Lawyer’s Deposition Tells of Politics in Siegelman Case
A Republican lawyer is providing new details about allegations that politics played a role in the prosecution of former Democratic Gov. Don Siegelman.
Dana Jill Simpson said that Rob Riley Jr., the son of the state’s current governor, bragged that a GOP judge would “hang” Siegelman for partisan reasons, the New York Times reports. She also said a GOP strategist told her in 2005 that presidential aide Karl Rove pushed the Justice Department for prosecution.
Riley and the White House have denied the accusations. The deposition was released yesterday by the House Judiciary Committee, which is investigating political influence in the Justice Department.
The committee is expected to hold hearings on the Alabama case next week, Time Magazine reports.
Siegelman was convicted of accepting $500,000 from HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy in exchange for a seat on the state hospital licensing board..
