MONTGOMERY, Ala., March 6, 2009
Bribery Charges Stick To Ex-Ala. Governor
Federal Appeals Court Upholds Most Bribery, Corruption Charges Against Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman
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Former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, left, and former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy were convicted in 2006 of a bribery scheme, though questions surrounded the prosecution. A federal appeals court upheld most charges against Siegelman and all against Scrushy, March 6, 2009. (CBS)
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Play CBS Video Video Siegelman Update Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, who claims his criminal prosecution was orchestrated by the White House, has been released on appeal as Congress investigates. Scott Pelley has an update.
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Video Siegelman Says 'No Deal' Former Ala. Governor Don Siegelman tells Scott Pelley that he did not offer any special deal to HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy in exchange for a $500,000 contribution to an education lottery campaign.
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Video Harris Testimony Overlooked? Alabama Republican Elmer Harris, the former head of Siegelman's transition team, says that Siegelman did not accept a bribe and his testimony might have saved Siegelman from incarceration.
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State Fast Facts Alabama Learn about the people, economy and geography.
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Interactive Political Scandals Politics can be a strange and dirty business. Check out some of the biggest missteps and mishaps in recent history.
A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta struck down two of the seven charges that Siegelman was convicted of and ordered a new sentencing hearing. That means Siegelman's seven-year sentence could be reduced.
But he won't get off entirely: The court upheld key bribery, conspiracy and obstruction counts against him in what prosecutors described as a scheme that put Scrushy on a state hospital regulatory board when he was at the helm of HealthSouth. The court upheld all six counts against Scrushy and his sentence of almost seven years.
Siegelman, 63, and Scrushy, 56, were convicted in 2006 by a federal court jury in Montgomery, where Siegelman was a prominent Democrat with a political career dating back three decades.
Siegelman has claimed his prosecution was pushed by Republicans, including former White House adviser Karl Rove, a claim career federal prosecutors who handled the case have emphatically denied. Rove, a Texas strategist, was once heavily involved in Alabama politics.
Prosecutors argued that Siegelman appointed Scrushy to the influential board in exchange for Scrushy arranging $500,000 in contributions to the governor's campaign for a state lottery in 1999.
Siegelman also was convicted on a single obstruction of justice count linked to the purchase of a motorcycle with the help of a lobbyist.
The former governor was released from prison last year, six weeks after a 60 Minutes story
But the courts ruled the wealthy Scrushy, who turned Birmingham-based HealthSouth into one of the nation's biggest rehabilitation chains, was a flight risk.
The appeals court judges, in a unanimous decision, rejected a key defense argument that prosecutors failed to prove there was an explicit "quid pro quo" agreement between Siegelman and Scrushy, which is required in federal bribery cases. The defense also argued that U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller did not adequately instruct jurors that such an agreement was necessary.
In a 68-page opinion, the panel said that the instructions Fuller gave jurors was sufficient. The judges also rejected defense arguments of juror misconduct involving a claim that some jurors exchanged e-mails and were subjected to outside influences during jury deliberations.
The judges ruled that Fuller adequately investigated the juror misconduct charges.
"We conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in holding that there was nor reasonable possibility of prejudice to the defendants arising out of the exposure of the jury to this extrinsic evidence," the judges wrote.
The judges also threw out defense arguments that the indictments against Siegelman and Scrushy came after the five-year statute of limitations in bribery cases had expired. The judges said they waived their right to make that claim by not raising the argument until after the trial.
© MMIX, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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- Dirty politics as usual Karl Rove will soon have his day.
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- "... what is the difference between these two groups?" Posted by ericdrexil
Simple.
As a matter of politics, the Republicans have become the advocates of social intolerance, and are elected because their constituencies believe they are sympathetic to their agendas, while the Democrats represent the same for progressives.
In actuality they are all no more than common pimps, pandering to the advocacies of their backers' agendas, but a side effect is that their followers are emboldened by their pimps to act in furtherance of their cause, thus any real action in either direction is catalyzed by the poltitcians. - Reply to this comment
- To a republican.....you can't be guilty of anything illegal.... if, you are republican. To a democrat the same ALWAYS holds true. Now help me out here.....what is the difference between these two groups?
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- It looks like SkrewCBS got a republican induced wedgie and dont know where its coming from. Sad.
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- Someone needs to put a stop to these republicans who are in league with Karl Rove and his ilk.
Posted by vincan-2009 at 5:29 PM :
Lets get this straight you know the case against him know it to be false and that even U S appeals court justices are complicit in it and are going along. What a bunch of idiocy. - Reply to this comment
- This really makes me mad. Alabama is the state where the most corrupt and evilly partisan republicans are in legal positions and are doing their best to keep Democrats in hot water and finally in jail. Someone needs to put a stop to these republicans who are in league with Karl Rove and his ilk.
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- You guys always forget to put the (D) after their names, but rarely ever do you forget the (R). Hmmmmmm
Posted by ken1dall
I just read it in the article. It list him as a democrat. 4th paragraph down. Posted by rightaboutit
That's the way CBS always does it, if the person is a Repub they mention it in the headline or first paragraph, if the person is a Dem it's typically 4th paragraph or further-if mentioned at all. So, save yourself some time, if it's not in the 1st paragraph, they're a Dem - Reply to this comment
- At least for a change it wasn?t a Republican! Now, that?s a new twist! If you commit a crime then you should pay, Republican or Democrat.
There have been so many Republicans arrested for corruption and sex crimes that I?ve lost count. At least this dude wasn?t having sex in an airport bathroom like your typical Republican. - Reply to this comment
- I see a cabnet post for them in the future in the Obama adminstration. They are good at what they do, they just got caught.
How about head of the FBI, NSA, or some other agency where they can get all the money they can in a short time. - Reply to this comment
- ou guys always forget to put the (D) after their names, but rarely ever do you forget the (R). Hmmmmmm
Posted by ken1dal
Give me a f-ing break! What about Gov Spitzer(D) who resigned amid a sex scandal involving prostitutes, but not Sentator Vitter (R) for a similar scandal ! Sounds like your another f-ing moron.. hmmmmmmmm! - Reply to this comment
- You guys always forget to put the (D) after their names, but rarely ever do you forget the (R). Hmmmmmm
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- oh hell...come on.....did another democrat lie???
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- Siegelman has claimed his prosecution was pushed by Republicans, including former White House adviser Karl Rove, a claim career federal prosecutors who handled the case have emphatically denied. Rove, a Texas strategist, was once heavily involved in Alabama politics.
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I saw the 60 Minutes segment and Siegelman has some valid points about Rove's involvement. Rove will soon (reluctantly) testify before Congress under oath. The terms of his appearance should include Siegelman's case. - Reply to this comment
- Yep, just some of thos rich Democrat folks doing business as usual.
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- I love how the real issue with Scrushy is not even mentioned. He ruined many lives or the financial fortunes of those who worked for him as well as those who had money in HealthSouth. I say screw Scrushy and wish the worst for him.
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- This reeks to high heaven. Given the abundant evidence of conflict of interest from the prosecution side, politization of the judicial process by none less than Karl Rove, and the blatant abuse of power and judicial procedures by Republican thugs throughout the process. Applying the same standard to Bush, and his truly criminal cabal, would mean Bush, Cheney, Rove and others would be spending the rest of their days behind bars. Truly these Bush thugs gave destroyed our government, as witnessed by the blatant abuses they emanated from the Justice Department, the hostile takeover of the judicial branch by the "unitary executive," i.e. dictator (decider) Bush. This case confirms how deeply the tyranny has permeated our nation, further evidence of the complete corruption wrought by the Bush crime family.
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- I`d Much Rather see Shrove Inc. Go Down !
That`s Shrub & Rove !!!!! - Reply to this comment
