (here’s Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s) including today’s, as posted at the end of this article, have yet delved, with any depth, into that aspect of what seems clearly to have been a well-run political frame-up — or, yes, a conspiracy — to do away with the one Democrat who had been able to win statewide elections in an otherwise very Republican-leaning state.
We hope to have more on that aspect of the case soon.
On today’s MSNBC “Bush League Justice” report, Abrams spoke with both Siegelman’s attorney, Vince Kilborn, as well as Grant Woods, the former Republican Attorney General from Arizona who has been among the most outspoken of the 52 former Republican and Democratic Attorneys General who have called on Congress for an investigation and a special prosecutor to be named in the case.
Abrams repeated his call, from yesterday, for the immediate release of Siegelman from prison, pending appeal of his case, as would be customary in other similar, non-violent cases. Abrams enumerated his chief concerns about the prosecution and the trial as run by federal judge Mark Fuller, as follows…
Excessive Sentence:
Siegelman was acquitted of 25 of 32 counts, yet he got seven years and four months. Much more than the norm.Immediately Led Away in Shackles:
After the trial, the former Governor was manacled and taken to jail, like a violent offender. Didn’t get the usual 45 days to report to prison that would be the norm.No Bail Pending Appeal:
No bail was allowed, even though an appeal for the non-violent crime is pending.Transcript Delay:
The appeal is delayed because the court has yet to produce a trial transcript even though the trial was held more than a year and a half ago.
Near the end of the interview with Woods, the former AZ Attorney General notes pointedly:
The video of today’s “Bush League Justice” segment on Siegelman, follows below…
(Hat-tip BRAD BLOG’s video muckraker, and new best friend of Karl Rove, Alan Breslauer for the video.)
CORRECTION: We had originally described Grant Woods as the former Republican Attorney General from Alabama. He is, in fact, the former Republican Attorney General from Arizona. The BRAD BLOG regrets the error.
Nearly ten minutes well spent watching the clip.
The entire election was stolen portion needs to be examined more fully. Is there any evidence left six years later concerning the election fraud?
These election fraud tell-tails are being seen over and over. How naive we all were concerning Gore’s election. The Repubs must have been putting all this in place when Bush 41 lost to Clinton.
Brad-
Grant Woods was the former ARIZONA Republican Attorney General, not ALABAMA AG. At least that’s what the video says. He was also identified as such on 60 Minutes, which pointed out that he was also a co-chair of McCain’s Arizona Presidential Campaign. Just thought you’d want to get that right. Otherwise, thanks for keeping up on this story and helping keep the rest of us informed.
{ED NOTE: Whoops. Thanks, Steve. Have fixed in the original article, and noted the correction. Much appreciated. — BF}
I’m sorry, but Vince reminds me of someone
Link
Unlike his peers, Mr. Abrams is actually an attorney.
When a republican Dan Abrams is scared by what he sees republicans doing I am scared by it even more.
The Department of
JusticeJust Us scared the hell out of me beginning several years ago with Ashcroft as AG.And now we find those were the “good old days”. US fascism has been called by some “soft fascism” lately, but there is no such thing.
It is like calling AIDS “soft HIV”.
Abrams is on target this time.
Rove, Fuller, Canary and “his girls” may all face a longer and harsher sentence than Siegelman now faces.
The political hubris that made these co-conspirators believe they could get away with this was spawned by Rove’s delusion that the Republicans were looking at 1000 years in power.
I wonder if they stopped, even for a moment, to consider the implications of a sea-change in politics before their story had faded into history?
If the truth comes out, especially in the 111th Congress, they had all better consider moving to Dubai with Cheney and his Haliburton pals. Otherwise, the entire cabal of co-conspirators may be seeing the same side of prison that Siegelman now suffers.
And Karl will definitely get stalked by some of those jailhouse “daddies”, he’s just their type; fat, soft and arrogant, just ripe for picking. Better pump some iron over the next few months, Karl, and learn some judo, you’re heading to a place where your best political qualities (particularly your arrogant, superior self-assuredness) will become your worst liabilities.
Justice is peeking out from under her blindfold, and she’s gonna be PISSED! When she sees these creeps with their thumb on her scales, tipping the truth into a lie, there will be a rectifying.
And lets not forget that historic deep-south drought
http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/12_week.gif
that started the week Siegelman got sentenced, seems like Someone is already visibly upset with this injustice…
FREE SIEGELMAN!
And turn this into a case-study for the ages, uncover every lie, unravel every conspiracy, reveal every profane agreement that led to this egregious miscarriage of justice…
Rove’s hubris and his vindictiveness will come back on him, if not sooner then later.
sorry off topic – Tom Feeney alert:
“Former Feeney aide to head elections office”
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/...-feeney-a.html
SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING:
Blogging increases the risk of developing a fat ass. . .
Yes free Governor Seiglman but criminally charge those involved in the perversion of justice from the prosecutors to the judge, witnesses and of course the instigator himself Rove.
Lol JoJ…or a flat ass…
Hey Flo ~ I was just thinkin … not to change the subject or anything … that in the day The dangers of smoking would have been silenced under a Fucking bush reich.
JEP #6
Perhaps, then, it should be called the Turd Reich … 😉 …
Free Don Siegelman NOW! Before he has an accident…
Al Green ~ Must have inspired Hillary’s latest ad . . .
something’s going wrong
someone’s on the phone
three o’clock in the morning, yeah
talkin’ about how she can make it right, yeah
Since 1885, the 11 most southeastern states have had about 350 governorships (includes replacements.) Of those about 42 were Republicans, the rest Democrat.
Of those 42 Republicans, 40% took office since 1990. Republicans in the south are a novelty and they’re desperate to get control of the South.
Kentucky’s Democrat Governor got caught with his mistress, about the same time Siegelman lost the election, and about the same time Sonny Perdue became Governor of Georgia as a Republican. Republicans took all three states.
Perdue switched parties to be the first Republican Governor in Georgia ever.
They’re being extremely aggressive, saying Karl Rove took Lee Atwater dirty-design lessons.
Southerners who aren’t in the political money cliques will return to their historical roots and vote Democrat this year, “religious right” or not. They’re sick of the corruption like everybody else.
Hmmm… Re; Don Siegelman . . . . . Alabama
MississippiBurning . . .Okay, I am like, what…the 17th comment? This is pathetic. Where is everybody on this tragic circumstance? 17th in the entire usa? ohmygod help us all….
CatMedium ~ Amen!