Siegelman’s Case Goes To WashingtonFormer Gov. Don Siegelman’s (D-AL) case has made it to Washington. His cause has been taken up by Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL), who wants the House Judiciary Committee to look into Siegelman’s story at a hearing on selective prosecution by the Department of Justice.
Davis, himself a member of the House Judiciary, sent a letter (available here) to the head of the committee Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) today saying that the case against Siegelman has been called “unusually weak,” with only one witness corroborating bribery charges with second-hand information. He also noted the claims made by Republican lawyer Dana Jill Simpson that implicate Karl Rove playing a role in the investigation.
A politically-motivated prosecution is not “implausible,” Davis said, citing how former US Attorneys David Iglesias and Jack McKay said they were pressured to bring indictments against Democrats. Davis also reminded Conyers of how the Seventh Circuit tossed out a conviction of a former Democratic governor’s aide in Wisconsin, calling the case “beyond thin.”
Siegelman’s case deserves a review, Davis argues because:
The trading of favors for official acts is reprehensible, and stains the reputation of the political process. But it would shatter the system if a Justice Department built a culture in which prosecutors’ career advancement depends on their willingness to press exotic legal theories that might advance the electoral interests of the Republican Party.