Health care is a struggle. I get it. But getting rid of Karl Rove's DOJ hit squad? C'mon!
Don Siegelman-the most high-profile victim of Rove's skullduggery-has launched a campaign to do just that. Of course, it goes without saying that there shouldn't have to be such a campaign. It's ludicrous that Obama didn't fire the whole lot of GOP political appointees in the DOJ on day one. But he didn't. So now it falls to us to pressure him to do the right thing.
Earlier this month, I was fortunate to join many friends from here and all around the country at Netroots Nation and discuss some of the victories we have achieved together.
Specifically, I mentioned the success we had seen in urging the House Committee on the Judiciary to force Karl Rove to testify and admit his role in the firing of U.S. Attorneys while issuing "non-denial-denials" about his role in my prosecution.
That's something we never could have achieved without the support of the netroots and the Daily Kos community. I can't thank you enough for your steadfast support. But, this fight is not over; not for me, not for Karl Rove, and not for our democracy.
That's why, at my Netroots Nation panel, I launched a new campaign, www.FireRovesProsecutors.com, dedicated to seeing those Rove-vetted U.S. Attorneys and appointees still poisoning the Department of Justice removed from their positions - ending their ability to threaten our democracy.
When he wrote the diary, over 5,000 people had already sent email messages to the White House demanding the removal of Rove's prosecutors. We need to do our bit to raise those numbers.
isn't the point that whatever he did, whether misdemeanor or felony or a slap on the wrist subject, it's almost beside the point when there's misconduct like this in a democratic system of justice? There's no choice, right? You don't withhold evidence from the defense, no matter what."
DAngelus is certainly right that there's more to the issue than just the prosecutorial misconduct. There is still the matter of Stevens being a crook. But what's the bigger issue here, particularly given the scope of prosecutorial misconduct over the last 8 years?
"There seems to be substantial evidence of prosecutorial and other misconduct in my case, that would dwarf the allegations in the Stevens case," the former Alabama governor told TPMmuckraker in an interview moments ago....
And, as he has before, Siegelman framed his case as part of a wider effort to get to truth about politicization of the Justice Department during the Bush years. "Who at the Department of Justice abused their power, and why?" he asked. "Was Karl Rove directing the show?"
Even bigger than the issue of prosecutorial misconduct, however, is the over-arching issue of restoring the rule of law. As in holding Bush Administration officials accountable for torture, and other criminal policies.
The appeals court ruling that upheld most of the charges against former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman has drawn critical commentary from Scott Horton at Harpers and emptywheel at FireDogLake, both worth reading in their entirety.
In particular, Scott notes:
nearly all the disclosures that undermined confidence in the fairness of the Siegelman trial occurred after the trial record was closed-and none of these disclosures were examined by the Court of Appeals. Even though the appeals court looked into jury misconduct, it did not have before it the much more powerful evidence of misconduct that a whistleblowing member of the prosecution team subsequently disclosed to the Justice Department-because the Bush Justice Department, in violation of its plain ethical duties, chose to keep all of that secret. So although an appeal has been taken and resolved, not one of the truly significant issues with the Siegelman case was ever briefed or argued. That remains for the future.
emptywheel is more specific:
But note, in particular, the centrality of Nick Bailey's testimony in the Court's decision to uphold most of the convictions.
That's important because--as 60 Minutes reported on its piece on Siegelman--there are allegations Prosecutors coached Bailey's testimony and then did not turn over notes from that coaching to Siegelman's defense team to use to impeach Bailey
And then goes on to quote from a previous post by Horton back in last July. The upshot is that this ruling has barely scratched the surface of the wrongdoing alleged in this case.
Karl Rove testifying before the House Judiciary Committee under penalty of perjury is one of those things you always wish for and work toward, but never quite imagine actually happening until you see the headline. A pinch-me-I-must-be-dreaming moment along the lines of Barack Obama becoming President or the Philadelphia Phillies winning the World Series. Well, Obama is firmly in the White House and the Phils are reigning champs, so why the hell shouldn't Rove be under the spotlight of congressional scrutiny?
After all, we've been pushing for months to Send Karl Rove to Jail. Last summer, I went down to DC and delivered a petition with over 127,000 signatures to Rep. Linda Sanchez, a House Judiciary Committee (HJC) member who has led the charge against Rove. That petition helped persuade the HJC to hold Rove in contempt for failing to comply with a congressional subpoena. Now, that push has finally resulted in Rove testifying before the HJC about his involvement in the US attorneys scandal and the wrongful prosecution of former Alabama governor Don Siegelman.
Imagine being about to interrogate someone as diabolically deceitful as Rove for the role he played in the politicization of the Justice Department. Imagine being able to pore over the five boxes of internal White House memos and e-mails that the HJC will finally get to examine. Keep in mind this is the same scandal that already was a huge black eye for the Bush administration when it ruined Alberto Gonzales' career. Who knows what justice Congress now has in store for Rove!
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