Groups Demand Restoration of Justice At Justice Dept.
April 15th, 2009A broad coalition of organizations and individuals launched a “Restore Justice At Justice” campaign today to demand redress for all those politically prosecuted under the Bush Justice Department, beginning with former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman and Paul Minor of Mississippi.
On Wednesday, a this group of organizations and individuals dedicated to an honest and accountable government launched a new Web site at RestoreJusticeAtJustice.com, a campaign to clean up the Department of Justice’s sad record of political prosecutions under the Bush Administration.
These organizations, representing hundreds of thousands of members, have a strong track record of spurring action on crucial issues. The coalition has sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, available on the Restore Justice At Justice website, requesting that he quickly investigate and identify those targeted, and vacate their convictions, beginning with Alabama ex-Governor Don Siegelman and Attorney Paul Minor.
The coalition asserts that under the Bush administration, the Department of Justice was driven by ideology, and prosecutions were often used to settle scores and intimidate the opposition. The GOP, at the direction of Karl Rove, used the DOJ to target political enemies including Democratic contributors and those who were a threat to GOP electoral gains and big business interests. The Department was used as an arm of the White House to destroy these Democrats. This political profiling resulted in the criminal prosecution of many on the GOP list, including Siegelman and Minor.
“Last week, Attorney General Holder ordered the dismissal of charges against Senator Ted Stevens because of prosecutorial misconduct,” said coalition spokesperson Brad Friedman. “Because targeted political prosecutions also constitute prosecutorial misconduct, AG Holder should apply the same standard to Siegelman, Minor, and all the others identified as targeted by the Bush DOJ,” said Friedman. “Siegelman and Minor were targets of political profiling, which is as unjust as racial profiling. President Obama and Attorney General Holder promised to return justice to the Justice Department and free the Department from politics. We demand that they do so.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., one of the signers at RestoreJusticeAtJustice.com, has stated publicly that “Paul Minor is an innocent man” who was targeted by Karl Rove, prosecuted by “crooked Justice Department prosecutors,” and sentenced to “a breathtaking 11-year sentence for non-violent, white collar crimes he did not commit,” while Minor’s wife of 41 years lies in a hospital dying from cancer, unable “to utter the word l-o-v-e to her husband.”
Kennedy summarizes the case this way: “Karl Rove’s crooked henchmen at the U.S. Justice Department have turned this dignified gentleman’s life into a horrible ordeal that is a disgrace to American democracy.”
**Late Monday, Sylvia Minor died without her husband by her side after the DOJ opposed Minor’s bail pending appeal and a compassionate furlough.
The campaign is spearheaded by VelvetRevolution.us, a national non-profit affiliated with over 150 organizations. The coalition urges other organizations that care about justice to sign on to this campaign by sending an email to RestoreJusticeAtJustice(at)velvetrevolution.us. Individuals can sign on at RestoreJusticeAtJustice.com.
Here at the Locust Fork News-Journal, with our extensive coverage of the Siegelman case and long-standing editorial opposition to Bush administration’s policies on this and other issues, join in the campaign today and urge readers to sign on as well.
April 15th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
This just in via Pam’s List:
From: FreeDonSiegelman@yahoogroups.com [mailto:FreeDonSiegelman@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of mboquinn
Mr. Holder:
After heavily contributing significant time and donations to the Obama Campaign, we are anxiously awaiting the restoration of justice at DOJ. It is appalling what has happened to the integrity of such a fine institution, and no more grievous example than the case of Gov. Siegelman.
This miscarriage of justice cannot be allowed to exist in a country that calls itself a democracy. The many facts of the case are almost unbelievable: the two indictments (northern district, middle district), the coerced testimony, the thwarting of exculpatory evidence, the number and type of charges brought. And finally, the sentencing recommendations for upward departure penalties for the defendant’s exercise of his constitutional rights. And the public humiliation of the Governor upon sentencing, solitary confinement, and the withholding of his whereabouts from his attorney and family.
I can hardly believe this is the America that my father defended as a navigator in the 8th Airforce from 1943-45, flying 36 missions as a B-17 navigator over Berlin.
Or, the America my mother represented when, in 1945-47, she worked, as she said, “on the side of the angels,” for Robert Jackson in Nuremburg.
What side are we on now? On which side does the DOJ sit?
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April 15th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
This just in via Pam’s List:
FreeDonSiegelman@yahoogroups.com
Mr. Holder:
After heavily contributing significant time and donations to the Obama Campaign, we are anxiously awaiting the restoration of justice at DOJ. It is appalling what has happened to the integrity of such a fine institution, and no more grievous example than the case of Gov. Siegelman.
This miscarriage of justice cannot be allowed to exist in a country that calls itself a democracy. The many facts of the case are almost unbelievable: the two indictments (northern district, middle district), the coerced testimony, the thwarting of exculpatory evidence, the number and type of charges brought. And finally, the sentencing recommendations for upward departure penalties for the defendant’s exercise of his constitutional rights. And the public humiliation of the Governor upon sentencing, solitary confinement, and the withholding of his whereabouts from his attorney and family.
I can hardly believe this is the America that my father defended as a navigator in the 8th Airforce from 1943-45, flying 36 missions as a B-17 navigator over Berlin.
Or, the America my mother represented when, in 1945-47, she worked, as she said, “on the side of the angels,” for Robert Jackson in Nuremburg.
What side are we on now? On which side does the DOJ sit?
April 16th, 2009 at 9:00 am
I hope the “restore Justice at the Justice Department” campaign bears good fruit. Massive pressure may be needed, however, even with a civil liberties-friendly administration now in office.
Inside the Beltway, the insiders are loathe to go back and change too much done by a previous administration because it sets a precedent that could come back and bite them at some point in then future.
This CYA culture poses immense obstacles to the kind of change Obama wants and was elected to provide. Public pressure may, in fact, be the determining factor in “restoring Justice at the Justice department,” because admitting that your department did, in fact, carry out political persecutions disguised as prosecutions is something DOJ bureaucrats probably fear more than death.
April 16th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
From samesther on Pam’s list:
Don Siegelman is scrimping to get by now and needs our help. A lot of people are hurting from the bad economy, but the Siegelman family has been hurting for years while his tormentors have prospered.
Don has had to pay lawyers for the past 10 years, since 1999 when Karl Rove asked his good friends, attorney general Bill Pryor and Bill Canary to start investigating him in the hopes they could get him out of Alabama politics forever. He was indicted, but all charges were thrown out of court. Even so, the process cost him a lot of money.
Not giving up, they ultimately got him to another trial before a judge with an ax to grind, a jury that heard sworn testimony by a liar (later convicted of perjury) who had been coached over 70 times on how to play out his act before the jury. It all worked just like magic – and he was off to prison in the blink of an eye.
Don has spent what should have been the best years of his life and millions of dollars trying to defend himself against inhumanely wicked and cruel people who are addicted to his destruction. His shattered life is on hold. The bills pile up. He needs our help.
Please send whatever you can to:
Don Siegelman
3963 Riverview Drive
Birmingham, Al. 35243