The Foundation of a Scandal

The foundation of the Department of Justice (DOJ) scandal continues to be built, with Alabama remaining a focal point.

Glynn Wilson, of Locust Fork World News & Journal, reports that Rainsville attorney Dana Jill Simpson is being interviewed today in Washington, D.C., regarding her sworn allegations that the prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman was politically motivated. Wilson provides excellent background on Simpson's involvement in the DOJ scandal and the events that led up to the Siegelman prosecution.

Wilson presents this most interesting quote from New York attorney Scott Horton, the author of the No Comment blog at Harper's.org. "So far the evidence coming out of the U.S. attorneys scandal points to political motivation in prosecutions or the suppression of prosecutions in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, and California, but the strongest case so far, and the one where the direct involvement of Karl Rove is most apparent, is Alabama, a state where Rove's roots and political connections run very deep."

This is the first indication I've seen that the Congressional investigation might include "the suppression of prosecutions" by the Bush Justice Department. So far, attention has focused on cases where public servants who are Democrats have been prosecuted for apparently political reasons. These include the Siegelman case in Alabama, the Georgia Thompson case in Wisconsin, and the Cyril Wecht case in Pennsylvania.

But there is another variety of "selective prosecution." These include cases where Republican public servants get away with clear crimes--in other words, their prosecutions are suppressed--for political reasons.

That is exactly what is happening in the case that is at the heart of our Legal Schnauzer blog. The wrongdoers, in my case, are a series of Republican judges in Alabama, led by Shelby County circuit judges J. Michael Joiner and G. Dan Reeves, along with Pelham, Alabama, attorney Bill Swatek (the father of Dax Swatek, former campaign manager for current Alabama governor Bob Riley).

Who is suppressing this prosecution? Why, none other than Alice Martin, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama and the lady who led the first prosecution of Don Siegelman. In fact, I have clear evidence of Ms. Martin taking affirmative steps to sweep the wrongdoing in my case under the proverbial rug.

When the first Siegelman prosecution fell apart, Republicans turned to the Middle District of Alabama in Montgomery, which is led by Leura Canary.

What kind of honorable public servant is Ms. Canary? More on that coming up.