January 30, 2008 at 09:33:27

The Gulag Comes to America: The Don Siegelman Case

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By Ernest Partridge (about the author) Page 2 of 3 page(s)

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While communicating with Siegelman's attorney prior to releasing her affidavit, Simpson's house was demolished by a mysterious fire, and Simpson herself was forced off the road. Mere coincidences, of course.

The judge at Siegelman's trial, Mark Fuller, a Bush appointee and a former member of the executive committee of the Alabama Republican party, had a well-known grudge against Siegelman. Fuller refused to recuse himself from the case, denied bail, immediately put Siegelman in shackles and ordered him to the Atlanta federal prison. After seven months Judge Fuller, in violation of the law, has refused to release the trial transcript without which the defendant can not appeal his conviction.

Don Siegelman has since been shuttled back and forth among several federal prisons out of touch with his attorneys and not allowed access to the internet or to press interviews. This treatment has prompted an unprecedented demand by forty-four former state attorneys general for a Congressional investigation of the Siegelman case.

The Purge in Progress

The Siegelman Saga puts a human face on a widespread politicization of the U.S. Department of Justice. In a similar case in Wisconsin, Georgia Thompson, a purchasing official in the state government, was convicted of corruption in a case that worked to the advantage of a Republican candidate for governor. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals was so shocked by the injustice of her conviction that they ordered Thompson's immediate release, even before issuing a ruling. The evidence against her, said Judge Diane Wood, was "beyond thin."

The December, 2006, firings of eight Republican U.S. attorneys, who insisted upon conducting their offices without partisan bias, has brought national attention to the political corruption of the Justice Department and has caused many to wonder about the behavior of the remaining eight-five U.S. attorneys that Alberto Gonzales saw fit to retain. It is a troubling question.

A study by Donald Shields and John Cragan, two professors of communication, may supply an answer: "the offices of the U.S. Attorneys across the nation investigate seven times as many Democratic officials as they investigate Republican officials, a number that exceeds even the racial profiling of African Americans in traffic stops." (The numbers: 298 Democrats, 67 Republicans, 10 "Others").

This apparent partisan purge of Democrats, combined with amnesty for Republicans, hits close to home. It is reported that Carol Lam, one of the eight sacked U.S. Attorneys, was hot on the trail of my Republican Congressman, Jerry Lewis. I've heard nothing more about this investigation, so it appears that Lewis is off the hook.

So now we have in place a thoroughgoing corruption of the federal justice system. The blindfold has been torn off the face of lady justice, as the Department of Justice becomes, in effect, an extension of the Republican Party, and possession of a public office by a Democrat becomes a de facto crime, should the hounds of the Department of Justice decide to go after said official.

The Democratic Congress has been remarkably complacent about all this. True, they have called a few young graduates from Pat Robertson's Regent U. Law school to testify, they have heard from the fired U.S. attorneys, and the Democrats have promised hearings on the Siegelman case. But its all show a bark without a bite as the White House and the Department of Justice steadfastly refuse to recognize subpoenas or allow the key players to testify under oath. These offenses, by the way, were included among the articles of impeachment against Richard Nixon.

Unsurprisingly, these outrages by the Department of Defense have not excited much interest in the mainstream media, with the honorable exception of Keith Olbermann and Dan Abrams of MSNBC. Abrams series, "Bush League Justice," which was broadcast last December, was magnificent, and he promised that "we're not going to let this go away... We are going to be watching very closely." Six weeks later, we are awaiting the follow-up. In addition, rumor has it that 60 Minutes is preparing a segment on the Siegelman case.

Two Roads Diverge.

The fate of Don Siegelman may reflect the fate of our republic. We are at a crucial crossroads, one road leads to a restoration of the rule of law, and the other road leads to despotism.

If Don Siegelman's persecutors have their way and he serves out his term of seven years, and if the culprits who stole his re-election and railroaded him to federal lockup enjoy the fruits of their villainy and escape punishment, then the rule of law is dead in Alabama and in critical condition in Washington D.C. Then the gangrene of lawlessness in Alabama may spread until it destroys the entire body politic.

I seem to recall a comment by some Bushie to the effect that "we're pushing the limits until someone or something stops us." To date, those limits have extended well beyond the Constitution and the rule of law. Acts of Congress are nullified by signing statements, Congressional oversight is blinded by "executive privilege" and a refusal to recognize subpoenas. Elections have been privatized and are unverifiable. All that's left to the Congress to contain this burgeoning power of "the unitary executive" is impeachment, and impeachment, as we all know, is "off the table."

Someone, somehow, must draw a line in the sand and say "no further!" And then, push back and back -- and back.

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Dr. Ernest Partridge is a consultant, writer and lecturer in the field of Environmental Ethics and Public Policy. Partridge has taught philosophy at the University of California, and in Utah, Colorado and Wisconsin. He publishes the website, (more...)

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