The 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that Siegelman was not entitled to a new trial. The judges also upheld Siegelman’s 78-month sentence.
The ruling is the latest legal blow to Siegelman, who has been fighting to overturn his 2006 conviction in a government corruption case. A federal jury convicted Siegelman of appointing former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy to a state board in exchange for campaign donations.
Siegelman, a Democrat, had argued that a prosecutor with ties to GOP politics remained involved in his case despite her recusal. Federal judges said there was no evidence she influenced the prosecution team
Siegelman is projected to get out of prison in 2017.
See below for an appearance of mine on Thom Hartmann’s television show in 2013 discussing the status of the Siegelman case at the time. Hartmann describes him as “America’s Political Prisoner”. The appearance coincided with the dismissal of the conviction against former Republican U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay for money laundering hundreds of thousands of dollars. 113 bi-partisan former state Attorneys General have stated that what Siegelman was convicted of had never been a crime until he was charged with it.
The court’s decision, however, could help to finally clear the way for clemency or a pardon from the President, as advocates have long sought. See Jeffrey Toobin’s January 2015 New Yorker column calling for same.
Meanwhile, U.S. District Court Judge Mark Fuller (the former head of the Alabama GOP and George W. Bush-appointed federal judge who oversaw Siegelman’s trial and sentencing after refusing to recuse himself despite long-held grudges against the popular Democratic governor) remains a free man. His criminal record has been expunged despite having been arrested for allegedly beating his wife in a hotel room last summer. (911 call here and embed below.) Unless impeached by Congress, Fuller will retain his $200k/year seat on the federal bench for life.
More info at Free-Don.org.
USA. USA. USA.
UPDATE 5/22/2015: My BradCast interview with Siegelman’s son Joseph, in response to the news above and what the Siegelman legal team plans to do next, is now posted here.
My 2013 appearance on Hartmann’s show and a video snippet of the chilling 911 call from Judge Fuller’s wife in 2014, both follow below…
When measuring the political natural of the harshness of Siegelman’s sentence, it is worth comparing to former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell. He was recently convicted of multiple felonies, accepting bribes for political favors while in office. The prosecutor waited until McDonnell left office to even bring charges, and he ended up with just a 2 year sentence (despite federal sentencing guidelines that 10-20 years would be more appropriate).
McDonnell was convicted last fall, and will be out of prison before Siegelman.
Nevermind that Siegelman was likely framed and McDonnell was caught redhanded.
I don’t want to think of what the sentence may have been, since the DOJ asked for 30 years even without that.
Scrushy at least was let out EARLY – the standard good behavior reduction.
I wouldn’t hold me breathe waiting on that Pardon, since even after Canary abruptly resigned as “recused” prosecutor, Obama’s replacement George Beck had zero effect – also recused!
This Siegelman political killing is far, far too deep and too coordinated to be anything other than just plain “gotcha” politics by Karl Rove and his band of haters. They have absolutely destroyed this totally innocent man’s life and career, but hopefully not his spirit. The Go-Fund-Me effort to fund the movie “Killing Atticus Finch” will hopefully raise enough to somehow get the case turned around and have him released quickly and with a great deal of publicity about who did what and when with whom. Brad – your coverage has been beyond phenomenal – please stay with this, as I know you will, until the bitter end!
This has been equal parts heartbreaking and infuriating for years. Thank goodness we’re a nation of laws. Not. Leonard Peltier. Edward Snowden. Chelsea Manning. John Kiriakou(at least he got out). On and on… So maddening. So sad.
Karl Rove would disgust Machiavelli, and force Dante to recalibrate the circles of Hell….that Texas lardbucket has been poisoning the body politic of America since the Nixon Dark House, and the Siegelman tragedy was just another day at the office for that twisted miscreant….the only good he will EVER bring this world is by dropping the fuck dead, and i’ll be watering the flowers at that funeral….
Strength and hope to the Siegelman family….