General Discussion

laserhaas

(7,805 posts) Sat Jan 17, 2015, 03:47 PM Jan 2015

WOW! Even Jeffrey Toobin at the New Yorker seeks Governor Siegelman Pardon

This has been an amazing few days, with news breaking stories many; including this new one from a person I don't much like (Toobin) - about Governor Siegelman receiving a President Obama commute of his sentence.

There were other stories I posted today, about Romney/eToys/Taxes (here) and another about Gitmo murders (here).

There's another one that I'm going to post (soon) about a tenacious gals fight against injustice; and her getting their case REopened after 21 years (her Judge quote our eToys case - in 2008 - to REopen the case). It's a heartwarming tale.
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[center][font size=5]Toobin - at the New Yorker -

Why Obama Should Pardon Don Siegelman[/font][/center]
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As noted by the New Yorker's pic above - in the title directly below the pic (from AP photographer Dave Martin) - "Don Siegelman, the former governor of Alabama, is currently incarcerated in a federal prison in Oklahoma".

From Toobin's article at the New Yorker (here):
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Since the midterm elections, President Barack Obama has been acting as if he feels liberated from parochial political concerns. After taking action on immigration, Cuba, and climate change, he should take on another risky, if less well-known, challenge by commuting the prison sentence of Don Siegelman, the former governor of Alabama.

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Many of U.S. here at DU (and elsewhere) - AGREE!

It is LONGGGG overdue that President Obama should step in and correct this travesty of justice. There are many threads out there, including others by me, about how much manifest injustice and Machiavellian the prosecution of Governor Siegelman has been. Governor Siegelman was put in prison by Karl Rove and his gangs!

As noted by Toobin - further;

Siegelman should be freed, too, because there was a distasteful overlay of politics to his prosecution. According to an affidavit filed by a Republican lawyer in Alabama, senior state Republicans, in the aftermath of the 2002 election, said that Karl Rove, then a top White House aide to President Bush, had promised them a Justice Department investigation of Siegelman—an investigation that then took place. The matter of White House interference in the case is unproved, but Rove certainly proved, later in the Bush Administration, that he was willing to manipulate United States Attorneys for the political advantage of the Republican Party. Given the ubiquity of quid-pro-quo politics in Alabama (and most other states), the case against Siegelman appears selective indeed.

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[center][font size=5]Siegelman Never Received ANY Bribe from Richard Scrushy[/font][/center]
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At the heart of the matter is the allegations that Richard Scrushy gave Governor Siegelman a $500,000.00 bribe; but that is NOT the truth of the matter. Governor Siegelman had tried to get an Alabama State Lottery to use the funds to help the education system. The voters said no and Richard Scrushy (along with many others) - gave money to pay the expenses of trying to get the law to pass.

I'm going to leave you with a former federal prosecutor (Mr. Johnson) and another attorney - in these video's - detailing what really went on.
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