GOP lawyer ties Rove to Siegelman case
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) on Wednesday released an interview with GOP lawyer Dana Jill Simpson implicating former White House adviser Karl Rove in the prosecution and conviction of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman (D) on corruption charges.
{mosads}In a closed-door interview with committee staff, Simpson recalled how Rob Riley, current Gov. Bob Riley’s (R) son, told her about Rove’s role in a plan to prosecute Siegelman if he did not back down from contesting the 2001 gubernatorial election results that handed the office to Riley.
According to the transcript, Simpson described a 2005 conversation with Rob Riley, who told her that Rove had contacted the Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice to press for further prosecution of Siegelman. She said Rob Riley also recounted how the case would be assigned to a federal judge who “hated” Siegelman and would “hang Don Siegelman.”
The Birmingham News reported Tuesday that Simpson’s latest account differs from a previous sworn statement she gave that Siegelman dropped a recount in 2002 because a supporter planted an opponent’s campaign signs at a Ku Klux Klan rally. She amended her story when discussing the matter with congressional staffers to add that Siegelman dropped his challenge of Bob Riley’s victory after learning about the campaign signs and after being promised that the federal investigation of his administration would end.
Thursday’s House Judiciary Committee hearing into claims that the Justice Department selectively prosecuted Democrats, including Siegelman, has been postponed, and a new date has not been set.
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