Does cash trump progressive ideals with the Obama administration?

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Cross Posted at Legal Schnauzer

Alabama lawyer G. Douglas Jones helped rake in more than $50 million in attorney fees from a lawsuit against individuals and entities connected to HealthSouth Corporation. Lawyers from California and New York were involved in the case, but Jones served as co-liaison counsel here in Birmingham, home to HealthSouth headquarters.

Jones was a leading advocate of the Obama administration's recent decision to nominate George Beck as U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Alabama, sources tell Legal Schnauzer. The Beck nomination was roundly criticized in a recent four-part series by Andrew Kreig, executive director of the Justice Integrity Project (JIP). Kreig calls the nomination "Obama's Alabama Snafu," and you can read all four parts of his piece through links at the end of this post.

Are the HealthSouth settlements and the Beck nomination connected? Did Jones' access to cold, hard cash help make him a "kingmaker" with the Obama administration? Do Democrats such as Doug Jones act with progressive ideals in mind? Is George Beck the best candidate to replace Leura Canary, the abominable George W. Bush appointee who helped ramrod the Don Siegelman/Richard Scrushy prosecution?

Sources tell us that the answers to those questions are yes, yes, no, and not by a long shot.

To top it off, Jones' public statements about the Beck nomination reflect significant foot shuffling and dissembling. Could that be because George Beck represented chief government witness Nick Bailey in the Siegelman/Scrushy case and reportedly allowed prosecutors to browbeat and coach his client? Could it be because Beck comes from the Montgomery law firm of Capel and Howard, which has strong ties to GOP strategist Karl Rove and Bill Canary, who is president of the Business Council of Alabama, husband of Leura Canary, and confidant of U.S. Chamber of Commerce chief Tom Donahue?

This scenario becomes particularly troubling when you consider that the other co-liaison counsel in the HealthSouth case--Jones' chief local assistant--was Rob Riley, the son of former Republican Governor Bob Riley. Why did Doug Jones need Rob Riley on the lawsuit team? Probably because Riley had inside information about former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy. And that information probably came from Riley's involvement in a Republican conspiracy to conduct a political prosecution against Siegelman and Scrushy, a scheme that Alabama attorney and whistleblower Dana Jill Simpson revealed to the world.

Should progressives be concerned about Doug Jones' willingness to make money by jumping in bed with a member of the Riley clan? What about Jones' apparent determination to now push tainted nominees to a Democratic administration?

Regular readers know that Bob Riley has ties to GOP felons Jack Abramoff and Michael Scanlon. And yet Doug Jones, who now seems to have the Obama administration's ear, is comfortably aligned with Bob Riley's son.

In short, the George Beck nomination has GOP fingerprints all over it--and Doug Jones helped bring the nomination to life. Is Doug Jones interested in promoting justice in a state that has been riddled with Bush-era corruption? Or is he interested in protecting the interests of Alabama's moneyed elite, ensuring that the Rileys and their allies will never be held accountable for the skulduggery of the past eight to 10 years? Is Doug Jones interested in pushing the Democratic Party forward or holding it back?

Some background might help answer those questions.

Doug Jones served as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama during the Clinton administration and developed the reputation as a civil-rights crusader for his successful prosecution of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing case.

Not long after returning to private practice, Jones became involved in federal litigation connected to the accounting fraud at HealthSouth. When federal prosecutors in Montgomery targeted Siegelman, Jones became the former governor's defense attorney--even though he already was involved in a lawsuit against Richard Scrushy, who would become Siegelman's co-defendant.

That clear conflict of interest is one of several questionable actions Jones has taken in recent years. Another was the decision to include Rob Riley in the HealthSouth litigation. A reasonable progressive now might ask: What side is Doug Jones on?

Did the alliance with Rob Riley pay off? Apparently the answer is yes.

As we reported in December 2009, the court awarded almost $28 million in fees and expenses for the plaintiff attorneys in the HealthSouth case. The exact figure was $27,937,317. A recent check of court records reveals that in July 2010 lawyers were awarded another $22,815,000, plus $521,003.17 in expenses--a total of 23,336,003.17.

That brings the grand total, if our math is correct, to $51,273,320.17. It's a massive case, involving 50 to 100 plaintiff lawyers, so the money will be spread around. But court documents indicate that a big chunk of it will go to the lead firms in California and New York and to the co-liaison counsel--Doug Jones and Rob Riley.

Jones works at the Birmingham firm of Haskell Slaughter. Records with the Alabama Secretary of State show that Jones formed G. Douglas Jones LLC in November 2008. Sources tell Legal Schnauzer that Jones did that to ensure that he would not have to share proceeds from the HealthSouth case with the firm. 

Sounds like Jones has been planning for some time to maximize his take from the case he helped build with Rob Riley. Did that cash allow Jones to buy influence with the Obama administration? What does that influence mean for justice in Alabama? We will examine those questions in upcoming posts.

Here are links to the Justice Integrity Project series:

Part One: Senate Must Grill Tainted Alabama DOJ Nominee

Part Two: Baily, Beck and Siegelman Frame-Up

Part Three: Beck's DOJ Backers Make Their Case

Part Four: What To Do About Obama's Alabama Snafu?

(To be continued)

Authors Bio:
I live in Birmingham, Alabama, and work in higher education. I became interested in justice-related issues after experiencing gross judicial corruption in Alabama state courts. This corruption has a strong political component. The corrupt judges are all Republicans, and the attorney who filed a fraudulent lawsuit against me has strong family ties to the Alabama Republican Party, with indirect connections to national figures such as Karl Rove. In fact, a number of Republican operatives who have played a central role in the prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman (a Democrat) also have connections to my case.

I am married, with no kids and two Siamese cats. I am the author of the blog Legal Schnauzer. The blog is written in honor of Murphy, our miniature schnauzer (1993-2004)who did so much to help my wife and me survive our nightmarish experience with corrupt judges.

I grew up in Springfield, Missouri, and I am pretty much a lifelong St. Louis Cardinal baseball fan. I've lived in Birmingham for almost 30 years and have adopted the UAB Blazers as my Southern college football and basketball team to follow. Also, follow East Tennessee State basketball.

An avid reader, both fiction and non-fiction. Influential writers on public affairs are Kevin Phillips, Michael Lind, Thomas Edsall, E.J. Dionne, Molly Ivins, and Scott Horton.