Lawyer who defended federal judge Mark Fuller against wife-beating charges throws his support to Joseph Siegelman's opponent in Alabama AG race

U.S. Sen. Doug Jones (right) has thrown his support to
Chris Christie (left) over Joseph Siegelman in the Democratic
primary for Alabama attorney general. Also supporting Christie
is Sirote Permutt lawyer Barry Ragsdale, who defended former
federal judge Mark Fuller against wife-beating charges. Fuller,
of course, corruptly sent Don Siegelman to prison. Jones reportedly
worked behind the scenes to soothe his GOP friends by making sure
Fuller did not go to prison. In short, Christie's campaign is supported
by friends of wife-beating, corrupt judge Mark Fuller.
(From facebook.com)

Joseph Siegelman's opponent in the Democratic primary for attorney general of Alabama is drawing support from a Birmingham attorney who defended a former federal judge on wife-beating charges that eventually forced him off the bench.

How bad are the optics on this for AG candidate Chris Christie? According to prominent whistle blower and opposition researcher Jill Simpson, they hardly could be worse.

In a post at her Facebook page, Simpson reports that Barry Ragsdale, of the Birmingham firm Sirote Permutt, hosted a campaign kick-off party last week for Christie at B&A Warehouse. That's the same Barry Ragsdale who defended former U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller as he faced wife-beating charges that eventually led to his exit from the bench. And that's the same Mark Fuller whose corrupt handling of a federal bribery case caused former governor Don Siegelman (Joseph's father) and former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy to be wrongfully convicted and spend about a combined 12 years in prison.

Chris Christie, an attorney with the wildly corrupt Birmingham firm of Bradley Arant, actually wants a boost from supporters of a wife-beating federal judge -- right here in the midst of the #MeToo movement, ushered in by male abusers such as Harvey Weinstein, Charlie Rose, Kevin Spacey, Dustin Hoffman, Steve Wynn, Matt Lauer, Dr. Larry Nassar, and more? How thick must Christie's tin ear be?

Mark Fuller

Christie apparently isn't the only "Democrat" with a tin ear. Simpson reports that U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, who once was Don Siegelman's defense attorney, supports Christie -- who is the preferred candidate of those who support notorious wife-beater Mark Fuller. Billy Beasley, the brother of prominent Montgomery tort lawyer Jere Beasley, also supports Christie, Simpson reports. Jere Beasley has made it a practice to work with GOP lawyer/thug Rob Riley on a number of personal-injury and nursing-home cases. And Jones jumped in bed with Riley to help snag a nice chuck of $51 million in attorney fees generated by a federal lawsuit against HealthSouth and related firms.

Rob Riley, of course, is noted for proclaiming, well in advance, that Mark Fuller would prove to be a "hanging judge" in the Don Siegelman case.

What is Jill Simpson's take on the support Joseph Siegelman's opponent is receiving from the unholy trinity of Barry Ragsdale, Doug Jones, and Billy Beasley? Here is part of it (with editing for clarity):

I heard from some old Republican and Democrat friends . . . that Doug Jones' buddy,  Chris Christie who is running for AG in Alabama against Joseph Siegelman, had a campaign kick-off party at B& Warehouse. Guess who the host and MC was for that event? Judge Mark Fuller's lawyer, Barry Ragsdale, Dougie and Christie's buddy.

Yep, "beat your wife "Judge Fuller's lawyer Barry Ragsdale is helping Democrat Chris Christie, along with Doug Jones. I never would have been able to prove that Fuller's bunch of lawyers are helping Doug the DINO with AG Candidate Christie but for Religious Republicans explaining, "Hey, this is what happened the other night." I'm certainly glad for the tips I got on this.

It also was explained to me how Doug ran interference for the GOP Alabama Gang against putting Fuller in jail with the Democrats in D.C. I knew Doug had helped Fuller, but never knew all the details -- but now I do. I am hearing if that y'all watch this election, it is all going to come out all the connections involving Jones -- as the Republicans are mad about the last election and are going to be putting out how Christie is being helped by a wife beater's attorney.

I use to tell folks Doug was constantly working against us in D.C., and folks in the Siegelman camp would say, "No, he loves Siegelman," and I would say, "No he does not." Every step of the way he was back stabbing us, and folks in D.C. were telling on him and his folks -- and y''all watch this race closely; you will see Doug is helping the guy against Joseph, and Christie is part of the Alabama Gang and is tied to them through his firm (Bradley Arant).

Also, as it turns out Christie is tied to Mark Fuller, who shackled and chained Don Siegelman. Barry Ragsdale was Christie's MC and host of activities at the campaign kick-off, and it was noticed by Republicans and Democrats all over the state -- and they do not approve of of Ragsdale representing and trying to keep known wife beater Mark on the federal bench -- after he dragged his wife at the time all over a room in the fancy Ritz Carlton in Buckhead.

I might add Barry Ragsdale is well known for protecting creepy now removed federal judge Mark Fuller all over the state -- and this stage performance at Christie's campaign is really being talked about as clearly it was a FU message to Joseph and Don Siegelman. . . .

I also want folks to know I am very proud to have been the one who wrote the first article in the nation demanding President Obama and Biden remove Fuller to show zero tolerance for judges who beat up on women -- and I want each and every one of my friends and fellow progressives to know I had Barry Ragsdale and Doug Jones working against me. 

They were Fuller's protectors, along with the Riley folks and Alabama Gang of Republicans, which in my opinion is ran by Sessions, Rove, and Canary. Make no mistake, Alabama Progressives, a vote for Chris Christie is a vote for Fuller's protectors. I might add it has always been a sick, sad joke to me how folks act like Jones and Ragsdale are good Democrats, when these are the folks who fought against me so hard when I was trying to hold wife- beating Judge Mark Fuller accountable. I have a lot of battle scars from that fight, but by golly I removed Fuller -- and Alabama Democratic women would be foolish to support anyone Ragsdale supports. My God, he tried to keep a wife-beating judge on the bench, and now, he supports Chris Christie, as does Doug Jones.

Why is Joseph Siegelman's run for the AG's office generating blow back from establishment Democrats and Republican? The answer, to me, is obvious. Many of those establishment types -- Rob Riley, Bob Riley, Jeff Sessions, Doug Jones, Bill Canary, Mark Fuller, Leura Canary and many more -- were deeply involved in the crooked prosecution that caused Don Siegelman to land in prison.

Barry Ragsdale

The establishment knows that a real attorney general, such as Joseph Siegelman, still could pursue any number of civil or criminal claims that are not barred by the statute of limitations. And that means a Joseph Siegelman tenure as AG could help put some of them -- and their brethren -- behind bars, where they belong. No wonder they support Chris Christie, who likely is to serve as their protector.

Andrew Kreig, of the Justice-Integrity Project, already is following what promises to be a fascinating AG race in Alabama:

Joseph Siegelman, son of a former Alabama governor convicted in one of the nation's most notorious political prosecutions in recent American history, [has] announced his candidacy to become their state's next attorney general.

The young Democratic attorney faces many obstacles in the deep Red state before emulating his father — former Gov. Don Siegelman, now 71 and recovering from emergency open heart surgery Feb. 9 — in winning their state's top elective law enforcement post. The elder Siegelman . . .  was Alabama attorney general for a term in the late 1980s before election as lieutenant governor for two terms. . . .

His son, managing partner of a Cochran Law Firm office in Birminghan, faces a long shot but highly dramatic and nationally important race to overcome a Democratic opponent in a June primary and, in November, the winner of a four-person Republican primary.

Although Joseph Siegelman will doubtless continue to frame his race in terms of justice for all Alabamians his father's conviction is known to virtually every voter. It is not just an implicit part of the current candidacy but will surely weigh on the minds of voters.

Commentators will note, as here, that political figures from the long-running prosecution are still part of Alabama's landscape on both Republican and Democratic sides of the attorney general race. . . .

But there's more, much more, to the upcoming race, including divisions among Democrats and Alabama's ongoing massive problems with public corruption.

Wife-Beating Federal Judge Mark Fuller Personifies The Corruption That Is Rotting American Democracy

Paul Craig Roberts

U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller (Middle District of Alabama), who entered a rehab program in the wake of charges that he beat up his wife in an Atlanta hotel room, symbolizes the corruption that is causing decay in vital American institutions. In a sense, that makes Alabama "Ground Zero" for the kind of dishonest government that seems to have become the norm, especially in courtrooms across the country.

These thoughts come to us after reading the latest from Paul Craig Roberts, a former assistant treasury secretary in the Reagan administration and former columnist at the Wall Street Journal.  Despite his solid conservative credentials, Roberts has become an independent voice who is willing to criticize bad actors on both the right and the left.

One such bad actor is Judge Mark Fuller, and he caught Roberts' attention in a recent piece at the Foreign Policy Journal. Fuller's handling of the Don Siegelman prosecution is a black mark on a criminal "justice" system run amok, Roberts reports:

In the totally corrupt American criminal justice (sic) system, anyone indicted, no matter how innocent, is almost certain to be convicted.

Let’s take the case of Alabama Democratic Governor Don Siegelman. Judging by the reported evidence in the media and testimony by those familiar with the case, Don Siegelman, a popular Democratic governor of Alabama was a victim of a Karl Rove operation to instruct Democrats that their political party would not be permitted a comeback in executive authority in the Republican South.

There is no doubt but that the Alabama Republican newspapers and TV stations are political tools. And there is little doubt that former Republican US Attorneys Alice Martin and Leura Canary and Republican US federal district court judge Mark Fuller were willing participants in Karl Rove’s political campaign to purge the South of popular democrats.

Are Martin, Canary, Fuller, and Rove the kind of people we should entrust with our most important institutions? Roberts says the answer is no, and he points to Fuller's recent activities:

Republican US district court judge Mark Fuller was arrested in Atlanta this month for beating his wife in an Atlanta hotel. The judge, in whose honor courts must rise, was charged with battery and taken to the Fulton County jail at 2:30AM Sunday morning August 10. If you look at the mug shot of Mark Fuller, he doesn’t inspire confidence. Fuller was a bitter enemy of Siegelman and should have recused himself from Siegelman’s trial, but ethical behavior required more integrity than Fuller has.

Among many, Scott Horton, a professor of law at Columbia University has provided much information in Harper’s magazine involving the corruption of Fuller and the Republican prosecuting attorneys, Alice Martin and Leura Canary.

Roberts does not give Democrats, or the public, a free pass. He is particularly critical of those who live in the South and happily ignore Mark Fuller and his ilk:

So why hasn’t the Obama regime pardoned former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman who unlike other pardoned parties is actually innocent? Siegelman was bringing the Democratic Party back in the corrupt Republican state of Alabama. He was a successful governor who would have been US senator, and Karl Rove apparently exterminated him politically in order to protect the Republican hold on the South.

It is extremely ironic that the formerly solid Democratic South, plundered, looted, and raped by Republican armies, votes Republican. If anything shows the insouciance of a people, the South’s Republican vote is the best demonstration. The South votes for a party that destroyed the South and its culture. There is no greater evidence of a people totally ignorant of, or indifferent to, their history than the Southern people who vote Republican.

Corruption across the board should be a concern for all Americans, Roberts writes. But corrupt courts are a sure sign of trouble in the future:

Every public institution in the United States and most private ones are corrupt. . . .

Law is just one public institution, but it is a corner stone of society. When law goes, everything goes.

When law goes, everything goes? Experience has taught me that law already has gone in Alabama, and it is teetering in many other states--in all regions of the country. If Roberts is correct, and I believe he is, America has grim days ahead.

Doug Jones' effort to take over the Alabama Democratic Party includes assistance from lawyer Barry Ragsdale, who tried to keep wife-beating, Siegelman-railroading judge Mark Fuller on the bench

Doug Jones

A faction of the State Democratic Executive Committee (SDLC), led by U.S. Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) has aligned itself with a Birmingham attorney who represented former U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller in proceedings that led Fuller to resign from the bench over charges that he beat his wife in an Atlanta hotel room in 2014. Until the wife-beating episode became public, Fuller perhaps was best known as the George W. Bush appointee who handled the prosecution of former Democratic governor Don Siegelman so corruptly that it resulted in a prison sentence of more than six years for what we have described as "a crime that does not exist" and obviously could not have been committed.

Despite Fuller's unsavory conduct, Barry Ragsdale (of Sirote and Permutt in Birmingham) stepped up to represent Fuller in the wife-beating case, in which judicial investigators described Fuller's conduct as "reprehensible."

The Jones-Ragsdale-Fuller connections provide more evidence that Jones is a DINO (Democrat in Name Only), according to a veteran state political activist. A prominent commentator says the Fuller case is a classic example of the corruption that is rotting America's foundations.

Jones essentially is trying to take over the Alabama Democratic Party (ADP) with the assistance of a lawyer who supported a Republican-appointed judge -- one who engaged in demonstrably corrupt actions on the bench, with a history of abusive actions toward women in his personal life. Fuller faced allegations of physical, verbal, and substance abuse from two ex wives, but Ragsdale did his best to sweep Fuller's actions under the carpet and protect a spot for the Siegelman "hanging judge" on the federal bench.

Barry Ragsdale

Those actions failed, but now Doug Jones has sought Ragsdale's help to fight off legal challenges to his attempted takeover of the ADP. Bringing Ragsdale on board -- with his history of protecting a corrupt, wife-beating, right-wing judge -- is supposed to represent progress in Alabama? Do integrity, decency, and the rule of law have any place in Doug Jones' vision for the Democratic Party in Alabama? Is the alliance with Ragsdale another sign that Jones is beholden to his Republican boosters more than the mostly black, female voters who put him in office? From a report at al.com about this past weekend's SDLC meeting in Montgomery, where the Jones faction approved new bylaws in a major step toward replacing current party leaders Nancy Worley and Joe Reed:

The Alabama Democratic party has been deeply split over leadership for more than a year. The SDEC reelected Worley as chair in August 2018. Some Democrats challenged the results. The DNC decided there were irregularities and in February ordered the SDEC to adopt new bylaws followed by new elections for chair and vice chair.

After deadlines were missed, the DNC invalidated the national party credentials of Worley and First Vice Chair Randy Kelley. The DNC has withheld money from the state party and has not yet approved the state’s delegate selection plan for next year’s Democratic National Convention.

Worley has said those who wanted a different result in the August 2018 election for party chair are to blame for the dispute, including Sen. Doug Jones, who backed her challenger last year. . . .

Worley said the turnout at today’s meeting shows a lack of broad support for what was approved.

“While 78 attendees show ‘loyal opposition,’ that number does not show a groundswell of support for the DNC’s agenda,” Worley said in a text message. “I look forward to the October 12 meeting, at which time the SDEC members will discuss the negative effects of the Doug Jones/DNC Bylaws.”

Where does Ragsdale enter the picture? Here is more from al.com about this past Saturday's meeting:

Attorney Barry Ragsdale attended today’s meeting and said he would represent the position of the SDEC members who attended in any legal challenge to the legitimacy of the new bylaws.

Ragsdale said members at today’s meeting should attend the Oct. 12 meeting called by Worley if they wanted to.

“But it’s important to note that meeting will be guided by the bylaws that we adopted at this meeting,” Ragsdale said. “Their failure, if there is a failure to follow those bylaws, that meeting will be subject to legal challenge.”

Is the Jones-Ragsdale alliance a ruse that could trip up progressives in Alabama? We have addressed that question in several posts, including this one, showing that Jones has a history of stabbing fellow Democrats in the back:

Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and U.S. Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) engaged in a heated political discussion shortly before Siegelman was forced to go to the doctor and wound up having heart surgery, sources tell Legal Schnauzer.

Siegelman had heart-bypass surgery on Feb. 9, the same day that his son, Joseph, qualified to run as a Democrat in the 2018 race for Alabama attorney general. Joseph Siegelman's political plans were at the heart of a tense conversation between Jones and Don Siegelman, sources say.

Don Siegelman, apparently under the mistaken impression that Jones would be supportive of the younger Siegelman's plans, asked the senator for an endorsement. Jones declined, which should not have been a surprise considering the evidence of his support for the other Democrat in the race, Bradley Arant lawyer Chris Christie.

Jones' negative reaction to the idea of a Joseph Siegelman endorsement should not have been a surprise for several other reasons:

(1) Jones clearly has been aligned with the so-called "Alabama Gang" of Republicans -- including Rob Riley, Bill Canary, Jeff Sessions, and Karl Rove -- dating at least to the work Jones and Riley did together in the early 2000s on a lawsuit against HealthSouth and related entities, a case that generated more than $50 million in attorney fees.

(2) Jones was Don Siegelman's defense attorney for a time in the federal bribery case that wound up unlawfully sending the former governor to federal prison for roughly six years. Jones inexplicably extended the statute of limitations for the government to build a case it obviously didn't have at the time. Jones also charged Siegelman $300,000 while doing relatively little legal work -- and then bailed out of the case before trial because of a conflict on Jones' end. We've seen no sign that Jones returned any of the money, and he has refused to answer our questions on the subject. To add insult to insult, Jones went before a Congressional committee in 2007 and talked glowingly about Bill Pryor, the current federal judge who, as Alabama AG in the late 1990s, launched the Siegelman investigation before the new governor's fanny barely had hit the office chair.

Mark Fuller mugshot

 (3) Jones apparently favors Chris Christie, even though a prominent spokesperson for the Christie campaign is Sirote Permutt lawyer Barry Ragsdale. That's the same Barry Ragsdale who helped former U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller fight charges that he beat his wife in an Atlanta hotel room -- events that led to Fuller's forced resignation from the bench. Fuller, of course, is the judge who oversaw the Siegelman trial, repeatedly making unlawful and one-sided rulings that helped ensure a conviction. Jones essentially supports a candidate whose campaign has ties to wife beating and the kind of judicial corruption that sends innocent people to prison.

Alabama progressives should be leery of the Jones-Ragsdale tag team, veteran political activist Jill Simpson said on her Facebook page yesterday. Simpson noted that three individuals who helped unmask Fuller -- herself, attorney-blogger Donald Watkins, and yours truly -- came under attack from right-wing forces aligned with Jones and Ragsdale:

What a hoot, corrupt former Republican Judge Mark Fuller's lawyer, Barry Ragsdale, is going to represent the renegade Dixiecrats' new Democratic party for Doug Jones's bunch against Joe Reed and Nancy Worley's real Alabama Democratic Party. That should be a wake up call to Alabama progressive Democrats that Doug's new party has hired the lawyer of the wife-beating judge that threw Don Siegelman in prison. 

Barry Ragsdale is who the Alabama Progressive Resistance fought tooth and toenail to remove wife beater Mark Fuller from the bench. Roger Shuler, Donald Watkins , and I worked hard day in and day out to get that crooked Republican wife-beating Judge Fuller off the bench. It was Barry Ragsdale who was trying to keep him on the bench and was our foe. 

That said, you all in the new party of Doug have a lawyer that helps a wife-beating judge, who crookedly threw your last Democratic governor in jail -- what the hell are you nitwits thinking? Now you all are getting a dose of what Doug is about -- and his Alabama Gang is about playing all sides and y'all are their blind sheep. 

Yep, I still remember Barry Ragsdale representing the wife-beating judge that mistreated Gov. Don Siegelman; it was hard for us progressive Democrats to beat him, but we beat him on Fuller and got the judge bounced off the bench, and we spent a lot of time due to Ragsdale protecting Fuller, but we got Fuller's ass thrown off the bench under the leadership of Nancy (Worley) and Joe (Reed), with Obama. All the time, Doug was behind the scenes helping Ragsdale against us. As many of you know I wrote Obama the first open letter about Fuller, the wife beater, and the need for zero tolerance for such behavior. The letter was published in a lot of places, including OpEdNews, and it asked to have that terrible wife-beating judge removed -- and I heard in D.C. that Doug and Ragsdale were trying to keep Fuller from being removed. Shortly after that is when the Alabama Bar forced me on to disability status. . . .

Now maybe you folks will start to see why we did not want Doug Jones in that Senate seat; he was playing both sides, and burning candles on both ends eventually is going to burn him in the meddle.

Schnauzer to the Washington Post, Part II

To: Carrie Johnson, staff writer

From: Legal Schnauzer

Re: "Former Ala. Governor Turns Tables on Justice Department"

Ms. Johnson:
Please allow me to point out several areas for further exploration regarding the Don Siegelman case and the Bush Justice Department:

Beyond Assertions
You state several times that Siegelman makes "assertions" that he was railroaded. The record shows that his assertions are grounded in substantial fact. Perhaps the document that most strongly supports Siegelman's assertions comes, ironically enough, from U.S. Judge Mark Fuller, who oversaw the case. When the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered Fuller to issue an opinion justifying his decision to deny bond pending appeal, Fuller failed miserably to meet his burden under the law. The following posts show just how badly Fuller missed the mark on his decision to deny bond. And they also raise substantial questions about Fuller's administration of the entire case:

http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/2008/01/checking-out-mark-fuller-shuffle.html#links

http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/2008/01/rechecking-mark-fuller-shuffle.html#links

http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/2008/01/fuller-makes-siegelmans-case-for-him.html#links

http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/2008/01/mark-fuller-naked-in-town-square.html#links

An Unfit Judge
The posts above show that U.S. Judge Mark Fuller played fast and loose with the facts and the law in the Siegelman case. But a review of Fuller's background shows that he had clear conflicts of interest and never should have been assigned to the case. The most disturbing aspect of Fuller's background: While Fuller served as a district attorney, an audit was conducted of questionable business practices in his office. That audit was conducted while Don Siegelman was governor, raising the question: Did Fuller have a grudge against Siegelman, and did that color his handling of the case? Even more damning, Missouri attorney Paul Benton Weeks filed an affidavit in a separate case, raising claims of unethical and possibly criminal actions by Fuller. The following post provides details about Fuller's background:

http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/2007/11/mark-fuller-two-timer.html#links

Conflicted Prosecutors
You state again that Siegelman "asserts" that Republican operatives conspired to manufacture a case against him. These assertions are based in pertinent fact. It's a fact that U.S. Attorney Leura Canary is the wife of Bill Canary, who served as a campaign advisor for Siegelman's opponent, Bob Riley. It's a fact that no one has produced evidence that Leura Canary ever actually recused herself from the Siegelman case. And it's a fact that normal procedure calls for a U.S. attorney from outside Canary's district to be appointed in the event of her recusal. Instead, the case was moved to one of Canary's deputies, someone who answers to her.

http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/2007/09/strange-sort-of-recusal.html#links

The Rove Sideshow
As you note, Siegelman does not have proof at this point of Karl Rove's involvement in the case. But Rove's possible involvement is only a sidebar issue. The key point is this: Close examination of the case shows that Don Siegelman was convicted of crimes he did not commit. How could this happen? Again, Judge Fuller's own memorandum opinion shows that he gave the wrong jury instructions. Bribery is the crime that has received the most attention in the Siegelman case. But five of the seven counts upon which Siegelman was convicted involve honest-services mail fraud. And as we have shown in numerous posts, honest-services mail fraud is not a crime about money; it involves a public official actually depriving the public of his or her honest services. In this case, that could only have been done if Siegelman had appointed an unqualified individual to the Hospital Certificate of Need Board. But Richard Scrushy, former CEO of HealthSouth, clearly was qualified and had served on the board under three previous governors. As for bribery, Fuller's own words show that he did not require a finding of a quid pro quo (something for something) arrangement in his jury instructions. Eleventh Circuit precedent requires a quid pro quo for a bribery conviction. Fuller essentially allowed the jury to convict Siegelman of an offense that does not exist.

http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/2008/03/schnauzer-greaseball-awards.html#links

New Trial or Reversal
You state on a couple of occasions that an Atlanta appeals court will determine whether Siegelman should win a new trial. I'm not a lawyer, but my understanding is that the appellate court also could reverse the trial court and award Siegelman an acquittal. I don't pretend to know all of the factors that might go into a possible reversal. And I understand that the awarding of a new trial is more common than a reversal. But Fuller's own memorandum opinion shows that the trial court's handling of this case was so off target, that I think a reversal is possible--and almost certainly justified.

Examining the Press
The Alabama press, particularly the Mobile Press-Register and The Birmingham News, merit strong scrutiny for their handling of the Siegelman story. Scott Horton, of Harper's, is a Columbia University law professor, and he has written extensively about the two papers' apparent coziness with prosecutors in the Siegelman case. Eddie Curran, of the Mobile Press-Register, wrote more than 100 investigative articles that are credited with sparking the federal government's Siegelman probe. On the surface, Curran's work appears to be an impressive example of hard-nosed journalism. And he certainly portrays Siegelman as a "wheeler-dealer" governor. But I've yet to see any indication that Curran has an understanding of the criminal statutes that wound up being applied to the Siegelman case. In other words, Curran's reporting generated much "sound and fury," but it did little if anything to show that Siegelman's behavior amounted to federal crimes. And Curran's bizarre personal behavior merits scrutiny by other reporters. He certainly does not advance the idea of an objective reporter, and we've noted his strange rantings numerous times on my blog. It has been well reported that Curran has a book deal based on the Siegelman case, but it seems clear that his book deal is likely to turn sour if Siegelman's conviction fails to hold. Has Curran stayed "above the fray" and followed the story wherever it leads? Doesn't look like it.

http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/2008/03/eddie-curran-fires-spitballs-at-60.html#links

http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/2008/02/deconstructing-eddie-curran.html#links

Mississippi Churning
You state that the Justice Department is "vulnerable to allegations of politically tainted actions." Again, you are being much too kind to the Bush DOJ. No case is a more blatant example of a political prosecution than the Paul Minor case in Mississippi. Attorney Paul Minor and former state judges Wes Teel and John Whitfield are in federal prison, convicted of crimes they clearly did not commit. How can I be so sure in making that statement? I wrote a 25-part series of posts called "Mississippi Churning," showing that U.S. Judge Henry Wingate gave grossly incorrect jury instructions and made wrongful evidentiary rulings that essentially kept Minor & Co. from putting on a defense. Here is one of my most recent posts on the Minor case, showing its connections to the Siegelman prosecution.

http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/2008/04/unearthing-siegelmanminor-gameplan.html#links

In short, your story on the Siegelman case is a good start. But I hope the Post will devote its considerable resources to digging deeper on this topic. The Bush DOJ/U.S. Attorneys scandal reaches from coast to coast, with brush fires in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, New Mexico, and Washington, to name a few states. But the scandal has its genesis in the South. And much more reporting needs to be done in Alabama and Mississippi.

Oily Alabama operative Rob Riley admits, in a roundabout way, that GOPers used affidavit to blackmail Judge Mark Fuller in the Siegelman case

Paul Benton Weeks

Conservative operatives in Alabama (and beyond) used an affidavit, which revealed the corrupt acts of the federal judge in the Don Siegelman case, to blackmail the judge into doing their bidding -- ensuring that Siegelman and codefendant Richard Scrushy would be wrongfully convicted.

That information about former U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller, since forced from the bench in the wake of charges that he beat his wife in an Atlanta hotel room, comes from two sources -- Alabama whistle blower and opposition researcher Jill Simpson, plus the author of the affidavit, retired Missouri attorney Paul Benton Weeks.

The blackmail issue came to the surface following our post earlier this week about the political prosecution Weeks is facing for "securities fraud" in Missouri -- a case that is so dubious it did not, by law, even involve a security, and it was filed some 30 months after the statute of limitations had expired. Under the heading of "adding insult to injury," Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley recently solicited a $50,000 donation (for his U.S. Senate campaign) from Weeks -- even though Hawley is leading the prosecution against Weeks.

Yes sir, wouldn't we all jump at the chance to contribute to the political fraud who is leading a bogus prosecution against us?

Our post apparently riled Simpson and led her to note on Facebook the critical role Weeks played in the Siegelman case, via an affidavit that revealed Judge Mark Fuller never should have been on the case. From Simpson's Facebook post (with mild editing for clarity); as tends to happen, Homewood lawyer and GOP thug Rob Riley appears at the center of any post about Alabama corruption:

As many of you know I think of Paul Weeks as a hero in the Siegelman case. Paul showed up after I testified in D.C. . . . about all Rob Riley had told me about Mark Fuller. At the time Rob shared this information in 2005, I had no idea where he had gotten all of it [and how it was being used against Fuller]. Rob just said, "A friend gave it to me," and it was enough to get Fuller to do exactly what [Rob and his associates] wanted him to do."

In what should be no surprise to anyone, Rob Riley was lying. The information actually came from the Paul Weeks affidavit, which had taken a circuitous route through a major multi-state lawsuit -- winding up with lawyers from the Bradley Arant law firm in Birmingham. (More on that in an upcoming post.) Writes Simpson:

Rob and Bob Riley

Paul Weeks showed up by calling my lawyer at the time, who instructed me not to talk him ( I believe because of Doug Jones connections ), but I did [talk to Paul anyway]  and learned that he had filed an affidavit about Fuller. That was a case against Ray Scott and B.A.S.S., in which Rob and Bob Riley's good buddy, Matt Lembke had been an attorney. Weeks' knowledge of how they were blackmailing Fuller made him a dangerous threat to the Alabama Gang. But we could never get anyone in D.C. to question [Paul], as we were dealing with Rob Riley's buddy, Doug Jones, who was about to make $51 million in a [HealthSouth civil case], with Rob running interference against all of us in D.C.

Simpson notes the blow back Weeks and others have faced for standing up to corruption connected to the Siegelman case:

Each one of us who helped see this story told -- the ones that did not join the Doug Jones bunch -- got either criminally threatened are charged with crazy horseshit, and now it appears to be Weeks they are after. This is a never-ending saga. But all their bullshit is always met with resistance; by this, I mean we show up and out the corruption of this criminal gang. It appears to us that the Alabama Resistance needs to change its name to just Resist. As we now are way beyond Alabama, dealing with their corrupt individuals in other states. As for Paul Weeks, please hold him in your prayers. Can you believe how brazen this Missouri AG is with Paul?

What about our other source, Paul Benton Weeks? He provides insights on Bradley E. Murray, v. Ray W. Scott, the B.A.S.S. case that led to his affidavit -- and shows how his sworn statement about corruption connected to U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller made it into the hands of the right-wing Alabama Gang, which used it (via Bradley Arant lawyer Matt Lembke) to blackmail Fuller and control the Siegelman case.

Scott, by the way, long has been close to George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, which might explain how Scott receives favorable rulings in Southeastern courts (Eleventh Circuit: Alabama, Georgia, Florida), which are assigned to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, a Bush appointee. From Paul Weeks:

Scott was founder of the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society of America (B.A.S.S.) but then later created a deceptively-similar named entity, "B.A.S.S. Inc." that was then used to divert all of the B.A.S.S. membership dues and magazine advertising revenues from B.A.S.S. to B.A.S.S. Inc. 

Legal experts called it a huge fraud and charitable scam because B.A.S.S. was supposed to be a fishermen's organization dedicated to preserving fishing waters and promoting youth fishing programs. Turns out Ray Scott was looting B.A.S.S. of all of the organization's money using B.A.S.S. Inc. as the siphon. When B.A.S.S. members in Kansas filed suit against Scott to get their organization and magazine back, Scott hired,  among others, Matt Lembke's firm (Bradley Arant). 

So Lembke was one of the very first lawyers to get a copy of my Fuller affidavit when I submitted it in the summer of 2003. Lembke then shared all of the dirt on Fuller with his political allies, the Rileys. They then used that dirt on Fuller to blackmail Fuller to "get" Siegelman.

The dirt on Mark Fuller did not just land on Matt Lembke's plate. It went much higher up the food chain than that, again with profound consequences for the Don Siegelman case. From Weeks:

Not only did Lembke and the Rileys have the dirt on Fuller via my affidavit, but I originally sent a copy of that Fuller affidavit to the Department of Justice Public Integrity Section (PIN), which then enabled the PIN to lord it over Fuller during the prosecution and trial of Siegelman. Fuller would have definitely felt pressure (not to mention gratitude) for the DOJ not coming after him for what was in my Fuller affidavit.

So it's fair to say that my Fuller affidavit allowed the Rileys and Karl Rove and the DOJ to "own" and control Fuller in the mission to "get" Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman.

The story does not end there -- far from it. Paul Weeks has many more insights on the blackmailing of federal judge Mark Fuller. We will have that in an upcoming post.


(To be continued)

Don Siegelman and Doug Jones had a heated political discussion shortly before former governor needed heart surgery and his son announced run for AG

Don Siegelman and Doug Jones

Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and U.S. Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) engaged in a heated political discussion shortly before Siegelman was forced to go to the doctor and wound up having heart surgery, sources tell Legal Schnauzer.

Siegelman had heart-bypass surgery on Feb. 9, the same day that his son, Joseph, qualified to run as a Democrat in the 2018 race for Alabama attorney general. Joseph Siegelman's political plans were at the heart of a tense conversation between Jones and Don Siegelman, sources say.

Don Siegelman, apparently under the mistaken impression that Jones would be supportive of the younger Siegelman's plans, asked the senator for an endorsement. Jones declined, which should not have been a surprise considering the evidence of his support for the other Democrat in the race, Bradley Arant lawyer Chris Christie.

Jones' negative reaction to the idea of a Joseph Siegelman endorsement should not have been a surprise for several other reasons:

(1) Jones clearly has been aligned with the so-called "Alabama Gang" of Republicans -- including Rob Riley, Bill Canary, Jeff Sessions, and Karl Rove -- dating at least to the work Jones and Riley did together in the early 2000s on a lawsuit against HealthSouth and related entities, a case that generated more than $50 million in attorney fees.

(2) Jones was Don Siegelman's defense attorney for a time in the federal bribery case that wound up unlawfully sending the former governor to federal prison for roughly six years. Jones inexplicably extended the statute of limitations for the government to built a case it obviously didn't have at the time. Jones also charged Siegelman $300,000 while doing relatively little legal work -- and then bailed out of the case before trial because of a conflict on Jones' end. We've seen no sign that Jones returned any of the money, and he has refused to answer our questions on the subject. To add insult to insult, Jones went before a Congressional committee in 2007 and talked glowingly about Bill Pryor, the current federal judge who, as Alabama AG in the late 1990s, launched the Siegelman investigation before the new governor's fanny barely had hit the office chair.

(3) Jones apparently favors Chris Christie, even though a prominent spokesperson for the Christie campaign is Sirote Permutt lawyer Barry Ragsdale. That's the same Barry Ragsdale who helped former U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller fight charges that he beat his wife in an Atlanta hotel room -- events that led to Fuller's forced resignation from the bench. Fuller, of course, is the judge who oversaw the Siegelman trial, repeatedly making unlawful and one-sided rulings that helped ensure a conviction. Jones essentially supports a candidate whose campaign has ties to wife beating and the kind of judicial corruption that sends innocent people to prison.

What's the No. 1 reason Jones doesn't support Joseph Siegelman? It's possible the younger Siegelman would be a tough, competent attorney general -- probably the first Alabama AG with integrity since Jimmy Evans (1991-95). The last thing Jones and his right-wing associates want is a competent AG who might take a critical glance at some of their under-handed activities in recent years. Here is how we put it in a recent post:

Why is Joseph Siegelman's run for the AG's office generating blow back from establishment Democrats and Republican? The answer, to me, is obvious. Many of those establishment types -- Rob Riley, Bob Riley, Jeff Sessions, Doug Jones, Bill Canary, Mark Fuller, Leura Canary and many more -- were deeply involved in the crooked prosecution that caused Don Siegelman to land in prison.

The establishment knows that a real attorney general, such as Joseph Siegelman, still could pursue any number of civil or criminal claims that are not barred by the statute of limitations. And that means a Joseph Siegelman tenure as AG could help put some of them -- and their brethren -- behind bars, where they belong. No wonder they support Chris Christie, who likely is to serve as their protector.

In other words, Joseph Siegelman could be a threat to Doug Jones and the right-wing thugs who helped him land in the U.S. Senate. Don Siegelman apparently does not grasp that, and we can't imagine why.

Rechecking the Mark Fuller Shuffle

More thoughts on the memorandum opinion by U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller, explaining his reasons for denying Don Siegelman's motion for release pending appeal. The more you study Fuller's memorandum, the more you understand why he put off writing it for so long. Fuller is like a fifth grader who did not do his homework, and now is having to explain that to his teacher. As you will see, Fuller's written explanation has holes large enough to drive a Peterbilt through:

* It's impossible to conduct a thorough analysis of Fuller's opinion without access to a trial transcript. We are forced to accept Fuller's version of events because we have no transcript to check against the judge's opinion. In fact, news comes today that the court reporter has been granted a second extension, until March 31, to complete the transcript. So that's almost another two months that Siegelman and Richard Scrushy must remain in prison because of the court's incompetence. And who is responsible for ensuring that a transcript is completed in a timely fashion? According to Scott Horton, of Harper's, it's Fuller himself.

* Here's a question for you: If no one has access to a transcript, how did Fuller manage to complete his opinion released this week? More than half of the 30 pages consist of his recitation of events in the trial. How did he come up with those events if he doesn't have a transcript? Does he have a spectacular memory? If his memory is so spectacular, why could he not remember that he is responsible for ensuring that a trial transcript is prepared in a timely manner? And if more than half of Fuller's opinion is based simply on his memory of events, how much stock should we put in it?

* We noted in our previous post on this subject, that only 14 pages of Fuller's 30-page opinion dealt with the questions posed by the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Of those 14 pages, almost six deal with the obstruction of justice charge against Siegelman. I've stated here many times that I am not a lawyer. But based on my legal research, obstruction of justice appears to be what I would call a "piggyback" charge in criminal law. In that regard, it seems to be similar to a charge of conspiracy. By definition, conspiracy cannot be charged without other charges being involved. And it seems that obstruction of justice, in the vast majority of cases, would only "ride along" with other, more fundamental, charges. My point is this: I don't think the jury in the Siegelman case would have gone for a guilty verdict on the obstruction of justice charge without also making a guilty finding on at least one of the more fundamental charges. For that reason, the obstruction of justice charge is somewhat extraneous, so I won't spend much time on Fuller's statements about that.

* The two fundamental charges in the Siegelman case were federal-funds bribery and honest-services mail fraud. And interestingly, Fuller uses barely two pages to address the two most important issues in the trial--that's two pages out of a 30-page memorandum. The memorandum is available here. Fuller's discussion of these critical subjects begins in the middle of page 27 and runs to the middle of page 29. Makes you think he doesn't want to talk about them much.

* And here is why Fuller probably does not want to talk much about federal-funds bribery or honest-services mail fraud. A close reading of Fuller's opinion suggests that the judge either does not know, or is intentionally misstating, the law on those two key charges. Fuller states that Siegelman's motion does not establish that a conviction under 18 U.S. Code 666 (bribery) or 18 U.S. Code 1346 (honest-services mail fraud) must be predicated on an explicit quid pro quo. I don't know the various cases Siegelman's lawyers cited in their motion. But there is no question that 11th Circuit precedent requires a quid pro quo for a bribery conviction. I don't have the first day of law school, and I was able to find that case law, so I feel certain Siegelman's attorneys were able to find it, too.

* The most recent 11th Circuit case on bribery appears to be U.S. v. McCarter, 219 Fed. Appx. 921 (2007). The McCarter opinion could not be more clear: "To prove a defendant is guilty of bribery, the government must prove there was "a quid pro quo--a specific intent to give or receive something of value in exchange for an official act." The McCarter court cited U.S. v. Sun-Diamond Growers of California, 526 U.S. 398, a well-known U.S. Supreme Court decision related to bribery from 1999.

* Did Fuller's jury instruction on bribery reflect this language? He claims that it did--sort of. He says the jury was "sufficiently apprised" of the quid quo pro requirement. Sufficiently apprised? What the heck does that mean? Either the jury received the language noted above--or language very similar to it--or it didn't. That's the law in the 11th Circuit, and we're not talking about a close call here. If Fuller's jury instruction did not pretty much mirror the language noted above, the conviction of Siegelman and Scrushy was based on trumped-up law. Of course, we could check the jury instruction if we had a trial transcript. But we don't, thanks largely to Fuller. Maybe he doesn't want the public to know what his jury instruction was, not when he can keep Siegelman and Scrushy languishing in prison for as long as possible.

* Even more troubling is the fact that Fuller ties bribery and honest-services mail fraud together in his statement regarding quid pro quo. Honest-services mail fraud has nothing to do with a quid pro quo, and a federal judge should know that. You can learn what mail fraud actually is here. At the heart of the offense is "a willful act by defendant with specific intent to deceive or cheat." It's hard to see how Siegelman committed an act to deceive or cheat by appointing Scrushy to a spot on the Certificate of Need (CON) Board, especially when Scrushy had served on the board under three other governors. And at least one of those governors, Republican Fob James, received a major campaign contribution from Scrushy.

* In the 14 pages relevant to 11th Circuit questions, Fuller makes one reference to honest-services mail fraud. It's the second most important charge in the indictment, and the judge makes one passing reference to it? Makes me think the government's case against Siegelman on this charge was incredibly weak, and Fuller either knows it or he simply hasn't bothered to educate himself on the relevant law.

* Let's get to the heart of the matter, the whole reason for Fuller's memorandum. On page 16, he lays out a four-pronged test for determining whether the defendants should be detained pending appeal. The four-pronged test is based on language from U.S. v. Giancola, 754 F. 2d 898 (11th Cir., 1985). Fuller and the government seem to concede that Siegelman meets the first two prongs--that he is not likely to flee or pose danger to the safety or others; and his appeal is not for purposes of delay. So it comes down to prongs 3 and 4: Does the appeal raise a substantial question of law or fact; and if that substantial question is determined favorably to the defendant on appeal, that decision is likely to result in reversal or an order for a new trial of all counts.

* It's shockingly easy to answer the questions raised by prongs 3 and 4--and the answer is yes. And that means Siegelman and Scrushy, by law, must be released pending appeal. Why do I say it's easy to make this determination? Well, Fuller's own language makes it clear that he either doesn't know, or is intentionally misstating, the law related to the two most important charges--federal-funds bribery and honest-services mail fraud. As we've shown above, Fuller indicates that he is not aware that a bribery conviction requires a quid pro quo. And Fuller's own words indicate that he knows next to nothing about honest-services mail fraud. So we clearly have substantial questions of law because the judge himself has shown that he doesn't have much of a clue what the law really is

* And as for questions of fact: Without a transcript, there is a question about every fact in the case. In fact, without a transcript, there is a question about every element of law raised in the case. I've got a stump in my backyard that could get this right: Siegelman and Scrushy, by law, must be released pending appeal--and by law, they never should have been imprisoned in the first place. Will the 11th Circuit get it right? Don't hold your breath. My guess is that the 11th Circuit does not want to expose Judge Mark Fuller for the corrupt bozo that he is. Better that Siegelman and Scrushy unlawfully remain in prison rather than the public know what Mark Fuller really is all about.

* Methinks we are now understanding why Fuller waited so long in "answering" the 11th Circuit's queries. He has neither the facts nor the law on his side, so he is going into a stall--a legal version of the old "four corners" offense North Carolina used to employ in college basketball. Will the 11th Circuit, or perhaps Congress, force Fuller out of his stall by employing a serious full-court press? It's about time someone did.

Siegelman Judge Faces Divorce Complaint That Hints At Extramarital Affairs, Drug Use

Judge Mark Fuller

Mark Fuller, the federal judge who presided over the prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, faces a divorce complaint that strongly hints at extramarital affairs, illicit drug use, driving under the influence, and other misconduct.

Lisa Boyd Fuller filed for divorce on May 10, 2012, and court filings since then point to serious allegations against her husband. (See the divorce complaint at the end of this post.) Will the divorce case raise questions about Mark Fuller's fitness to be a U.S. district judge? Will it provide an avenue for Siegelman and codefendant Richard Scrushy to have their convictions overturned?

It's too early to know the answers to those questions. But Bob Martin, editor of the Montgomery Independent, shows in an article published yesterday that the divorce case might raise significant trouble for Fuller, a George W. Bush appointee who oversaw what has been described as the most notorious political prosecution in American history.

At the heart of the Fuller divorce case is an alleged affair between the judge and a female court deputy. From Bob Martin's article:

Divorce can be triggered by many reasons but it is usually initiated, not by a single event, but a long-term abuse of trust. The long term abuse of trust by Judge Fuller, described to me from sources inside the United States Courthouse in Montgomery and others continues today, and has lasted at least four-to-five years. It involves a former female courtroom deputy in her late thirties with children ages 9 and 14. Her husband obtained a divorce several months ago. Fuller and his wife separated last August. They have two grown children and one teenager. 

During most of the time this “not-so-secret affair" was going on, Fuller was the presiding judge of the U. S. District Court based in Montgomery. He rotated into that position the third year after he was appointed by President George W. Bush, and completed his seven-year term a year-and-a-half ago. He presided in the trial of former Gov. Don Siegelman and Richard Scrushy.

In a companion piece to his column, Martin identifies Fuller's mistress as a woman named Kelli Gregg. From the Martin report:

Those in a position to know, report that the affair by Judge Fuller, conducted with his former Courtroom Deputy Clerk and bailiff, Kelli Gregg, has been ongoing for four or five years and is basically an “open secret” in the building. Ms. Gregg, who has two children, was divorced by her husband about six months ago. 

Sources in a position to know tell the newspaper that Fuller and Gregg have traveled together extensively, including trips to Dothan, New York, Tallahassee and perhaps Las Vegas.

Scott Horton, legal affairs contributor at Harper's, has written extensively about the Siegelman case and Fuller's apparent conflicts of interest. What might the allegations of an affair mean for Fuller? Martin put that question to Horton and received this answer:

“When a judge uses his position to extract sexual favors from a court officer under his authority, such conduct could easily be viewed as predatory and possibly even criminal but it doesn’t necessarily follow that because a sexual liaison has arisen that the person in a senior position used his office to advantage. The facts would have to be studied more carefully. But even if the relationship were purely innocent, one would have to be worried about the unwholesome appearance of a federal judge engaging in a sexual tryst with his court officer."

Issues raised in Lisa Boyd Fuller's court filings go well beyond an affair. (See Ms. Fuller's interrogatories for her husband at the end of this post.) Writes Martin:

In her complaint Lisa Fuller asks for the following admissions by her husband. They include these topics: extramarital affairs, parenting, driving under the influence of alcohol, withholding documents, payment of expenses for persons with whom he was having sex, spousal abuse, receipt of psychological care or counseling, and addiction to prescription drugs. To my knowledge the answers to those questions had not been filed at the time this column was written.

All of this could raise profound questions for parties who came before Fuller--and for those who worked with and around him in Montgomery's federal courthouse. From Scott Horton, via Bob Martin's piece:

The current allegations of abuse of office and subpoenas for prescription drugs at numerous pharmacies could possibly bring into question every judgment he has issued and every trial over which he has presided. Keep in mind, of course, that these are yet only allegations which may not ultimately bear out. 

Another issue would be whether others close to the court knew of his indiscretions and used them to extort favorable court decisions. There are several prior cases, including one still under investigation involving a federal judge in Florida, in which a judge had a secret liaison with a court officer and other parties, which was apparently used to extort favorable rulings. In the Fuller matter it would be hard to see how the U. S. Attorney’s office would not know about the affair. If the U. S. Attorney knew and did nothing, holding this as a sort of a sword over the judge’s head, such would undermine the legitimacy of all the criminal matters and some civil matters involving government interests that came before Fuller.

The U.S. attorney in question, of course, is notorious Bush appointee Leura Canary, who served for more than two years of the Obama administration and took a job with the Retirement Systems of Alabama (RSA) earlier this year under curious circumstances.

The Fuller divorce case also might shine light on the judge's ownership interest in Doss Aviation, a Colorado-based company that has received numerous lucrative government contracts. Under the law, Doss Aviation is likely to be seen as a marital asset that is to be divided equitably--and Lisa Boyd Fuller, understandably, will want her share. That might shine unwelcome light on Fuller's ties to a company that has benefited greatly from federal dollars, calling into question the judge's objectivity on many cases that come before him. Again from Horton, via Bob Martin:

Aside from this we have to take into account the unprecedented circumstance of Fuller’s ownership in Doss Aviation, a major source of his income, perhaps more so than his judicial salary. Doss Aviation appears to benefit from a steady stream of Department of Defense and other federal contracts some awarded on no-bid contracts under highly suspicious circumstances. 

These ethics issues surrounding a single judge, Mark Everett Fuller, are to my knowledge, without any equal on the federal bench.

Is Mark Fuller a compromised judge of epic proportions? That's what Scott Horton seems to be saying. And Lisa Boyd Fuller's divorce case might help prove it.

What does all of this mean? For an excellent overview of the Fuller divorce story and its many implications, I strongly recommend the most recent piece by Andrew Kreig, at the Justice-Integrity Project. You can check it out at the following link:

Andrew Kreig: Alabama Judicial Scandal Could Taint Many Cases, Not Just Siegelman's


(Photo: Phil Fleming)

  Mark Fuller Divorce Complaint
Mark Fuller Divorce Interrogatories

Fuller Makes Siegelman's Case for Him

Former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman probably thought U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller never would do him a favor. But Fuller has inadvertently done just that.

The point of Fuller's recent 30-page memorandum opinion was supposed to be that Siegelman should remain in federal prison pending appeal. But the opinion does just the opposite. In fact, Fuller actually makes Siegelman's case for him--showing that, under the law and the facts, Siegelman must be released from prison pending appeal.

How could a federal judge, someone you assume to be rather intelligent, make such a gaffe? My only explanation is this: People who are attempting to cover up wrongdoing are prone to step in doo-doo. And if you actually read Fuller's opinion with a somewhat critical eye, it becomes clear that the judge has stepped in doo-doo big time with this one.

And that makes me think he is doing his darnedest to cover up a sham of a prosecution.

With two recent posts, we have shown that Fuller's own memo proves that Siegelman, by law, should be released from prison pending appeal. And it's not even a close call.

Fuller worked up a 30-page memo in an apparent effort to make this look like a complicated matter. Well, it isn't. All you need to do is read roughly three pages of his opinion, conduct some quick legal research and . . . presto, you see that Judge Mark Fuller is blowing some serious smoke.

Here's an easy way to sum it up:

* The key question is: Does the appeal raise a substantial question of law or fact that, if found in the defendant's favor, would result in reversal or an order for a new trial.

* Fuller's own words show there is a substantial question of law on both key charges--federal-funds bribery and honest-services mail fraud.

* On bribery, Fuller indicates there is some question whether 11th Circuit law requires a quid pro quo, a "something-for-something" arrangement, in order to have a conviction. And as we have shown from a 2007 case--U.S. v. McCarter, 219 Fed. Appx. 921--there is no question about it. The language in McCarter is clear: "To prove a defendant is guilty of bribery, the government must prove there was a quid pro quo--a specific intent to give or receive something of value in exchange for an official act." And McCarter is based on a 1999 U.S. Supreme Court decision, so its grounded in pretty solid stuff. So there you have it: The judge's own words show there is a question of law that should be decided in Siegelman's favor. Score: Siegelman 1, Fuller 0.

* On honest-services mail fraud, Fuller indicates that he has no clue what he is talking about. He states that there is some question whether a quid pro quo is required for a mail-fraud conviction. And as we have shown, a quid pro quo has nothing to do with mail fraud. It is not remotely an element of the crime. Once again, the judge's own words show there is a question of law that should be decided in Siegelman's favor. Score: Siegelman 2, Fuller 0.

* As for questions of fact, all facts are in question because there is no transcript of the case--and there won't be one for at least another two months. Fuller spends almost 16 pages of his memo reciting his version of facts in the case. But those are not facts, in a legal sense, at all. And one can only wonder what dark crevice he pulled them from. Score: Siegelman 3, Fuller 0.

I would say Siegelman is pitching a shut out, and Fuller is toast.

Does this mean the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals will be releasing Siegelman from prison any moment? Of course not. That court is made up of judges, and the whole point of this blog is to show that judges often are the last people you want to trust with the law. And for all I know, the 11th Circuit might consist of justices whose respect for the law may be no greater than Fuller's.

But if the law still means anything in the Age of Rove--and that's a mighty big if--Don Siegelman should be out of prison pretty darn soon.

Mark Fuller's own words prove it.

Judge in Siegelman Case Faces Renewed Impeachment Effort

Mark Fuller, the Alabama federal judge who oversaw the Don Siegelman case, is facing a renewed impeachment effort amid allegations that he tried to defraud a state pension system and earned millions of dollars from military contracts during the Bush administration.

Missouri attorney Paul Benton Weeks said Fuller punished Siegelman in retaliation for an investigation Weeks conducted in 2003 that revealed extensive financial wrongdoing in two Alabama counties where Fuller had served as district attorney. A Siegelman appointee assisted in the investigation, which showed that Fuller engaged in criminal behavior before being appointed to the federal bench by George W. Bush, Weeks said.

Meanwhile, a new investigation shows that Doss Aviation, with Fuller as majority owner, has been awarded more than $300 million in federal contracts since Fuller began presiding over the Siegelman case in 2005.

The latest on the Siegelman case comes from an investigative report at Huffington Post by veteran attorney and journalist Andrew Kreig, who currently is a senior fellow at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University.

Weeks and Kreig will conduct a media teleconference at 10 a.m., Eastern time, on Monday (5/18). A Department of Justice spokesman and Judge Fuller have been invited to participate in the teleconference. Kreig sent interview requests to Fuller via U.S. mail and telephone. He has received no response.

Reports Kreig:

The Alabama federal judge who presided over the 2006 corruption trial of the state's former governor holds a grudge against the defendant for helping to expose the judge's own alleged corruption six years ago. Former Gov. Don Siegelman therefore deserves a new trial with an unbiased judge─not one whose privately owned company, Doss Aviation, has been enriched by the Bush administration's award of $300 million in contracts since 2006, making the judge millions in non-judicial income.

These are the opinions of Missouri attorney Paul B. Weeks, who is speaking out publicly for the first time since his effort in 2003 to obtain the impeachment of U.S. District Judge Mark E. Fuller of Montgomery on Doss Aviation-related allegations.

Kreig's report comes at a critical time in the Siegelman case. The U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld most of the convictions against Siegelman. Federal prosecutors are asking that the former governor receive a 20-year sentence, almost triple his original sentence. With the 11th Circuit refusing last week to grant a review by the entire court, the case stands to return to Fuller for resentencing.

That's a frightening prospect, Weeks says, because Fuller clearly is not impartial toward the former governor. Fuller's grudge originated with the financial impropriety that Weeks uncovered with the help of Gary McAliley, a Siegelman appointee who succeeded Fuller as district attorney over two south Alabama counties:

"Siegelman deserved a fair judge, and what he got is one who holds a grudge against him for my impeachment effort," says Weeks. "If Fuller had a trace of honor he would have recused himself immediately. Instead, he's part of the machine that pounded down the defendant. It makes a huge difference to a defendant whether the judge is protecting your rights, or letting prosecutors stifle them. All Siegelman needs to do to win a new trial is to put my 2003 affidavit on the table as Exhibit A."

Weeks practices law in Springfield, Missouri, and decided to conduct a routine investigation after the newly confirmed Fuller was assigned in 2002 to Murray v. Scott, a class-action lawsuit in which Weeks represented a plaintiff.

What was supposed to be a routine background check on a judge turned up information that was anything but routine. The initial check uncovered enough troubling information that Weeks traveled to Alabama to conduct a thorough investigation. He wound up with a sworn statement from McAliley, outlining corruption in the district attorney's office where Fuller had presided:

Weeks put his evidence into a comprehensive filing to Fuller on July 25, 2003. The filing alleged "clear evidence of criminal misconduct" by Fuller both before and after he became a federal judge. Weeks wrote, "The evidence of criminal wrongdoing identified in this affidavit implicates lying and perjury; criminal conspiracy and criminal attempt to defraud the Retirement System of Alabama (RSA) of approximately $330,000; and, misuse of the office of district attorney and federal judge in furtherance of a criminal conspiracy and criminal attempt to defraud."

What was at the heart of Fuller's corrupt activities? Kreig reports:

According to Weeks's statement, the problem was Fuller's cozy arrangement with his state staff that enabled him to lead Doss Aviation in Colorado Springs while also drawing a full-time salary as state district attorney in Alabama. Weeks suggested that the pay raise and pension fight for the investigator were, in effect, hush money.

The affidavit prompted Fuller's recusal from the Murray case. But Weeks' call for impeachment went nowhere in Washington, D.C. Weeks drove from Missouri to Washington to hand deliver his evidence to every member of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, which holds initial jurisdiction over impeachment actions. Weeks also delivered copies to judicial, justice, and legal oversight groups. He never heard back from anyone, and the matter died.

Meanwhile, new evidence shows how much Fuller and Doss Aviation have gained financially during the Bush years. Reports Kreig:

Recent additional research by the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University found that Doss Aviation has been awarded more than $300 million in federal awards since Fuller began presiding over the Siegelman case in 2005. The scope of Doss Aviation's work is illustrated by the company's website, http://www.dossaviation.com/. Among other things, it displays a photo of Doss Aviation refueling the presidential plane Air Force One as part of its extensive refueling work for the Air Force. The website also describes the company's vital role in training Air Force pilots, and in manufacturing uniforms for federal military and civilian employees.

Fuller never should have been assigned to the Siegelman case, Weeks says:

"I just wish I had known about Siegelman's case before his trial so they [defendants and attorneys] could have been able to understand the kind of animus Fuller has to have for Siegelman," Weeks says. "I guarantee that Fuller blames Siegelman for my affidavit. If you look at how Fuller treated Siegelman, he clearly hates him."

"What's remarkable is that Siegelman has never been given a real chance to show why it's not appropriate for Fuller to be his judge," Weeks says. "The material I produced was never available. I think it was put into a separate file to keep it hidden."

Why has new Attorney General Eric Holder been reluctant to review the Siegelman case, even after asking that charges be dropped against former U.S. Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK)? Kreig provides some insight:

Weeks believes that Attorney General Holder finds it politically indelicate so far to step into Siegelman's case, especially so soon after he condemned the prosecution of former Sen. Stevens. "If it's one case of misconduct, authorities can look like heroes for investigating it. If it's two, they're opening the floodgates for reviews of all their questionable conduct."

Kreig notes that the 11th Circuit's ruling upholding most of the Siegelman conviction has not quieted critics who say the prosecution was politically driven and unlawfully conducted. The real problem, Weeks says, started in the trial court with Judge Mark Fuller. And Weeks does not intend to let that issue rest:

"There needs to be oversight beyond that appeals court," Weeks concludes. "They really contained the problem pretty well up to now. But there's no statute of limitations for impeachment, and this case shouldn't end with a new judge and new trial, or dropped charges against Siegelman and Scrushy," he says.

"I've been a fan of good judges for my entire 28 years as a lawyer," he says. "But when you get a bad one, with all the power that they hold, that's about as close to the devil here on earth as you can find."

By focusing on Mark Fuller's private misconduct, are judicial elites covering for his actions on the bench?

Are judicial elites trying to cover for Mark Fuller's
corrupt actions from the bench?

Judicial investigators announced last week that disgraced federal judge Mark Fuller engaged in "reprehensible conduct," which included physically abusing his wife at least eight times, and lied under oath to the committee investigating his behavior.

The Judicial Conference of the United States stated in a letter to Congress that the severity of Fuller's actions, plus its finding of perjury, might merit impeachment proceedings--even though he resigned from the bench in August.

Legal experts have said that the conference's findings against Fuller, best known for overseeing the trial of former Alabama governor Don Siegelman, represent a tough stance against judges who bring disrepute to the judiciary. But is that really the case? Is the judicial hierarchy, by focusing on Fuller's private behavior while largely ignoring his dubious actions on the bench, actually conducting a cover-up and trying to protect its own reputation.

The answers to the those two questions, in our view, are no and yes.

Should the public be concerned that Fuller, appointed to the bench in the Middle District of Alabama by President George W. Bush, repeatedly beat Kelli Gregg Fuller before and after they got married--and then lied under oath about his actions? Of course. Should the public be concerned that documents from Fuller's first marriage suggest he abused his wife and children then, drove while intoxicated, engaged in extramarital affairs, and abused alcohol and prescription drugs? Absolutely.

But what about Fuller's conduct in his "official capacity," while wearing a robe? We are among a relatively small number of journalists who have shown that Fuller repeatedly made unlawful rulings in the Siegelman case, forcing former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy to prison for a sentence he already has served--while Siegelman remains incarcerated at Oakdale, Louisiana, for a "crime" that does not exist under federal law.

How corrupt were Fuller's actions in the Siegelman case? Here is the simplest explanation: Evidence at trial showed that the alleged unlawful transaction between Siegelman and Scrushy took place almost six years before federal prosecutors issued an indictment. That means the alleged wrongdoing--and evidence at trial showed there was no wrongdoing at all--took place well outside the five-year statute of limitations.

That means the case should not have gone to trial--and by law, it could not go to a jury either. Fuller, however, took a number of improper steps to ensure that a stale case, which should have been dead on arrival, moved forward toward a jury that issued guilty verdicts not supported by fact or law.

Here's the key to what's really going on with the "investigation" of Mark Fuller: The U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Fuller's unlawful trial rulings on multiple occasions. That's why the judicial hierarchy wants the public to focus on Fuller's home life. If citizens were to focus on Fuller's abominable actions from the bench, the inquiry could not stop with him; it also would have to focus on the appellate court in Atlanta, which covers Alabama, Georgia, and Florida.

Goodness knows, the Judicial Conference does not want that to happen.

That's why various legal experts were quoted in The New York Times, praising the "tough-guy stance" toward Mark Fuller. Here is one example:

“They didn’t pull any punches,” said Arthur Hellman, a law professor at the University of Pittsburgh who specializes in judicial ethics. “They didn’t try to whitewash it in any way, and I think that’s part of the message they’re trying to convey: If a federal judge does something bad, the judiciary will take steps to force him off the bench.”

Here is another example:

“They want to use this as a teaching moment for the federal judiciary,” said Charles G. Geyh, a law professor at Indiana University who testified during impeachment proceedings against a different federal judge.

Both Hellman and Geyh are full of horse feces. In fact, to borrow a phrase from Hellman, a "whitewash" is exactly what's going on.

Judicial elites don't mind sacrificing Mark Fuller for engaging in domestic abuse. But they don't want you to know that he was crooked on the bench--and they sure don't want you to know that appellate judges supported Fuller's corrupt actions all along the way.