SIEGELMAN: I think Karl -- Karl Rove could not have done it by himself, obviously. But I think Karl Rove pressed this prosecution with the Department of Justice. This -- we have sworn testimony to that fact by a Republican lawyer who was -- who was part of the political machine -- the Republican political machine -- that was trying to get me out of the way.
So this is not testimony coming from a friend of mine or even from someone whom I had ever met until just recently. But...
BLITZER: What's the why here?
Why would Karl Rove want to do that to you?
SIEGELMAN: Well, I think there are a couple of reasons. One, I was the only viable Democrat in the State of Alabama. I had been elected secretary of state, attorney general, lieutenant governor and governor. And I was going to -- about to run for re-election with the thought of entering national politics in 2003, going into the 2004 elections. So there was -- and Karl Rove and I have had a number of conflicts, beginning in 1994.
And after the '92 race, Rick, Karl Rove and the husband of my prosecutor came back from Texas. They had just finished running the Bush/Quayle campaign. They came to Alabama. They both married girls in Alabama. And Karl Rove, of course, built his home on the Gulf Coast, where he lives today.
So we had a number of political run-ins beginning in 1994. But this is the flip side, if you will, the other side of the coin of the U.S. attorneys who were fired. You know that part of the investigation that's been conducted is... BLITZER: Yes.
SIEGELMAN: ...is to try to get to the truth about why these U.S. attorneys were fired. They were fired ostensibly and allegedly because they would not take actions -- prosecutorial actions that would benefit the Republican candidates running that year.
In my case, this is a case of a prosecutor who was supported by Karl Rove, appointed with his blessings. She is the wife of Karl Rove's best friend in Alabama. I was brought to trial one month before the Democratic primary on charges that "The New York Times" has said repeatedly has never been considered a crime in America -- and which you agreed, I presume, when you made reference to the fact that presidents appoint their contributors as ambassadors every day.
And...
BLITZER: Is this a case where there is so much Republican control of the State of Alabama now that it would be very difficult for any Democrat, like yourself, to be able to have political success in that state?
SIEGELMAN: Well, I was -- I was -- no. I think Democrats are making a comeback now. But I was, at the time, from about '94 to 2002, the only -- the strongest -- the strongest horse in the barn for running...
BLITZER: So the...
SIEGELMAN: ...for running for...
BLITZER: Let me just cut you off before we run out of time. The answer to your question is yes during the Bush years?
Maybe not now, but during the Bush years, would that have been true?
So this is not testimony coming from a friend of mine or even from someone whom I had ever met until just recently. But...
BLITZER: What's the why here?
Why would Karl Rove want to do that to you?
And after the '92 race, Rick, Karl Rove and the husband of my prosecutor came back from Texas. They had just finished running the Bush/Quayle campaign. They came to Alabama. They both married girls in Alabama. And Karl Rove, of course, built his home on the Gulf Coast, where he lives today.
So we had a number of political run-ins beginning in 1994. But this is the flip side, if you will, the other side of the coin of the U.S. attorneys who were fired. You know that part of the investigation that's been conducted is... BLITZER: Yes.
SIEGELMAN: ...is to try to get to the truth about why these U.S. attorneys were fired. They were fired ostensibly and allegedly because they would not take actions -- prosecutorial actions that would benefit the Republican candidates running that year.
In my case, this is a case of a prosecutor who was supported by Karl Rove, appointed with his blessings. She is the wife of Karl Rove's best friend in Alabama. I was brought to trial one month before the Democratic primary on charges that "The New York Times" has said repeatedly has never been considered a crime in America -- and which you agreed, I presume, when you made reference to the fact that presidents appoint their contributors as ambassadors every day.
And...
BLITZER: Is this a case where there is so much Republican control of the State of Alabama now that it would be very difficult for any Democrat, like yourself, to be able to have political success in that state?
SIEGELMAN: Well, I was -- I was -- no. I think Democrats are making a comeback now. But I was, at the time, from about '94 to 2002, the only -- the strongest -- the strongest horse in the barn for running...
BLITZER: So the...
SIEGELMAN: ...for running for...
BLITZER: Let me just cut you off before we run out of time. The answer to your question is yes during the Bush years?
Maybe not now, but during the Bush years, would that have been true?
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