From Birmingham news:
MONTGOMERY - Lawyers for former Gov. Don Siegelman, who argue his corruption conviction was politically motivated, said an affidavit suggests a Republican operative consulted White House adviser Karl Rove about the case.
Siegelman's lawyers said the information could be used to bolster a motion that the prosecution was unconstitutional.
"That's some powerful stuff," Siegelman lawyer Susan James said.
Time magazine and The New York Times reported Friday on a May 21 affidavit by Jill Simpson, a lawyer and a campaign volunteer for Gov. Bob Riley. In it, she described a Nov. 18, 2002, conference call with Riley adviser Bill Canary.
This was soon after the 2002 general election, and Siegelman and Riley were involved in a heated recount battle because of the election's razor margin.
Canary told others on the call - Riley's son, Rob Riley, and Butts, who was representing Riley in the recount dispute - "not to worry about Don Siegelman," because "his girls" would take care of him, Time reported that the affidavit stated.
The affidavit has not been filed in court and was unavailable to The News on Friday.
Canary then made it clear that "his girls" meant his wife, Leura Canary, U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Alabama, and Alice Martin, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, according to the affidavit.
A jury last year convicted Siegelman and Scrushy, founder of HealthSouth, of bribery, conspiracy and mail fraud. Prosecutors said Scrushy bribed Siegelman for a seat on a state health board by arranging $500,000 in donations to Siegelman's 1999 lottery campaign.
Siegelman also was convicted of obstruction of justice on allegations he tried to cover up money he received from a lobbyist.
Time also reported that the affidavit said Canary said "not to worry - that he had already gotten it worked out with Karl and Karl had spoken with the Department of Justice and the Department of Justice was already pursuing Don Siegelman."
Karl was a reference to White House adviser Karl Rove, Time reported that Simpson said.
Sentencing for Siegelman and Scrushy is set for June 26. The prosecution is seeking 30 years in prison for the 61-year old former governor.
No comments:
Post a Comment