UPDATES BELOW
I am not sure if C-Span will carry it, but this morning at the National Press Club in DC there will be a presser about domestic political prosecutions under the Bush administration. Scheduled to speak are Columbia prof Scott Horton, former Mississippi supreme court justice Oliver Diaz, journalist Andrew Kreig, and whistle-blower Dana Jill Simpson and others.
Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman was also scheduled to speak and was in DC already when he found out that he had an emergency legal filing back in Alabama.
If none of these names are familiar to you, read my series on DOJ misconduct:
- Part 1: Political Prisoner
- Part 2: Siegelman's Daughter Speaks Out
- Part 3: Running Elections from the White House
- Part 4: Mississippi Prosecutions
- Part 5: Interview with Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Oliver E. Diaz, Jr.
- Part 6: Break-Ins Plague Targets of Political Prosecutions
- Part 7: Justice for Sale
- Judge who denied Paul Minor's release protoge of Karl Rove
- DOJ Investigating 2 US Attorneys in alleged political prosecutions
- 60 Minutes signal dropped in Alabama only during Siegelman portion
- Interview with Dana Jill Simpson on Karl Rove's alleged smears
- Karl Rove's next move: A Million Dollar House in Florida
- Abramoff said he had agreement with White House aid regarding communications
- Treasury Department investigating US Attorney for sharing private income tax returns of a case target
UPDATE
C-Span 3 is carrying it
UPDATE II
Scott Horton is up now speaking about the systematic use of prosecutorial powers for partisan (rather than legal) reasons during the Bush years.
UPDATE III
House Judiciary Committee councel Elliot Mincberg is speaking now. Says the HJC has gotten Bush admin WH documents relating to the firing of US attorneys, but that those documents won't be released until after all the interviews are over - Harriet Miers, Karl Rove, et al. He is also getting into various other DOJ scandals, including torture and such.
He was asked about inherent contempt charges against those who refuse to appear and testify before Congress. He is not really answering the question, but the bottom line is that it appears that Conyers is not willing to use the inherent contempt option.
UPDATE IV
Judge U.W. Clemen, Alabama's first African American judge with 30 years on the bench, is now speaking. He is speaking about US Attorney Alice Martin. See Part I link above for the summary. He is explaining how Alice Martin (with the help of the Birmingham News) shopped for the "right" judge to take the Siegelman case to. Astonishing stuff.
UPDATE V
Charles Walker Jr., the son of former Georgia state Senate majority leader who is in prison because of alleged political prosecutions is speaking now. I have not covered this case, so I cannot say one way or another as I can with Don Siegelman's case or Paul Minor's case.
UPDATE VI
Reagan Assistant Attorney General, Bruce Fein, is now speaking.
UPDATE VII
Former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz is now up talking about his case and that of Paul Minor, et al. This is very moving. Paul Minor's daughter is there in the audience. Oh, I just got a shout out. Thank you.
