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It looks like the Siegelman case is about to run under some interesting Republican doors. Chief among them, that of Alabama's junior Senator, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, III. From Adam Zagorin in the latest issue of TIME Magazine: On may 8, 2002, Clayton Lamar (Lanny) Young Jr., a lobbyist and landfill developer described by acquaintances as a hard-drinking "good ole boy," was in an expansive mood. In the downtown offices of the U.S. Attorney in Montgomery, Ala., Young settled into his chair, personal lawyer at his side, and proceeded to tell a group of seasoned prosecutors and investigators that he had paid tens of thousands of dollars in apparently illegal campaign contributions to some of the biggest names in Alabama Republican politics. According to Young, among the recipients of his largesse were the state's former attorney general Jeff Sessions, now a U.S. Senator, and William Pryor Jr., Sessions' successor as attorney general and now a federal judge. Young, whose detailed statements are described in documents obtained by TIME, became a key witness in a major case in Alabama that brought down a high-profile politician and landed him in federal prison with an 88-month sentence. As it happened, however, that official was the top Democrat named by Young in a series of interviews, and none of the Republicans whose campaigns he fingered were investigated in the case, let alone prosecuted.
Young alleged that he made donations to Jeff Sessions and Bill Pryor, both in cash and by reimbursing employees and other third parties who wrote checks to Sessions and Pryor. Is it selective prosecution when the full force of the U. S. Attorney's office was used to investigate and prosecute Don Siegelman based on Young's testimony, but "none of the Republicans whose campaigns he fingered were investigated in the case, let alone prosecuted." Looks fishy. Early in the investigation, in November 2001, Young announced that five years earlier, he "personally provided Sessions with cash campaign contributions," according to an FBI memo of the interview. Prosecutors didn't follow up that surprising statement with questions, but Young volunteered more. The memo adds that "on one occasion he [Young] provided Session [sic] with $5,000 to $7,000 using two intermediaries," one of whom held a senior position with Sessions' campaign. On another occasion, the FBI records show, Young talked about providing "$10,000 to $15,000 to Session [sic]. Young had his secretaries and friends write checks to the Sessions campaign and Young reimbursed the secretaries and friends for their contributions."
Reimbursing someone for a donation to a political campaign is illegal. That is one of the offenses alleged against Norman Hsu, lately in the news, and recipients of his "bundled" donations can't give them back fast enough. Zagorin doesn't indicate that Jeff Sessions or Bill Pryor returned any of Lanny Young's money. Allegations like these are very interesting to the DOJ and the press when Democrats are on the receiving end of suspect contributions. Obviously, the DOJ wasn't interested in where Sessions' and Pryor's money came from. Will the Alabama press give them a pass as well? Note: More information about the Siegelman case is available at http://www.donsiegel... .
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