Don Siegelman, Alabama's only progressive Governor in a very Red State, was a rising star on the national political scene when Karl Rove and his clients, Alabama Republican Attorney General Bill Pryor and Bill Canary, Don's reelection opponent's campaign manager, instigated successive investigations designed to bring him down. Within DNC circles at the time, Governor Siegelman was being considered as a potential future candidate for the nation's two highest offices.
Almost immediately upon assuming office, Pryor, who now sits on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals (the same court which recently denied his request for a new trial based on prosecutorial misconduct), began a highly-publicized investigation leading to Don's indictment and subsequent acquittal in the Northern District of Alabama, a trial presided over by Federal Judge U.W. Clemon, who has said the prosecution was the greatest miscarriage of justice he had witnessed in his 29 years on the federal bench.
Governor Siegelman's subsequent prosecution in the shopped venue of Alabama's Middle District by the U.S. Attorney wife of Bill Canary resulted in his unjust conviction and resulting 7 1/2 year prison sentence. Disgraced Federal Judge Mark Fuller, a "judge with a grudge" due to Don's investigation of him for Retirement Systems fraud while Fuller was a state district attorney, made sure the railroading was complete. You may know Mark Fuller as the serial wife-beating, philandering judge who has now resigned his judgeship under threat of impeachment. Wife-Beating Mark Fuller Resigns In Disgrace
Don is now a federal prisoner in Oakdale, Lousiana, where he writes about reforming elections and the criminal justice system. Click here to watch our compelling documentary trailer & become outraged: Killing Atticus Finch - The Don Siegelman Story
Read Don's latest article below the fold....
June 7, 2015
My Musical Selection: "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" , by the Rolling Stones, "Sticky Fingers" Album... ;)
Many large donors give through PACs to hide their contributions. "Bundlers", as they are called, want the candidate to know they raised a large amount of money, but not the public.
Some large donors want to be ambassadors. Others may just want access to those in office. In my "Insidious Pac Money May Prove Perilous On The Road To The White House" article, I wrote that even innocent contributions, given as fuel for a campaign, can be used as fodder for a prosecution. A prosecutor may be "tempted by politics", as George Will said in his Washington Post column about my case, "Is It Bribery Or Just Politics", and may envision an "implicit" connection between the contribution and some official action taken after the election.
In my recent article printed in the Wall Street I explain that because of the ruling in my case, juries are now free to "infer" or "imply" an agreement without evidence of an explicit "quid pro quo".
CALL TO ACTION:
Please email my Wall Street Journal article, "You Don't Need A Quid Pro Quo To Wind Up In Prison", along with a personal note from you, to your Members of Congress.
My case is proof that it doesn't take a crime to wind up in jail.
All that's needed for a Member of Congress to be indicted is a contribution followed by a Congressional vote or some "official action" that favors a donor.
It gets worse: witness New Jersey's U.S. Senator Menendez who is accused of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions and gratuities, and allegations aimed at the Clintons, with mind-boggling personal benefit of millions of dollars. Look out for the fireworks! The national media is not finished with this story.
Take a look at my letter to Senator Menendez. You may also want to send a link to this letter to your Member of Congress. Put them on notice: They can be next!
While my case is a legal anomaly, it is still legal precedent.
Keep in mind the contribution that sent me to prison was to the Alabama Education Foundation to benefit public education. It wasn't even to my reelection campaign. There was no self-enrichment scheme, not a single penny of personal gain or personal benefit. The Fortune 500 CEO donor had never supported me.
My "official action"? I reappointed the donor to the same nonpaying board to which he had been appointed by three previous governors. I was the fourth.
But here's the real kicker: George Will, said because of the ruling in my case:
"Americans engage in politics at their peril because prosecutors have dangerous discretion to criminalize politics." via Washington Post
BEWARE : After the 2016 election, Members of Congress and losing Presidential candidates and their donors may be "fish in a barrel" for local or state prosecutors or the newly appointed U. S. Attorneys.
Best Wishes, peace.
Don Siegelman
Governor of Alabama, 1999-2003
Lt. Governor, 1995-1999
Attorney General 1987-1991
Secretary of State, 1979-1987
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Read more about my case at Free-Don.org