Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Comparing Scooter's Supporters'l Apoplexy RE:His Jailing vs. Treatment of Ex. Dem Gov

host · 06-29-2007, 08:56 AM

Am I missing something here? I'm starting this with reporting on treatment by Bush appointed federal judge in Alabama, of ex-governor and democrat, Don Siegelman, after he was sentenced in federal court, yesterday, compared to treatment of republican Scooter, after his sentencingby a Bush appointed judge, and the treatment by federal judges of two former republican governors after sentencing.

Was Don Siegelman, more "high profile", than the three republicans? Isn't the case against Siegelman, the weakest of the four? No one accuses him of taking money for his own personal gain. Why the 30 year sentence recommendation from prosecutors, for his "crimes". Why was he taken into custody immediately after he was sentenced, put in leg shackles in public, stripped of his belt and personal effects, allowed no time to say goodbye to his family, and removed from the courtroom by US Marshalls, to an "undisclosed location"?

I then posted examples of the contrast between Siegelman's "treatment", and that of two former republican governors, by their sentencing judges, and you already are familiar with Libby's judge permitting him to go home for nine days after sentencing, pending the filing an review of his lawyer's motion to allow him to remain free, pending appeal, and the granting of a 45 day "grace period" by the court, before Libby is required to report to prison.

I ended with supporting articles of the fact that a republican attorney in Alabama, in good standing, with no known negative critiques of her reliability or reputation, has sworn in an affadavit that Karl Rove appears to have intervened with the DOJ to 'fix" Don Siegelman....to force him to back down from contesting his last governor's race, which ended in very close vote count
that should reasonably have been contested. The resulting prosecution of Siegelman was the second by the feds since 2004, after Siegelman was acquitted of all counts against him in the first trial....

Why was no respect or deference accorded a former governor, by the court....when it seems that he was not convicted of a crime of personal greed, and in a case where it seems that he had grounds for appeal at least as strong as those of former Ill. Gov., Ryan?

Why the push by prosecutors for a 30 year sentence on such convictions, or the approval of the judge to negatively take into account the majority of charges against Siegelman, when considering his punishment, since he was acquitted of most of the charges?

I see an alarming double standard in the way Siegelman was treated by the sentencing judge, compared to those of the high profile republicans, Ryan, Rowland, and Libby. Instead of affirming that "justice is blind", if that is what the judge really intended, this leaves me with the impression that Siegelman was treated in a highly partisan and vengeful way, more outrageous if Rove did use his power to target Siegelman in order to end his challenge of the vote count in the contested Alabama governor's race......

Quote:

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/articl...706260336/1007
Published Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Siegelman, Scrushy receive support as sentencing looms

By Dana Beyerle
Montgomery Bureau Chief

....The federal criminal case against Siegelman and Scrushy concluded a year ago with their convictions on bribery, conspiracy and mail fraud charges. Siegelman also was found guilty of obstruction of justice.....

....In a filing in late May, federal prosecutors recommended a 30-year prison sentence and a $1 million fine for Siegelman, and 25 years in prison and a $7.2 million fine for Scrushy.

After his conviction, Siegelman, 61, said that even a 20-year sentence would be like a life term for him.

....Siegelman was accused of appointing Scrushy to a hospital equipment and program regulatory board after arranging for Scrushy to contribute $500,000 to Siegelman’s 1999 education lottery campaign......

Quote:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...06-29-04-21-39
Jun 29, 6:17 AM EDT

Siegelman, Scrushy to Appeal Sentences

By BOB JOHNSON
Associated Press Writer

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- Attorneys for former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy said they would appeal their sentences in a bribery and corruption case the judge said damaged public trust in state government.

Siegelman was sentenced Thursday to more than seven years in federal prison and Scrushy got nearly seven years. U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller ordered both immediately taken into custody, not even giving them time to talk with their families.

Siegelman attorney David McDonald said an emergency appeal to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals would be filed challenging the judge's decision to have the client immediately hauled off in leg irons.

"Being taken into custody immediately was completely unnecessary," he said. He said defense attorneys would also appeal the length of the prison sentence.

Siegelman attorney Vince Kilborn said attorneys also planned to appeal the convictions of the two men. He said grounds include the argument that prosecutors never proved there was a "quid-pro-quo" agreement between the two men, that the charges were filed after the statute of limitations on bribery charges had run out, and allegations that jurors talked to each other by e-mail during the trial.....

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2007/06/...en_into_c.html
Siegelman, Scrushy taken into custody
Posted by The Birmingham News June 28, 2007 7:54 PM

Former Gov. Don Siegelman and HealthSouth founder Richard Scrushy were taken into custody tonight after being sentenced in federal court, and a prosecutor said they would be held overnight in a "local facility."

Leslie Scrushy cried on the shoulder of a friend as her husband and Siegelman were escorted out of the courtroom by U.S. Marshals, and former first lady Lori Siegelman left the courthouse visibly shaken.

U.S. District Court Judge Mark Fuller sentenced Siegelman to seven years and four months in prison, three years of probation, restitution of $181,325, a $50,000 fine, and 500 hours of community service for bribery, conspiracy and mail fraud.

The judge sentenced Scrushy to six years and 10 months in prison, three years of probation, a $150,000 fine, $267,000 in restitution, and ordered him to pay the costs of his prison stay. The judge said the costs of incarceration Scrushy would have to pay are $1,952.66 per month and $3,450 per year for supervision.

Siegelman lawyer Vince Kilborn left the courthouse carrying Siegelman's suit jacket and belt, which had been taken from him by marshals. He said the former governor was in leg shackles in a holding room in the federal courthouse waiting to be moved to a jail.

He called it "a scary situation, a dangerous situation," and said the defense team will file an emergency appeal in the morning asking an appellate court to release the former governor pending a full appeal.

As he was leaving the courthouse, Scrushy attorney Art Leach described his client as upbeat and confident. He said he was not shocked that his client was taken immediately into custody because the case was high profile. He said Scrushy's defense lawyers would ask for an expedited appeal and believed Scrushy would be exonerated.

During the sentencing, Fuller told Siegelman he had done many good things for the state and for the people. He said he'd received 720 letters asking him to be lenient on the former governor. Fuller called the sentencing an unpleasant responsibility but told Siegelman, "You and I both took an oath to uphold the law. You have violated that oath."

The Rev. Fred Shutttlesworth, who was in the courtroom when sentence was passed down, called Fuller's sentence "terribly harsh" and said he believed the whole case against Siegelman had been influenced by Republicans in Washington. Shuttlesworth called for a Congressional investigation into the case against Siegelman.

Consider the contrast in the way federal judges recently treated two convicted republican governors:

Quote:

http://cbs2chicago.com/politics/loca...249141409.html
Sep 6, 2006 10:04 pm US/Central
Former Gov. George Ryan Sentenced To 6 1/2 Years
Governor Was Convicted Of Corruption Last April
Get breaking news alerts

(CBS) CHICAGO Former Gov. George Ryan was sentenced Wednesday to 78 months, or 6 1/2 years, in prison on charges of corruption when he was secretary of state.

Ryan and co-defendant Larry Warner were convicted of racketeering conspiracy, mail fraud, tax fraud and lying to FBI agents.

In addition to his prison sentence, Ryan was ordered to pay $603,048 in restitution. Warner was sentenced to 41 months, or just over three years, in prison at a sentencing hearing held shortly after the former governor’s.

“George Ryan is now facing a prison sentence in which he may never again be with his family as a free man,” Ryan’s attorney Dan Webb said. “Obviously I'm very disappointed.”

Ryan was convicted in April of racketeering conspiracy, mail fraud, tax fraud and lying to FBI agents.....

...Ryan is required to serve a minimum 85 percent of his sentence. He will report to prison in January 2007.

http://cbs2chicago.com/politics/loca...338224126.html
Dec 4, 2006 9:57 pm US/Central
Ryan On Radio Show, Refuses To Discuss Appeal

....Just last week, Ryan learned he would not have to begin his 6.5 year prison term pending appeal. He also learned he'd lose his sizable state pension....

Quote:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7228537/
Ex-Connecticut governor to spend a year in prison Also gets 4 months of house arrest
for selling his office in corruption scandal
Image: John G. Rowland.
Douglas Healey / AP FILE

Updated: 3:55 a.m. CT March 19, 2005

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - His voice occasionally wavering, former Gov. John G. Rowland stood before a federal judge and told how arrogance had led him to corruption.

“I let my pride get in my way,” Rowland said Friday before U.S. District Judge Peter C. Dorsey sentenced him to a year in prison for selling access to his office for personal gain.

Rowland, 47, pleaded guilty in December to a corruption charge, admitting he sold his influence for more than $100,000 in trips to Las Vegas, vacations in Vermont and Florida, and improvements at his lakeside cottage.....

.....After hearing the sentence, Rowland hugged his wife, Patty, who was sobbing, and his two daughters, who were also in tears. His wife mouthed to him, “It will be all right.”

While Rowland tried to downplay the charge against him Friday, prosecutors repeatedly called him corrupt........

....Dorsey sentenced Rowland to a year plus one day in prison, four months of home confinement and three years of supervised release. He ordered Rowland to report to prison on April 1 in Ayer, Mass. Rowland was fined $82,000 and ordered to do 300 hours of community service.

Ex CT governor Rowland received a slap on the wrist, compared to Siegelman, even though he accepted bribes for personal gain, and the judge permitted him to stay home for 12 days after he was sentenced to a serve a brief prison term in a minimum security facility, and Ex Gov. Ryan, convicted by US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, was permitted to delay serving his prison term until after his appeal, even though he was convicted of more serious charges than Libby, Rowland, or Siegelman were........

Quote:

http://www.myfoxboston.com/myfox/pag...Y&pageId=3.3.1
Siegelman, Scrushy Get Prison Terms
Former Ala. Governor and HealthSouth CEO Guilty
Last Edited: Thursday, 28 Jun 2007, 10:06 PM EDT
By BOB JOHNSON
Associated Press Writer

...One of Siegelman's attorneys, Robert Blakey, gave Fuller a list of former governors of various states who have been convicted of crimes but given sentences lighter than what Siegelman would receive according to the guidelines.

The governors included former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards, sentenced to 10 years in federal prison in a racketeering case, and former Alabama Gov. Guy Hunt, who received probation after being convicted in 1993 of spending money from a tax exempt inaugural fund for personal items.

Former Ala. Gov. Guy Hunt was the first modern day republican Ala. Gov.....

The background on the controversy of Siegelman's prosecution and sentencing:

Quote:

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives...don_siegelman/
Expert: Yes, You Can Be Sentenced On Acquitted Charges
By Laura McGann - June 28, 2007, 3:47 PM

Several readers have asked how it is possible that former Gov. Don Siegelman (D-AL) might go to prison for 32 charges when he was acquitted on 25 of them.

I asked Nora V. Demleiter, who wrote the case book Sentencing Law and Policy and is the managing editor of the Federal Sentencing Reporter, about the legality of the judge's decision to consider all 32 charges. She said that in fact federal judges can consider those charges during sentencing thanks to the Supreme Court's 1997 decision in United States v. Watts. In that case, the Supreme Court held that as long as the government shows that the acquitted charges pass a "preponderance of evidence" standard, they can still be entered as evidence in a sentencing hearing. (This is clearly a lower hurdle to clear than the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard necessary for a criminal conviction.)

So even though Siegelman was acquitted on 25 charges, that alleged conduct can still be reviewed for sentencing.

Siegelman Judge Gives Prosecution OK to Use Acquitted Charges in Sentencing
By Laura McGann - June 28, 2007, 12:00 PM

The judge on Gov. Don Siegelman's (D-AL) case announced yesterday that the 25 charges a jury found Siegelman not guilty of committing are fair game during sentencing, The Birmingham News reports:

Fuller decided that charges on which Siegelman was acquitted at trial could be used in considering his sentence. Prosecutors had argued that, even though a jury did not find him guilty, there still was evidence of some wrongdoing.

The hearing continues today where prosecutors are still pressing for a 30-year prison term.

Judge Considers Up To 12 Years For Siegelman
By Laura McGann - June 27, 2007, 5:29 PM

US District Judge Mark Fuller announced a sentence range today of ten to 12 years in prison for former Gov. Don Siegelman (D-AL) and eight to ten years for his codefendant.

From the AP:

After hearing attorneys for Siegelman and Scrushy object to findings in a sentencing report filed by federal probation officers, U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller issued his findings on a sentence range for the defendants.

He found that the range for Siegelman was from 121 months to 151 months, with a fine range from $17,500 to $175,000. The prison sentence range for Scrushy was from 97 months to 121 months and the fine range from $15,000 to $150,000.

Fuller does not have to follow the guidelines and can give final sentences that are harsher or more lenient.

The prosecution pushed again today for a 30-year sentence for Siegelman.

Questions Mount about Dem Governor Prosecution
By Laura McGann - June 27, 2007, 2:46 PM

Ex-Gov. Don Siegelman (D-AL) is again questioning the motives and impartiality of the prosecutors who want to put him away for 30 years. And the prosecutors keep giving him good reason to.

Siegelman's sentencing hearing, which has extended into its second day today, has provoked his latest assertions.

His lawyers have also raised objections to prosecutors supporting their call for an extraordinarily tough sentence by using evidence connected to charges on which Siegelman was acquitted. Siegelman was charged with 32 counts, but acquitted of 25. According to the New York Times, Siegelman's lawyers have had it:

“The government is asking that he be penalized for every single thing he was charged with, whether he was acquitted or not,” said Susan James, a Siegelman lawyer. “The government drastically lost the case,” she said. “We strongly object to the court considering acquitted conduct.”

This is not the first time Siegelman has called his prosecution biased. He has long maintained that the investigation was based on a Republican vendetta. He's pointed to an affidavit signed by Republican lawyer Dana Jill Simpson to support his claim.

As we've detailed before, Simpson says she heard Bill Canary, a state GOP operative, say Karl Rove had promised to get the Justice Department on Siegelman. Canary also allegedly said he'd get his "girls" on Siegelman, referring to two of the US attorneys in the state.

One of those US attorneys is Canary's wife. After launching an investigation, she was forced to recuse herself from the case after objections from Siegelman's lawyers. The head prosecutor on Siegelman's case now, Acting US Attorney Louis V. Franklin, has claimed he has had complete independence from Canary. He even goes so far as to say he was solely responsible for Siegelman's case.

But there is reason to think he protests too much.

Franklin released a statement after Simpson's affidavit surfaced saying he was completely independent of Canary. But some of his statements didn't jibe:

“I can, however, state with absolute certainty that the entire story is misleading because Karl Rove had no role whatsoever in bringing about the investigation or prosecution of former Governor Don Siegelman. It is intellectually dishonest to even suggest that Mr. Rove influenced or had any input into the decision to investigate or prosecute Don Siegelman” Franklin said. “That decision was made by me, Louis V. Franklin, Sr., as the Acting US attorney in the case, in conjunction with the Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section and the Alabama Attorney General’s Office.”

According to Franklin's own statement, there was another assistant US attorney who handled the case for months before he started, making it hard to reconcile his claim that the "decision to investigate or prosecute Don Siegelman" was his own.

Franklin also said in his three-page statement that he had never even taken a look at the affidavit, making his claim that its author must be "intellectually dishonest," a possibly unfair conclusion.

And Franklin used much stronger language to clear Rove, than Rove did himself. When one reporter got the chance to question the White House strategist on having a hand in the prosecution, he skirted answering by saying he knew nothing of the call. No one has accused Rove of being on the call described by Simpson, just that his name was mentioned. The White House has given an official "no comment" on the issue.

Siegelman Sentencing Hearing Begins Today
By Laura McGann - June 26, 2007, 12:22 PM

Former Alabama governor, Don Siegelman (D), goes to court today for the start of his sentencing hearing which is expected to drag on for days. The former lawmaker faces up to 30 years in prison, while his his co-defendant, health care executive Richard Scrushy, could get 25 years -- both are ostensibly life sentences. Siegelman was convicted of appointing Scrushy to a public board in exchange for a donation to a lottery campaign.

Siegelman maintains his innocence and says the prosecution stemmed from a politically-motivated vendetta by Republicans. A Republican lawyer, Dana Jill Simpson, attested to this possibility in a sworn affidavit implicating Karl Rove in pushing the Justice Department to bring a case against Siegelman. (Simpson's affidavit is available here.)

Siegelman and others have called the prosecution's insistence on a long prison sentence further evidence of ulterior motives. As a contrast, Siegelman points to the last time an Alabama governor -- Guy Hunt (R) -- was convicted on political corruption charges, in 1993. A key prosecutor in that case, Steve Feaga, did not push for jail time. Now, that same prosecutor has fought for the 30-year term for Siegelman. From an editorial in the Birmingham News :

"The government doesn't contend I ever put a penny in my pocket, and they're asking for a life sentence," Siegelman said. "For the Republican governor who actually stole $200,000, Mr. Feaga did not ask for a day in prison, not a day."

The Los Angeles Times pointed out today that a 30 year sentence is longer than the average term served in Alabama for murder.

The Times also has the first White House acknowledgment of the case:

White House spokesman Tony Fratto waved away the controversy, saying: "Someone is always making some baseless charge about Karl. Unfortunately I can't comment in this case while legal proceedings are ongoing."

Rove himself has also given a vague comment (with a smile) on the accusation that he had a hand in the case.

Rove Comments On Siegelman Prosecution
By Laura McGann - June 25, 2007, 10:42 AM

White House strategist Karl Rove has been markedly quiet on the subject of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman (D), despite being accused of orchestrating a political prosecution that now stands to land the former lawmaker in prison for 30 years.

A reporter from The Huntsville Times caught Rove on Thursday on a visit to the state with President Bush. The reporter asked Rove about the allegations made by a Republican lawyer in a sworn affidavit (available here). The lawyer, Dana Jill Simpson, claims that on a conference call in 2002, a GOP strategist said he and Rove spoke about having the Department of Justice investigate Siegelman purely to get him out of the way.

Rove's response (with a smile) to such an explosive accusation:

"I know nothing about any phone call," Rove said.

Then a White House press aide stepped up and said, "What he meant to say was that he has no comment."

No one has accused of Rove of being involved in the call -- just that his name was mentioned in it.

Siegelman was convicted last year of appointing a chief executive of a health care company, Richard Scrushy, to a hospital board in exchange for a $500,000 contribution to an education fund. Siegelman's sentencing hearing is scheduled for tomorrow. The prosecution seeks a 30 year prison term.

Former Alabama Governor Speaks Out Before Sentencing
By Laura McGann - June 22, 2007, 3:07 PM

Earlier this month a statement signed by a Republican lawyer surfaced, tying Karl Rove to the prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman (D). (The affidavit is available here.)

With just a few days left before he faces a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, Siegelman released a statement highlighting how his case has raised a number of serious questions that have all gone unanswered. Siegelman was found guilty of pushing HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy to contribute $500,000 to a state lottery fund in exchange for reappointment to a hospital board. The first puzzle he lists is: Why was the wife of a well-known Republican operative who had worked on Siegelman's opponent's campaign allowed to initiate the investigation:

Why did Leura Canary get anywhere near my case knowing her husbands’ ties to my campaign opponents? Why did she have to be “outed” before her undocumented “recusal” after driving the case for 8 months?

In the affidavit of the Republican lawyer, Dana Jill Simpson, she makes this decision even more questionable. The affidavit is a description of a conference call amongst several top strategists on the Bob Riley (R) gubernatorial campaign in 2002. Simpson said they discussed possible ways to force Riley's opponent, Siegelman, to concede the hotly contested election.

Simpson said that GOP operative and friend to Rove, William Canary, mentioned he had spoken with Karl Rove about getting the Department of Justice on Siegelman. Canary also said his “girls would take care of him,” referring to two US attorneys in the state, one of whom is his wife, Leura Canary, who was responsible for the initial Seigelman investigation.

Leura Canary eventually recused herself from the case, but her office still brought the prosecution. Siegelman's statemet asks why the case stayed in her office:

After her phantom “recusal” why did the case remain in Canary’s office, with her assistants, and with the same investigators on the case.

The assistant US attorney, Louis Franklin, who prosecuted the case claims he was completely independent, saying that the decision to investigate and prosecute Siegelman was exclusively his decision -- however, he did not come onto the case until after Canary was forced to recuse herself.

One question Siegelman didn't ask, but still lingers is: Why would Dana Jill Simpson lie? What would cause a lifelong Republican to make up a story about William Canary claiming Karl Rove had promised to get the Justice Department on Siegelman?

The House Judiciary Committee has a copy of Simpson's affidavit for review, but has not scheduled a date for a hearing on the issue.

Quote:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...adlines-nation
Ex-governor says he was target of Republican plot
The Alabama Democrat, fighting a 30-year sentence, and his supporters contend that his prosecution was a political strategy led by Karl Rove.
By Tom Hamburger and David G. Savage, Times Staff Writers
June 26, 2007

MONTGOMERY, ALA. — As Don Siegelman, the former Democratic governor of Alabama, goes before a federal judge today to fight a recommended 30-year prison sentence, he's telling anyone who'll listen that his prosecution was engineered by White House strategist Karl Rove.

It may be a long shot as a legal argument, but at least one influential Republican and a number of Democrats are questioning whether politics may have played a role in the case.

All but a handful of more than 100 charges against the former governor were rejected, his defenders point out.

And the bribery charge on which he was convicted did not involve pocketing money personally, but rather persuading a rich business executive to put $500,000 into a campaign for a state lottery to support education.

Prosecutors said Siegelman, 61, named the executive to a state board, though the executive had held the same position under three previous governors.

The other charge on which Siegelman was found guilty, obstruction of justice, centered on trying to conceal a $9,200 deal involving a motorcycle he said he was trying to sell.

The 30 years in prison that prosecutors are asking U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller to impose could be a life sentence, his lawyers say, and more than the average meted out to murderers in Alabama.

"Congressional committees ought to investigate what in the world went on in this case," said Grant Woods, a Republican former attorney general of Arizona. Woods, who still tries high-profile cases as a special prosecutor, has reviewed the charges against Siegelman as a former colleague and friend.

"From start to finish, this case has been riddled with irregularities. It does not pass the smell test," Woods said.

Siegelman's supporters argue that his popularity and his history of attracting both black and white voters — dating to 1998, when he was elected governor — made him a target for GOP political strategists and may have played a role in a long-running effort by the offices of Republican U.S. attorneys to bring him down.

His supporters point to a welter of circumstantial and other evidence to support their view.

A previous indictment, for instance, was scotched by another federal judge in 2004 with a scathing rebuke to the government. Just this month, a Republican lawyer signed a sworn statement that she had heard five years ago that Rove was preparing to politically neutralize the popular Siegelman.

And there are links between the case and GOP political activists, as well as an alleged failure by prosecutors or Fuller to conduct a vigorous investigation into evidence that prejudicial e-mails may have been sent to jurors during Siegelman's recent trial.

The controversy in part reflects the loss of credibility suffered by the Bush Justice Department in the wake of evidence that Rove and members of his staff played a role in the firing of eight U.S. attorneys last year. In several of those cases, U.S. attorneys targeted for removal had been criticized by Bush officials for not being sufficiently attentive to GOP political priorities.

White House spokesman Tony Fratto waved away the controversy, saying: "Someone is always making some baseless charge about Karl. Unfortunately I can't comment in this case while legal proceedings are ongoing."

The lead government attorney in the case, career prosecutor Louis Franklin, said he had not been subjected to pressure.

Political corruption cases are nothing new in Alabama. Siegelman's three gubernatorial predecessors — two Republicans and a Democrat — faced criminal inquiries. Two were indicted and convicted.

But Siegelman's case differs from the usual pattern in some ways. For example, former Gov. Guy Hunt, a Republican, was found guilty in state court of personally pocketing $200,000. And state prosecutors sought probation, not jail time, in the Hunt case.

To support their call for the lengthy prison term for Siegelman, federal prosecutors gave Fuller a list of additional alleged illegal activities, including material from the counts on which the former governor had been acquitted by the jury.

Adding such "relevant conduct" to sentencing memos is sometimes done in federal cases.

Still, the sentence is "extreme" and unwarranted, said Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.), a former assistant U.S. attorney in the Montgomery office who now sits on the House Judiciary Committee.

Although he lauded the professionalism of his former colleagues, Davis said he would press to find out who at the Justice Department approved seeking such a sentence.

Then there are the ties between GOP political operatives and the investigation.

After Siegelman became governor, a Rove protege, Bill Canary, helped lead the successful GOP effort to defeat him in 2002. Canary's wife, Leura, is a Bush-appointed U.S. attorney in Montgomery whose office won Siegelman's conviction.

Leura Canary started to supervise the case but recused herself after complaints from Siegelman's lawyers.

This month another Republican activist, lawyer Dana Jill Simpson of Rainsville, Ala., filed a sworn statement saying that she was on a Republican campaign conference call in 2002 when she heard Bill Canary tell other campaign workers not to worry about Siegelman because Canary's "girls" and "Karl" would make sure the Justice Department pursued the Democrat so he was not a political threat in the future.

Both Canarys reject Simpson's claims, as do others on the conference call.

Leura Canary said that suggesting she exerted political influence over the case was "a ridiculous assertion" because it was handled by a career prosecutor, Franklin, in conjunction with the public integrity section of the Justice Department in Washington.

After Leura Canary recused herself, Franklin says, he moved his investigative team to a nearby military base to assure its independence.

The present case arose out of Siegelman's attempt in 1999 to fulfill a campaign pledge to launch a state lottery that would provide free college tuition for most Alabama college students. The lottery initiative was defeated at the polls, in part because of opposition from lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his allies who fought gambling enterprises that might compete with casinos operated by Abramoff's Indian clients.

Siegelman lost his reelection bid in 2003 by the narrowest margin in Alabama history to a former Republican congressman, Bob Riley, who had backing from Abramoff, the Bush White House and a broad array of Republicans.

Siegelman immediately laid plans to reclaim his old seat, but in 2004 he was indicted on bid-rigging charges by the Bush-appointed U.S. attorney in Birmingham, Ala., Alice Martin.

On the first day of the October 2004 trial, the judge ended the case with a scathing order rejecting prosecution evidence.

Despite the rebuke, investigators joined forces with the Montgomery U.S. attorney's office to develop a series of charges against the former governor.

One month before the 2006 Democratic primary, Siegelman was brought to trial on charges of bribery, obstruction of justice, racketeering and organized crime activity. The latter charges, which require special approval from the criminal division of the Justice Department, were rejected by the jury.

Siegelman was convicted on the obstruction and bribery counts alone.