Former Democratic Alabama Governor Don Siegelman was released from a federal prison in Louisiana today after serving 7 months of a 7 year sentence on a bribery conviction. This man should have NEVER been imprisoned. The whole prosecution of Mr. Siegelman was political in nature, led by none other than former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove.

Karl Rove took it upon himself to direct political appointees at the US Justice Department to prosecute Mr. Siegelman for crimes he did not commit. The husband of Alabama’s US Attorney was a political protégé of Mr. Rove – along with the Alabama Attorney General. This was a witch hunt from the very start and Karl Rove should be the one prosecuted.

58 current and former states attorneys general wrote to the US Congress asking them to investigate this miscarriage of justice.

From the firings of several well regarded US Attorneys to the Siegelman mess, Karl Rove’s finger prints are all over the place. He acted in a purely partisan manner, to a degree not seen since the Nixon Administration.

Karl Rove should be hauled before the appropriate US Congressional committees to testify under oath about his role in these matters.

I haven't followed this very closely. Was he convicted by a jury? Was he actually guilty, or are you saying he didn't commit the deeds he was convicted of?

He was found guilty by a jury. But a Federal Appeals Court felt that the legal arguments in his appeal raised substantial questions about the merits of the case and his conviction. This also led the Federal Appeals Court in Atlanta to release the former Alabama governor on bond while the matter works its way through the Federal Appeals Court process.

Many are convinced; I among them, that Karl Rove used his influence as a confident of both President Bush and former US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to engage in the political prosecution of Don Siegelman. Plus, Rove has deep ties to many of the players in Alabama’s Republican Judicial establishment responsible for the Siegelman prosecution.

If Karl Rove doesn’t have anything to hide, he’ll make himself available to testify about this matter before the US Congress – under oath. Alberto Gonzales should also make himself available to testify about this matter before the US Congress. But given that Gonzales is a proven liar – I doubt he’d risk it. But then again, given that President Bush commuted the sentence of another proven White House liar, I. Lewis Libby, Gonzales shouldn’t worry.

Here, Deane, check out the report on Siegelman from that ultra-left-wing CBS show 60 Minutes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsqA0-3hXoo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPn_Jydtywg

Andrew