Why Gary White was Prosecuted

To coerce him into supplying false evidence against Don Siegelman and to score points with Bettye Fine Collins.

This, according to Harpers Magazine.

And while there is an ongoing discussion here about the two (count ‘em, two) Bessemer newspapers, the reputation of The Birmingham News is called into question by this article.

“Both of them are having their credibility tested severely, and neither has much of a record to stand on.”

“Both” refers to The Birmingham News and Alice Martin, who is getting more coverage in this blog than anyone of late. Well not quite, but she should.

If you want to keep up with the goin’s on about the Alice Martin, Don Siegelman and other’s case read Legal Schnauzer every day. You can jump in anytime and just read a few days worth and be hooked. It’s better than Days of Our Lives (which you can watch once weekly or monthly or yearly and still be up to date).

Here is a quote in the Harpers article from Judy White’s (Gary’s wife) affidavit. The full affidavit can be linked from the article.

(federal agents) repeatedly and insistently told my husband that they ‘needed’ for [a particular] meeting [between Governor Siegelman and Richard Scrushy] to have occurred at the particular and specific date, and that they wanted him to testify that it did. My husband maintained that he could not do so, as he did not know when the meeting occurred. They even attempted to persuade him that the meeting ‘could have’ taken place on the date they stated, and reminded him that he had no calendar saying that it did not.

The article is pretty long, but juicy, in my opinion.

If you were an outsider and had no clue about Alabama politics, would you have ever guessed that the Siegelman case and the Gary White case were related? Or that the Birmingham News wa involved in more than just reporting? Or not reporting?

Scott Horton, the author of the Harper’s piece, offers this too, about the Siegelman case.

• sworn evidence by a Republican campaign operative, corroborated by documents and other witnesses, that White House figures including Karl Rove manipulated the prosecution to support G.O.P. election campaign projects,
• well-documented evidence of conflicts of interest by the two U.S. attorneys involved (Alice Martin and Leura Canary),
• admission that the two most senior career prosecutors on the case recommended against a prosecution of Siegelman,
• testimony before Congress that political appointees overrode their determinations in directing a prosecution,
• confirmation that evidence of criminal wrongdoing by William Pryor and Jeff Sessions, far stronger than any of the charges against Siegelman, was swept under the carpet by a prosecutor assigned to handle the matter, who was the wife of William Pryor’s lawyer (Pryor and Sessions belonged to the “home team,” as Time’s Adam Zagorin was told).

At any rate, it looks like Alice Martin should be placed under oath again in the near future. If that happens, let’s see if she tells the truth this time. And let’s see if the Birmingham News reports it.

>Why Gary White was Prosecuted

>To coerce him into supplying false evidence against Don Siegelman and to score points with Bettye Fine Collins.

This, according to Harpers Magazine.

And while there is an ongoing discussion here about the two (count ‘em, two) Bessemer newspapers, the reputation of The Birmingham News is called into question by this article.

“Both of them are having their credibility tested severely, and neither has much of a record to stand on.”

“Both” refers to The Birmingham News and Alice Martin, who is getting more coverage in this blog than anyone of late. Well not quite, but she should.

If you want to keep up with the goin’s on about the Alice Martin, Don Siegelman and other’s case read Legal Schnauzer every day. You can jump in anytime and just read a few days worth and be hooked. It’s better than Days of Our Lives (which you can watch once weekly or monthly or yearly and still be up to date).

Here is a quote in the Harpers article from Judy White’s (Gary’s wife) affidavit. The full affidavit can be linked from the article.

(federal agents) repeatedly and insistently told my husband that they ‘needed’ for [a particular] meeting [between Governor Siegelman and Richard Scrushy] to have occurred at the particular and specific date, and that they wanted him to testify that it did. My husband maintained that he could not do so, as he did not know when the meeting occurred. They even attempted to persuade him that the meeting ‘could have’ taken place on the date they stated, and reminded him that he had no calendar saying that it did not.

The article is pretty long, but juicy, in my opinion.

If you were an outsider and had no clue about Alabama politics, would you have ever guessed that the Siegelman case and the Gary White case were related? Or that the Birmingham News wa involved in more than just reporting? Or not reporting?

Scott Horton, the author of the Harper’s piece, offers this too, about the Siegelman case.

• sworn evidence by a Republican campaign operative, corroborated by documents and other witnesses, that White House figures including Karl Rove manipulated the prosecution to support G.O.P. election campaign projects,
• well-documented evidence of conflicts of interest by the two U.S. attorneys involved (Alice Martin and Leura Canary),
• admission that the two most senior career prosecutors on the case recommended against a prosecution of Siegelman,
• testimony before Congress that political appointees overrode their determinations in directing a prosecution,
• confirmation that evidence of criminal wrongdoing by William Pryor and Jeff Sessions, far stronger than any of the charges against Siegelman, was swept under the carpet by a prosecutor assigned to handle the matter, who was the wife of William Pryor’s lawyer (Pryor and Sessions belonged to the “home team,” as Time’s Adam Zagorin was told).

At any rate, it looks like Alice Martin should be placed under oath again in the near future. If that happens, let’s see if she tells the truth this time. And let’s see if the Birmingham News reports it.

Friday Wrap Up

Alice Martin has been busy. The U. S. attorney was in Bessemer last night. No, not rooting out corruption in the city government or indicting more pastors, but speaking at the Bessemer Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet.

As Martin came to the lecturn she said she had a little throat problem and a Bessemer City Council person had given her a cough drop. She said she thought it was OK to take it, but she wouldn’t trust it if had come from the Birmingham City Council. Federal humor.

Prior to speaking in Bessemer she was holding a press conference in which she announced former two year college chancellor Roy Johnson agreed to a plea deal and to cooperate and that the investigation will now focus on legislators and state school board members.

I wonder who has the jitters this morning? I mean, those who are guilty know it.

She may return to Bessemer however, because the Bessemer City council voted this week unanimously to have an audit of the city finances. I have not yet received word as to who will do the audit, but I did hear from two of the council persons last night that another council person wants to “rescind” the vote and appoint a different accountant to perform the audit.

First of all, can you “rescind” a resolution vote? I don’t think so.

Second, think of the reasons a council person might want to change accountants. That’s what I thought. So it looks like somebody’s got something to hide.

As far as accounting for the city finances, I say the sooner the better and let the chips fly.

And I just have to comment on presidential politics beginning with the Republican debate last night. The quacky moment just had to be when Mike Huckabee suggested that Saddam’s (fictitious) weapons of mass destruction might be in Jordan. What a way to make friends in the region. Ignore the really crazy countries and pick on Jordan.

And Rudy dissing the New York Times after they endorsed his rival John McCain. Giuliani’s poll numbers continue to fall…remember, Rudy, a lot of those Florida voters moved there from New York. They remember you. Contrary to how he feels, Rudy Can Fail…unlike the message in this song from The Clash:

If you want to hear a better version of the song, listen to this live version by Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros a few years after he left The Clash.

Which version do you like?

They also endorsed Hillary Clinton, their real choice, even over McCain, since they said this about the candidates:

“We have strong disagreements with all the Republicans running for president. The leading candidates have no plan for getting American troops out of Iraq. They are too wedded to discredited economic theories and unwilling even now to break with the legacy of President Bush. We disagree with them strongly on what makes a good Supreme Court justice.”

Well said.

Tomorrow will be an interesting day in South Carolina.

Monday: State of the Union.

>Friday Wrap Up

>Alice Martin has been busy. The U. S. attorney was in Bessemer last night. No, not rooting out corruption in the city government or indicting more pastors, but speaking at the Bessemer Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet.

As Martin came to the lecturn she said she had a little throat problem and a Bessemer City Council person had given her a cough drop. She said she thought it was OK to take it, but she wouldn’t trust it if had come from the Birmingham City Council. Federal humor.

Prior to speaking in Bessemer she was holding a press conference in which she announced former two year college chancellor Roy Johnson agreed to a plea deal and to cooperate and that the investigation will now focus on legislators and state school board members.

I wonder who has the jitters this morning? I mean, those who are guilty know it.

She may return to Bessemer however, because the Bessemer City council voted this week unanimously to have an audit of the city finances. I have not yet received word as to who will do the audit, but I did hear from two of the council persons last night that another council person wants to “rescind” the vote and appoint a different accountant to perform the audit.

First of all, can you “rescind” a resolution vote? I don’t think so.

Second, think of the reasons a council person might want to change accountants. That’s what I thought. So it looks like somebody’s got something to hide.

As far as accounting for the city finances, I say the sooner the better and let the chips fly.

And I just have to comment on presidential politics beginning with the Republican debate last night. The quacky moment just had to be when Mike Huckabee suggested that Saddam’s (fictitious) weapons of mass destruction might be in Jordan. What a way to make friends in the region. Ignore the really crazy countries and pick on Jordan.

And Rudy dissing the New York Times after they endorsed his rival John McCain. Giuliani’s poll numbers continue to fall…remember, Rudy, a lot of those Florida voters moved there from New York. They remember you. Contrary to how he feels, Rudy Can Fail…unlike the message in this song from The Clash:

If you want to hear a better version of the song, listen to this live version by Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros a few years after he left The Clash.

Which version do you like?

They also endorsed Hillary Clinton, their real choice, even over McCain, since they said this about the candidates:

“We have strong disagreements with all the Republicans running for president. The leading candidates have no plan for getting American troops out of Iraq. They are too wedded to discredited economic theories and unwilling even now to break with the legacy of President Bush. We disagree with them strongly on what makes a good Supreme Court justice.”

Well said.

Tomorrow will be an interesting day in South Carolina.

Monday: State of the Union.