Federal prosecutors, especially the superstars brought in by Washington, had more slip-ups than a blindfolded banana peeler on a hockey rink.
They stumbled picking a jury and fumbled as they misjudged the role politics would play in the defense strategy. They bumbled as they failed to realize how their star witnesses would ooze on the stand, coming across, after pummeling by the defense, as self-serving, politically driven and racist.
Archibald's attack on the Washington crowd is curious, given that the lead prosecutor on the case is listed as Louis Franklin, out of the U.S. attorney's office in Montgomery. That's the same Louis Franklin who played a lead role in the Siegelman case.
In its non-Archibald coverage, the News also made excuses for prosecutors, especially in an article titled "Vote-Buying Verdict Shows Prosecution Perils." Reporter Kim Chandler tracked down every former prosecutor she could find to point out that the feds had an overwhelmingly difficult task in this case:
Former prosecutor Ron Brunson, who was a prosecutor in the Northern District of Alabama for 15 years said prosecutors must be extremely disappointed to walk away without a single conviction.
Public corruption cases alleging that campaign contributions are bribes are innately difficult, Brunson said. In a robbery or murder case, prosecutors are trying to prove who committed a crime. In this case, he said, "You had to prove there was a crime."
If public-corruption cases are so difficult to prove, how did prosecutors maintain an almost 100 percent conviction rate on such Alabama cases during the Bush years? The list of those who are in prison--or might be headed there--goes on and on: Don Siegelman, Richard Scrushy, Sue Schmitz, Gary White, Larry Langford . . .
How did the feds obtain all of these convictions during the Bush years on "innately difficult" cases? Well, The Birmingham News tells us exactly how they did it in the Siegelman case. Reporter Kim Chandler inadvertently provides the scoop in her reporting on the bingo case:
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
