Former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, who was convicted of bribery charges, has been released from prison pending an appeal of his conviction. Siegelman contends that the investigation into his illegal actions was politically motivated. When you consider how many Republicans were brought down by the same Justice Department, it’s a rather ridiculous claim for him to make — but not an uncommon ploy of corrupt Democrats to deflect attention away from their own guilt.
What makes his claims even more ironic is the Democrats’ undeniable politically motivated crusade against corruption leading up to the 2006 midterm elections. As Mark and I documented in our book, Caucus of Corruption, Democrats ignored the rampant corruption in their own party while they simultaneously campaigned against a so-called “culture of corruption” in the Republican Party. Truth be told, the Justice Department under President Bush did more to put away corrupt Republicans than the Democratic Party has ever done to rid itself of its own corrupt members in its entire history.
So, really, it’s time for the Democratic Party to cut the crap. We can only clean up corruption if we go after all corrupt politicians, just the ones in your opposing party. No more excuses. Siegelman is guilty, and he should serve his time.
Tags: bribery, Corruption, Don Siegelman
April 7th, 2008
Eddie Curran, who’s newspaper reporting prompted the investigations which eventually led to Siegelman’s conviction for bribery, writes an open letter (H/T Daddy Longlegs) to 60 Minutes about their report claiming a Rovian plot against Siegelman - it seems as more and more evidence comes in that not only is the story a complete fabrication, but that either 60 Minutes is run by idiots, or must have known full well they were putitng out a lie as news. Here’s one thing I found very interesting:
Dana Jill Simpson: I assume you are aware of her constantly expanding and evolving stories. That you even put her on television after reviewing these ever-evolving tales is incredible. Furthermore, you absolutely had to know of her association with the Siegelman and Scrushy legal teams that began, at the latest, in February of last year. Among other things, she has testified to doing what would appear to be an illegal credit check report on the judge who presided over the case.
We reporters in Alabama, no doubt because we’re dumb rednecks or being paid off by Republicans, have from the beginning seen Simpson for what she is: a very lonely person with a very – and this is your word – vivid imagination.
It would appear – or at least, CBS made it appear – that this particular Rove claim (there have already been several by her relating to her allegations that Rove was involved in the Siegelman administration)”) was new. This was suggested by Scott Pelley’s surprise, which I trust was not feigned.
As anyone who has ever worked in a newsroom knows, it is almost a daily occurrence for someone to come by or call and spin the most amazing stories. A few, a very few, are true. A decent reporter can usually tell the difference in about a minute.
The crazy ones are treated politely and ushered out the door as soon as possible. Considering her past stories — none corroborated by a single human being — 60 Minutes should never have interviewed her in the first place. However, after that mistake, once she started on the Rove tale, Pelley, the producers, the janitor, someone, should have pulled the switch.
As it stands right now, this supposed GOP operative Simpson cannot be found on the rolls of the Alabama GOP in any capacity - if she ever worked for the GOP, it was as an unpaid, low-level volunteer, not as Karl Rove’s Double-Secret-Probation agent, or whatever. Curran seems quite exercised over this Simpson story - and as he’s of the opinion that Rove was behind the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, it can’t be because Curran is some Rove plant…he’s just an honest reporter who likes to report the truth as best he can determine it. Doesn’t mean he’ll never make a mistake, but it does mean he won’t broadcast a lie either deliberately or via gross negligence…and it is extraordinarily charitible to give CBS the benefit of the doubt and state that gross negligence is the genesis of this story.
The only thing I can figure is that this is a belated attempt by 60 Minutes to make up for their Rathergate debacle in 2006 - in this case, I guess they decided that with no forged documents for the blogosphere to rip to shreds, they could get away with it…the problem seems to be that there’s not even the slightest shred of evidence to back of Simpson’s claims…a good lie, as any Democrat will tell you, requires at least a kernel of truth - such is lacking in this 60 Minutes story.
Tags: 60 Minutes, Dana Jill Simpson, Don Siegelman, Eddie Curran, Karl Rove, liberal lies
March 2nd, 2008
In the MSM’s desperate desire to smear all things GOP, 60 Minutes recently ran a hit piece on Karl Rove, somehow trying to blame Mr. Rove for the downfall of Alabama’s corrupt, former Democratic governor Don Siegelman - the Alabama GOP has responded to the smear:
Dear Mr. Pelley,
Last Sunday, you aired a piece on 60 Minutes that I consider a broad, frontal and unfair attack on our Republican president, his one-time top advisor, Alabama’s Republican Governor and our party, in general. The report included an interview with a small town attorney, Dana Jill Simpson, who outrageously claimed that Karl Rove asked her to take explicit photos of Don Siegelman having improper extra-marital relations with “an aide” in 2001. Her interview with 60 Minutes was the first time her newest charge appeared, despite her having testified for several hours before a committee of the U.S. Congress, and was the first time she claimed having met with Mr. Rove.
Most importantly, neither Dana Jill Simpson, nor your story or your network provided one shred of evidence that her charges had any merit or kernel of truth.
In contrast, the Wednesday, February 27, edition of the Birmingham News printed an interview with Mr. Rove in which he vehemently denies Simpson’s charges and expresses deep frustration in 60 Minutes’ failure to obtain evidence of any relationship between them before airing such an explosive story. He further denies knowing Simpson, meeting or speaking with her or even having knowledge of the Siegelman prosecution beyond what he learned from traditional media coverage…
Given the serious nature of the charges, and the fact that 60 Minutes’ reputation as a reliable news source is once again at stake, I am asking that you publicly produce any evidence that was provided to you which substantiates Simpson’s claims…
If you are unable to publicly produce hard and convincing evidence that backs the outrageous charges you aired to millions of viewers across the nation, I ask that you publicly retract the story on your next broadcast. The most basic journalistic ethics would demand as much.
I find it difficult to believe that Karl Rove, in his first year of White House service in 2001 and dealing with the aftereffects of September 11, could find time to concentrate his attention on an Alabama governor’s race more than one year away. Even more difficult to believe is that Rove knew Simpson, would meet with her or send her on the absurd assignments that she claims. Only the most committed anti-Rove/Bush activist could swallow such a tale.
60 Minutes’ disdain for the Republican Party brought you embarrassment when you ran a bogus and fraudulent story in the fall of 2004 about President Bush and his National Guard record, and your organization ultimately admitted to not having followed “basic journalistic principles”. I fear that unless you are able to provide the hard evidence requested, it is apparent that 60 Minutes did not learn anything from that embarrassing event in your history.
I eagerly await your reply.
Sincerely,
Rep. Mike Hubbard
Chairman, Alabama Republican Party
It is high time we brought the MSM to account for their grossly irresponsible lies - even if it requires reform of our libel laws to allow public figures a real opportunity to counter-attack against false media stories. This story about Rove is not just absurd - its stupidly absurd. You’d have to be a monumental idiot to lend it any credibility at all - or, failing that, an anti-Rove/Bush fanatic, as Mr. Hubbard observes. A person is free to be an anti-Rove fanatic if they desire, but the MSM should not be producing news stories written by such - at least not without a disclaimer, “Warning, the story you are about to see is false, but fanatic lefties will love it”.
UPDATE: Gateway Pundit has more…
Tags: 60 Minutes, Dana Jill Simpson, Don Siegelman, Karl Rove, liberal lies, media bias
February 28th, 2008
Robert Stacy McCain posts his reaction to Raw Story’s ridiculous claim that former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, who was last year convicted of corruption and is now serving a 7-year federal sentence, was the victim a GOP-plot orchestrated by Karl Rove.
I think we should also have Raw Story look into whether or not Karl Rove planted the $90,000 bribe money in William Jefferson’s freezer. Maybe they should also determine if Karl Rove was behind the shady land deal between Barack Obama and Tony Rezko.
Tags: culture of corruption, Don Siegelman, Karl Rove, Rovian conspiracy
December 18th, 2007
