A House Judiciary Committee staff member told The Times this week that the committee is looking at the Siegelman prosecution as part of a broader examination into whether the Bush Justice Department tilted public corruption cases against Democrats.
The committee has already received a copy of a sworn statement from a Republican lawyer in Rainsville, Ala., Dana Jill Simpson, who says that in 2002 she was on a campaign conference call with aides working to elect Siegelman's opponent, current Alabama Gov. Bob Riley. Simpson said in her statement that on the call, she heard Riley strategist Bill Canary tell other campaign workers not to worry about Siegelman in the future because his "gals" and "Karl" would make sure the Justice Department pursued a case against him.
Canary has worked on campaigns with Rove in the past, and his wife, Leura, is the U.S. attorney whose office brought the case against Siegelman. After Siegelman's lawyers raised that potential conflict of interest, Leura Canary recused herself from the case, which was subsequently handled by career prosecutors.
Others that Simpson said were on the conference call have described Simpson's recollection as preposterous.
Siegelman was one of the most highly regarded Democratic leaders in the South until he was knocked off that pedestal by two sets of indictments filed by Bush administration prosecutors.
The first set, filed in Birmingham, Ala., in 2004, was dropped after the judge in that case said the prosecution's evidence was suspect.
The second set, filed in Montgomery in 2006, charged the former governor with 101 counts of criminal wrongdoing.
He was acquitted of all but seven related to bribery for accepting a $500,000 contribution from Scrushy to an education lottery campaign. Siegelman subsequently reappointed Scrushy to a state hospital board.
The prosecutors said the governor and Scrushy were engaged in a "pay to play" scheme. Siegelman said it was simply politics as practiced around the nation every day. He pointed out that three previous governors had appointed Scrushy to the same board.
Siegelman was also convicted of obstruction of justice related to receipt of $9,200 that he said he was given when he sold a motorcycle.
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tom.hamburger@latimes.com
