Former Alabama governor Don Siegelman, the victim of perhaps the most notorious political prosecution in American history, has regained his law license, according to Associated Press. From the AP report:
Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman has regained his state law license, years after being released from federal prison in a government corruption case.
The Alabama Bar Association on Monday confirmed that Siegelman’s license was restored in December after he went through an application process.
Siegelman said he hopes to take on cases where he can make a difference, especially where abuse of power is involved:
The former governor, 75, told The Associated Press that he expects to do a mix of criminal and civil work. He said he would like to work with public defenders or advocacy groups to take on criminal defense cases.
“I look forward to finding those special cases in which I believe and feel like I can make a difference and working either pro-bono or with another lawyer,” Siegelman said in a telephone interview.
Siegelman has become an advocate for making changes to the criminal justice system, including “providing a measure of justice to families who lose someone to the abuse of power or use of excessive force by police.”
Siegelman's return to the legal profession marks another chapter in the saga of a Democrat, who until his imprisonment, managed to thrive politically in a heavily Republican state. From AP:
Siegelman for decades was a dominating figure in Alabama politics, holding the offices of secretary of state, attorney general, lieutenant governor and governor. He served as Alabama’s governor from 1999 to 2003. He was the last Democrat to hold the position in the conservative state.
Siegelman was released from prison in 2017 after serving a six-year sentence for his conviction on charges of bribery and obstruction of justice.
A federal jury in 2006 convicted Siegelman on charges that he sold a seat on a state regulatory board to HealthSouth founder Richard Scrushy in exchange for $500,000 in donations to Siegelman’s signature political issue — his 1999 campaign to establish a state lottery. Siegelman was convicted on a separate obstruction of justice charge that he tried to hide money he received from a lobbyist.
Siegelman maintained his innocence and unsuccessfully waged a lengthy battle in court, and in the media, to try to overturn his conviction. His lawyers argued his prosecution was motivated by Republicans upset by the Democrat’s political success and that the conviction was backed up by scant evidence.
17 comments:
Nice to see some good news on a dreary day for Democrats.
I would amend that slightly to say it was a dreary day for our country. although not sure the Virginia result was a surprise.
Ironic that the election results came on the same day QAnon types gathered in Dealey Plaza in Dallas, expecting JFK Jr. to appear and announce the reinstatement of Trump as president. That's so weird it leaves me without words.
I'm concerned our country has "gone around the bend" and isn't coming back.
I don't understand the poor poll numbers for Biden considering the mess he inherited from Trump. We are seeing positive numbers on COVID, plus strong effort to boost the economy, if Manchin and Sinema would refrain from obstructing.
I don't understand it either. From my seat, Biden is doing a heckuva job at trying to save the country from Trump-induced disasters. I do suspect Biden is being blamed by some for the Nanchin/Sinema. Not sure how that is Biden's fault, although it is a classic example of self-inflicted wounds from Democrats.
Here is part of an election assessment from Axios:
Last night's results sent a grim message to President Biden and Democrats:
Republicans in Virginia and New Jersey ran with stunning strength, as Biden's approval rating tanks and national pessimism rises.
The red wave even swept Long Island.
Voters also sent Democrats a warning for 2022: There could be a massive backlash to perceptions that progressives are pulling the party too far left, Axios managing editor Margaret Talev writes.
White women in Virginia swung to the GOP by 15 points compared to 2020's results, NBC's exit poll found.
White women swung to the GOP by 15 points? Why? They like Marjorie Taylor Greene?
More analysis from Axios:
Between the lines: Gallup puts Biden's approval at 42% — the lowest for any president in October of their first year going back to Dwight Eisenhower in 1953 — except Donald Trump, who was at 37%.
Many in Biden's own party don't want him to run again: In an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll out Monday, "just 36% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents thought they would have a better chance in 2024 with Biden on the ballot as opposed to someone else."
What's next: Biden, Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer can be expected to use the wake-up call to try to force a reset, pushing for swift action on Biden's agenda.
"It's time for Democrats to stop f------ around," a senior aide to a House moderate told Axios' Sarah Mucha. "Show the voters we actually can govern."
But the results could make it harder to get Dems from tough districts on board.
David Axelrod said on CNN: "When things go badly, people begin to think of themselves."
Some Dems don't want Biden to run again? You've got to be kidding.
Here is my favorite election nugget: The notion that the GOP made inroads with the idea that parents need to decide what is taught in public schools -- as opposed to, say, professional educators.
These are the same types of parents who showed up at Dealey Plaza yesterday and thought injecting bleach could beat COVID, and taking horse-dewormer was a good idea?
Maybe we should leave teaching to the people who are trained to be teachers.
Here is part of a NY Times analysis:
Why are voters so unhappy with Democrats? The main reason appears to be the pandemic, which has disrupted everyday life and the global economy for longer than many people expected.
Has everyone forgotten who was in charge when the pandemic started and the economy headed off a cliff?
Hint: His name was Donald J. Trump, a Republican.
Do I have this straight? Democrats are being blamed for problems that started on the GOP's watch?
More from NY Times:
Republican candidates have also focused voters on a set of social issues, like police funding and so-called identity politics, in which high-profile progressive positions are sometimes out of step with public opinion. As The Times’s Lisa Lerer wrote: “The crushing setbacks for Democrats in heavily suburban Virginia and New Jersey hinted at a conservative-stoked backlash to the changing mores around race and identity championed by the party.”
These developments — the pandemic, above all — have caused a sharp slide in Biden’s approval rating. “As Democrats try and make sense of the wreckage tonight, one fact stands out as one of the easiest explanations,” The Times’s Nate Cohn wrote. “Joe Biden has lower approval ratings at this stage of his presidency than nearly any president in the era of modern polling.”
Do people think the pandemic started under Biden? Are voters really that short-sighted?
Can anybody make sense of yesterday's elections? Muck Rack tries:
In his analysis for The Atlantic, Zachary Carter argues that The Democratic Unraveling Began With Schools, because suburban parents were upset about the way Virginia public schools handled Covid.
Okay, but… Eric Boehlert says, “i don’t understand political commentary in this country this whole piece is abt how Va. election was abt fact children couldn’t attend school for a year bc of Covid. and....? McAuliffe wasn’t Gov; he didn’t hold office of any kind during Covid.” But was he at brunch?
At The Washington Post, Sean Sullivan writes that reeling Democrats see threat to House and Senate control as Republicans crack their 2020 coalition.
And Nicholas Riccardi’s takeaways from Tuesday’s elections for The Associated Press are headlined, Bad omens for Democrats.
To sum up, “A very bad night for Democrats in Virginia (and, win or lose, not a great night in New Jersey either),” tweets Larry Donnelly. “But the last bit here is important: do not over extrapolate from it re: next year’s midterms. A way to go yet.”
Uh, seems like that ship has sailed?
First, congratulations to Gov. Siegelman for his continued dedication to human rights despite the terribly unfair ordeal for more than two decades of political prosecution, imprisonment and post-prison sanctions.
Congratulations also to Legal Schnauzer for courageous and very rare and very expert reporting on those abuses beginning about 15 years ago.
Those are positive and in a way inspiring aspects of what is a tragic and horrible human rights scandal that at one point became known throughout the world (although memories tend to fade for most people).
Regarding the discussions about the elections yesterday, I followed them closely and share a couple of data points I've picked up from various news reports.
In Virginia, exit polling suggested that the Democrats' losses from Biden percentages were largely among white women with less than a college education, something like 15 points, with other demographics relatively unchanged aside from a small loss in white male support.
A Democratic-leaning media critic who writes the Daily Howler blog suggests also that the Democrats' defense that Critical Race Theory is not "taught" in Virginia schools misses the point that a lot of the white anger was directed at wokeness in general (removal of Confederate school names, statues, street names, etc.) and not specifically at the technicalities of the school curriculum.
Finally, there is a remarkable YouTube showing a San Diego county government meeting whereby a loudmouth goes absolutely beserk over pandemic requirements in the most racist and abusive manner imaginable. A lot of this is clearly enabled by the Trump mentality, no matter what the specifics of local policy, place or reasons: https://youtu.be/teJ95kQAUjc
Thanks for sharing your insights, Andrew. Very interesting, and it's a real gift for our readers.
BTW, Andrew, thank you for explaining "wokeness." I've been clueless for weeks what that word means. But thanks to you, I finally understand what it means to be "woke."
Now, if I can just figure out how "Let's go Brandon" got started.
Oh, Mrs. Shnauzer tells me some right-wingers believe the Kennedys come from the same bloodline as Jesus. And I guess that is supposed to explain the whole JFK Jr., Dealey Plaza, reinstating Trump deal. Is that how you understand it -- if it can be understood?
Is the idea that descendants of Jesus would want Trump back in the White house? If so, why were the Kennedys Democrats. Does that mean QAnon opposes Jesus and his brethren?
People who watch a lot of TV think everything should be wrapped up in an hour. DumptyRump and his MINIONS OF MAYHEM had 4 YEARS to destroy what was left of our country. FRANKLY, OBAMA did not fight very hard (union protests, Wisconsin debacle) and while Obama and Michelle have astronomically high personal ratings, they (AS A TEAM) played well with war criminals, ignored the jailing of Don Siegelman (!!!! Karl Rove's dirty work!) and IGNORED such heavy duty warnings as were being broadcast by Mother Jones and the SLJC, and ALSO went along with the military to further destroy trust AROUND THE WORLD (OBAMA PERSONALLY DRONE MURDERING A U.S. CITIZEN WITH ZERO LEGALFRAMEWORK, AND THEN HIS INNOCENT 16 YEAROLD SON?!? OBAMA WAS EXCITED TO DO THIS). Guantanamo is STILL OPEN, FFS!
I blame Hillary for her arrogance during two HORRIBLE campaigns, doing her very best to cheat and let her unable allies do her dirty work to shut up progressive voices, AS IF SHE WAS THE QUEEN-I AMA LIFELONG LIBERAL DEMOCRAT AND HER BEHAVIOR WAS LADY MACBETH, NOT A LEADER I CARED TO SUPPORT), Chuck Schumer for his mild, giggling HINTS at threats on The Rachel Maddow Show, and his CLUELESS Washington insider confidence.
Nancy P is a MASTER at shade towards a KNOWN MORON, but no amount of whip cracking could round up the likes of traitors Nonchin and Slytherin Chick. I know she is the Speaker of the House, but you would think she has the chips to call in with Schumer as her sidekick. DECADES OF EXPERIENCE, MOSCOW MITCH KISSING ORANGE BUT, BUT NUTHIN.
I had some hope that Master Debate champions like the other presidential candidates Budigiuge and Amy Whatsername (?)(acerbic and awful but so good at a SLICING RAPIER QUICK REPLY are not ALL OVER MSNBC.
AND PLEASE. WHERE IS THE MOST GORGEOUS, ARTICULATE, HEAVY HITTER IN THE HISTORY OF THE VICE PRESIDENCY THESE DAYS?
CNN, the NYT, and MOST other 'news outlets' might as well rebrand as Politico Light, if not Faux News Fellow Cravens.
WE ARE IN A NEW ERA. WE GOTTA GO HARD AND GET EVERYBODY STILL BREATHING REGISTERED NOW.
I'M LIVING IN CANADA DUE TO FINANCIAL CIRCUMSTANCES BC I DIDN'T GET APPROVED FOR MY LEGIT SSDI CASE. I AM SCARED BC THINGS ARE EVEN WORSE UP HERE!
If I can do my part, everyone writing on these blogs can pledge to help 10 people get registered! There is no other way to win.
I visit Legal Schnauzer because of the Don Siegelman catastrophe. I really appreciate this blog, and though I am angry at the horrible lackluster action on Republican owned hackable voting machines (BEEN KNEW SINCE THE BUSH SELECTION IN 2000, NOT FOUGHT BY GORE, THEN 2004, NOT FOUGHT BY KERRY!), and the betrayal of Gov. Siegelman, I STILL BELIEVE Democrats are on balance worth supporting. But their own perfidy (2008-letting the financial companies off the hook) and Obama's Clinton crony selections WITHOUT GETTING RID OF DOJ AND MILITARY CANCER RIDDEN PLACEMENTS BY CHENEY!) I have tried to maintain some hope.
Without the internet and truth telling blogs like this one... I would be done with voting or involvement forever.
Thanks again Legal Schnauzer. I feel your pain. My future is not very bright as I have not been able to work much since 2008. I am afraid.
Thanks for sharing some insightful and tough-minded comments.
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