Davis, a Democrat from Birmingham, said Thursday he is backing Montgomery attorney George Beck for U.S. attorney in Alabama's middle district. Davis says Beck is one of the top defense lawyers in the state and should win Senate confirmation.
Sen. Richard Shelby has quietly nixed others proposed for this job, including Michel Nicrosi (she's now running for Attorney General) and Joe Van Heest. From what I understand, Davis is equally determined to quietly block Shelby's choice, Democratic donor Larry Morris' daughter Anna Clark Morris. It's possible Beck is a well-qualified attorney who is acceptable to both sides in this quiet power struggle. It probably doesn't hurt that Beck is not an up and coming young attorney who might be viewed by those currently in power as a potential challenger in a few years -- U.S. Attorney seems to be a good jumping off point to seek higher office hereabouts.
When gubernatorial candidate Rep. Artur Davis spoke to the Madison County Democratic Women yesterday, his remarks were centered on state issues like constitutional reform, PACT and job creation and what he hoped to do as governor. You'll see more on that here soon, but after his prepared remarks, a couple of audience members questioned Davis about something relevant to his current position in Congress: the lack of a new U.S. Attorney in the Middle District of Alabama and a recommendation for a recent vacancy on the federal bench here. Video is below the fold.
The U.S. Attorney:
The fact that Leura Canary is still serving as U.S. Attorney for Alabama's Middle District is a thorn in the side of Democratic activists everywhere. The nomination of a new U.S. Attorney has been delayed time and again by objections from Republicans and, more surprising, from Democrats. It looks like everyone wants to micromanage this appointment and the result is a black eye for the Obama Justice Department, as one audience member noted:
I want to know why Leura Canary is sitting on the bench in Alabama and when the Justice Department ... and what is wrong with our Justice Department?
Davis explained the practice of holds, or blue slips, in the Senate where one or both of Alabama's Republican Senators opposed both Michel Nicrosi and Joe Van Heest, the people he recommended for the job. Then Davis went on to address the central question of why is Leura Canary still in office? Short answer is because the Obama administration hasn't asked for her resignation, even though that would have been a reasonable and proper action for an incoming president:
I think the President should have done what Bush did and what Clinton did and to ask for all the U.S. Attorneys to resign back in January. And why didn't that happen? There was a sensitivity that, well, we Democrats complained when Bush fired U.S. Attorneys. No, no.
There's a big difference between asking all 93 to turn in their letter and saying give me a list of the 8 who haven't played party politics and let's get rid of them. If you don't see that difference you don't see the difference in right and wrong. So,I don't think that they did it, frankly, the right way.
The administration could still ask for Canary's resignation, and arguably should. An actual vacancy in that spot may be the only thing that would shake loose a nominee. It appears Democrats lost a good potential nominee here when Tamara Matthews Johnson's name was shot down by friendly fire, so to speak, on the basis of what turned out to be inaccurate information from a single anonymous source. Now Democrats are again objecting to a potential nominee. This time it's George Beck, and the objections to Beck seem rooted in his work on the prosecution side of the Don Siegelman case as well as some disagreements with former Republican attorney Jill Simpson. Someone needs to make a rule that if you overrule a U.S. Attorney candidate, you have to provide the names of at least 5 people who would be acceptable to you.
For whatever reason, it appears that the Obama administration plans to leave Canary in place until a successor is nominated. I would just like to ask who benefits when Senators Shelby and Sessions block her potential replacements? Leura Canary. And who benefits when Democratic groups block her potential replacements?Leura Canary. If someone raises an objection to every potential nominee, can Leura Canary stay on for another year? Or more? Maybe this woman is far more powerful than I gave her credit for. Or maybe some Democrats are being played ...
Have you heard the Obama administration might appoint a (gasp) Republican as the next U.S. Attorney in the Middle District of Alabama? Let me set your mind at rest. No matter what you may have heard, Tamarra Matthews Johnson is not a "rabid, right-wing Republican." She's not any sort of Republican at all. In fact, Ms. Johnson is definitely a Democrat -- no matter what a single, unnamed source alleges.
Let me back up a step or two. New U.S. Attorneys have already been nominated and confirmed in the Northern (Joyce Vance) and Southern (Kenyen Brown) districts of Alabama, but Bush nominee Leura Canary is still in place in the Middle District. Several names have been floated for that job but so far there has been no actual nomination from the White House, apparently because of political maneuvering on the part of Senators Sessions and Shelby -- these appointments are subject to Senate confirmation, after all. The three names most often mentioned as potential nominees are George Beck and Joe Van Heest, both defense attorneys, and Tamarra Matthews Johnson, an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Alabama.
Personally, I don't think partisan politics has much place in the Department of Justice -- didn't we have enough of that in the Bush years? -- but the partisan leanings of U.S. Attorneys do seem to matter to some folks. For the last week rumors have been swirling around the state that Ms. Johnson is not only a Republican, but a "rabid, right-wing Republican." These rumors have been picked up and repeated around the blogosphere and even by a print journalist. From the outset it seemed incredible the Obama Administration would consider a foaming-at-the-mouth Republican to replace the U.S. Attorney most identified with political prosecution -- Canary was behind the successful prosecution of former Governor Don Siegelman and the folks at DoJ would have to be living on another planet not to realize that -- so I was prompted to do a little digging. Here's the scoop:
Tamarra Matthews Johnson is a prosecutor.
She has participated in a number of cases against Democrats while working for the DoJ.
Ms. Johnson is NOT A REPUBLICAN, diseased or otherwise.
I can't say how disappointed I am that the bloggers and journalist involved in propagating this rumor didn't perform due diligence and check that last point out before they ran with this story. This is the way vicious, despicable, damaging to real-life human beings, RUMORS propogate, not the way responsible journalism is supposed to work.
Exactly how can I be sure Tamarra Matthews Johnson, contender for the U.S. Attorney's job in the Middle District of Alabama -- is a Democrat? Let me just count the ways ...
First, her political contributions have all been to Democrats. These are public record and ought to be the first stop for anyone trying to ascertain someone's political leanings. From OpenSecrets here's the entry for Tamarra Matthews (that's how her contributions are listed, according to her husband):
MATTHEWS, TAMARRA BIRMINGHAM,AL 35242
USDOJ/ATTORNEY
12/31/07
$500
Clinton, Hillary (D)
MATTHEWS, TAMARRA BIRMINGHAM,AL 35242
USDOJ/ATTORNEY
12/30/07
$500
Obama, Barack (D)
MATTHEWS, TAMARRA BIRMINGHAM,AL 35242
USDOJ/ATTORNEY
8/11/08
$500
Obama, Barack (D)
Don't confuse her with Tamara Harris Johnson, also a Birmingham attorney. The Tamarra Johnson we're interested in contributed to Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Barack Obama. They're allDemocrats! There's no real need to go beyond this -- Ms. Johnson hasn't given any money to Republicans, but she has given to Democrats -- that's the best indication going when it comes to political leanings.Putting your money where your mouth is, you know?
But let's look a bit further, just to be thorough.
Earlier today the Judicial Advisory Panel formed by Congressman Artur Davis released recommendations for nominees to the three US Attorney positions in Alabama. President-elect Barack Obama is expected to replace virtually all of the US Attorneys after January 20.
First Ranked Candidates
Northern District Joyce Vance – Chief of the Appellate Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Alabama
Middle District Michel Nicrosi – Former Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of Alabama; also a Montgomery native
Southern District Vicki Davis – Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of Alabama; former federal district judge
Second Ranked Candidates
Northern District Jim Sturdivant – Attorney, Sirote & Permutt, PC; former Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Alabama
Middle District Joseph Van Heest – Attorney, Law Office of Joseph P. Van Heest, LLC; former federal public defender
Southern District Patrick Sims – Attorney, Cabaniss, Johnston, Gardner, Dumas & O’Neal LLP; former U.S. magistrate judge
Please take a careful look at that list and note that the name of Leura Canary, currently US Attorney for the Middle District, does not appear anywhere on the list, pretty effectively giving the lie to recent unfounded rumors that Artur Davis would recommend Obama retain Canary in that position.
Some report elsewhere whatever is told them; the measure of fiction always increases, and each fresh narrator adds something to what he has heard.
-- Ovid
It's no secret that Congressman Artur Davis (D, AL-07) is not so quietly considering a run for Governor of Alabama in 2010. Some folks think that's a great thing, others wish Davis would just stay in Congress and let some other Democrat have a clear field in 2010. Given the situation, it's probably inevitable that a few folks would rather start rumors about Davis -- and hope to have them repeated on blogs and in more traditional media -- than argue the merits of potential candidates or even the benefit of having a spirited contest of ideas in a primary.
I spoke with Congressman Davis this morning and he pushed back vigorously at several rumors making the rounds in Alabama political circles. Our conversation will also be the basis for some additional posts, but let's deal with the most widespread rumors today, the ones involving appointment of U.S. Attorneys in Alabama, the investigation into alleged selective prosecution by the DoJ and whether Davis' interest in the 2010 governors race is sincere.
Follow me to the across the fold and we'll go point by point.
Karl Rove's BFF, U.S. Attorney Leura Canary is in trouble. Time Magazine reports she did not recuse herself from the Siegelman case. In 2007, a Middle District staffer turned emails over to House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers. The emails document Canary giving direction in the Siegelman prosecution:
The documents — whose authenticity is not in dispute — include e-mails written by Canary, long after her recusal, offering legal advice to subordinates handling the case. At the time Canary wrote the e-mails, her husband — Alabama GOP operative William J. Canary — was a vocal booster of the state's Republican governor, Bob Riley, who had defeated Siegelman for the office and against whom Siegelman was preparing to run again.
Conyers forwarded the new evidence to the Department of Justice. A spokesman for U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey says, "the department will review the letter." No comment from the Middle District.
THE RAW STORY has confirmed that Leura Canary, the US Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama is under investigation by the Department of Justice. She's the attorney who instigated the Siegelman prosecution in Montgomery. The Middle District offices are also being probed.
Individuals close to the investigation, who spoke under condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak about the inquiry, would not discuss which specific issues OPR is investigating in Canary’s case.
Leura Canary was appointed by President Bush as U.S. Attorney for the Middle District. Her husband is a friend of Karl Rove and consultant of current Governor Bob Riley.
Ms. Canary’s office investigated Siegelman and timed indictments to crush Democratic chances in Alabama's gubernatorial elections. Also,
Canary has stated she recused herself from the Siegelman case, but no evidence has been furnished by the Justice Department to prove that Ms. Canary did in fact recuse herself.
At long last, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has granted Don Siegelman's request to be released on bond while his appeal is pending. It took 9 months, almost to the day, for the 11th Circuit to make this decision. The former Governor of Alabama will be released from prison -- apparently in time to go to Washington and testify under oath before the House Judiciary Committee.
Prosecutor Louis Franklin was "disappointed."
Personally, I'm just fine with that. Maybe this means the DoJ is going get some of that Sunshine Disinfectant we hear is so effective.
... the 11th Circuit granted Siegelman's release in a four page order which states Siegelman had raised a "significant question" about his conviction.
Emphasis mine.
Programming note:No Comment blogger Scott Horton will be on MSNBC's Verdict with Dan Abrams tonight at 8 o'clock. Scott won't be on at 8, but the program starts at 8 -- you know what I mean.
Scott Horton understands the political motivation behind U. S. Attorney Alice Martin's investigation into Alabama's two-year college system and it's focus on members of the state legislature and their families.
... the menace that imperils the very existence of the state consists of corrupt school teachers and junior college personnel. Of course what this is all really about is something different. It’s all about the Republican Party’s campaign to take control of the Alabama state legislature, in which 11 Democrats hold significant positions in junior colleges and a still greater number hold a minor relationship. The zeal and simple number of moving parts in this juggernaut are fascinating to watch.
He pegs Martin's role beautifully:
Alice Martin will be the Republican Party’s deus ex machina, turning back the surging Democrats, and insuring that the G.O.P. finally takes control of the legislature, for the first time since Reconstruction.
What Horton doesn't mention, and what some people may not have realized yet, is that we won't have Alice Martin to kick around that much longer. Unless Bush declares martial law, he's out of office next January 20th and Martin won't be far behind. Cleaning house at the Justice Department will be an early priority for President Clinton or Obama. Even President McCain would be sure to replace tainted U.S. Attorneys as soon as possible -- he may stick with Bush's Iraq policy but McCain would need to put distance between himself and Mr. 30% on domestic issues or risk becoming the next Mr. 30%.
So Alice Martin is sure to be looking for work in about a year and unless her successor shares an interest in education, there won't be a lot of legislators indicted in 2009. The rest of the two year college indictments can't trickle out over the next 12 to 18 months because Martin just doesn't have that kind of time. All the Democrats currently in her crosshairs need to be indicted well before the end of 2008 or they might not be indicted at all. Look for a flurry of activity in the next few months -- the legislative session is probably prime time.
Can legal proceedings still drag out until 2010 for maximum effect on legislative races? Sure, unless the next DoJ decides prosecuting schoolteachers is a poor use of resources, in which case the Alabama GOP (and tame media) are sure to raise a hue and cry. Alice will be gone by then, but we'll still be living with the consequences of the most partisan Justice Department ever.
Have you been waiting for the long rumored 60 Minutes segment on the Siegelman case? Well, get used to it 'cause it sounds like the fix is in. Larisa Alexandrovna writes:
One other thing I heard a great deal about recently is that despite the valiant efforts of the journalists and producers who put 60 Minutes together, Governor Bob Riley is bragging to have squashed the expose via corporate channels. This would not be the first time the corporate owners of 60 Minutes caved to the pressures of big money and political pressure. I am, hoping, however that if the public remains aware of what is going on, CBS corporate will air the story. It is up to you to keep the pressure on.
Goff expects to be invited to appear before a House of Representatives subcommittee to tell his story. At the same time, his attorneys have appealed to the Justice Department to investigate his claims of a conspiracy and to call-off federal prosecutors who they believe are trying to indict Goff as part of a political vendetta.
It's worth watching this case if only because Leura Canary is involved here, too.
Meanwhile, two of Goff's attorneys, Thomas T. Gallion, III and Donald R. Jones, Jr., both of Montgomery, have written a 14-page letter to newly confirmed U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey. The letter asks the Justice Department to remove U.S. Attorney Leura Canary of the Middle District of Alabama, and anyone working under her direction from the ongoing federal investigation of Goff "because of her fatal and inescapable conflict of interest."
Gov. Bob Riley and former Lt. Governor Steve "the Jug" Windom are among the defendants named in Goff's suit alleging "a conspiracy to extort hundreds of thousands of dollars from Goff and [attempt] to steal Goff's multi-million dollar business and destroy him financially." From the Montgomery Advertiser:
Goff has sued Riley and others, accusing them of retaliation because he reported an alleged shakedown attempt by two men close to former Republican Lt. Gov. Steve Windom. Goff said the retaliation caused the collapse of one of his insurance companies.
The Riley administration, Windom and his associates have all denied wrongdoing.
Goff lawyer Thomas T. Gallion III of Montgomery said he has discussed the investigation with federal prosecutor Stephen P. Feaga.
"They're going to indict him," Gallion said.
Louis Franklin, criminal division chief in U.S. Attorney Leura G. Canary's office in Montgomery, said he cannot confirm or deny that Goff is under investigation.
Leura Canary, Steve Feaga and Louis Franklin -- sounds like the old Siegelman team is back together for this one.
For most Americans, the very concept of political prisoners is remote and exotic, a practice that is associated with third-world dictatorships but is foreign to the American tradition. The idea that a prominent politician -- a former state governor -- could be tried on charges that many observers consider to be trumped-up, convicted in a trial that involved numerous questionable procedures, and then hauled off to prison in shackles immediately upon sentencing would be almost unbelievable.
In this segment they go all the way back to 1998 and Bill Pryor's relationship with Bill Canary and Karl Rove. There's also a pretty good recap of the 2002 gubernatorial election vote count episode and Dana Jill Simpson's testimony. If enough people try to unravel this story, I'm convinced we'll eventually get a concise, comprehensible account of this complex saga. The chart with relationships helps, but I think they need a couple more players and some extra arrows on there.
The Raw Story series is on "the architects and execution of backroom Republican politics" and Part II will be an interview with the Governor's daughter, Dana Siegelman.
Here's some light reading for those of you following the Don Siegelman case.
In "Did Karl Rove Help Send an Innocent Man to Jail?" in the Washington Spectator, Lou Dubose finds parallels between the Siegelman case and Rove's involvement in the investigation that cut off Texas Ag Commissioner Jim Hightower's political hopes.
This wouldn't be the first time that Rove used contacts within the Justice Department to destroy the career of a political adversary. Siegelman's prosecution bears a striking familiarity to the FBI investigation of Texas Agriculture Commissioner Jim Hightower in 1990, and the conviction of two of his aides.
...
Don Siegelman's federal prosecutors were so closely associated with Karl Rove that there was enough conflict of interest to justify a change of venue to the Hague. Yet when Siegelman's defense attorneys raised the "conflict" issue, they were gaveled down. The judge refused to hear arguments that the prosecution was political. The only deference to partisan and ethical conflict was Leura Canary's recusal—and the assignment of the case to a junior attorney she supervised.
Speaking of Leura Canary, Scott Horton suggests she may be facing pressure to resign.
At the Congressional hearing on "Allegations of Selective Prosecution: The Erosion of Public Confidence in Our Federal Justice System" yesterday, Congressman Artur Davis mentioned a recent article in Time Magazine reporting that Lanny Young told investigators he made illegal contributions, not only to former Governor Don Siegelman, but to Republicans Jeff Sessions and Bill Pryor as well. Seemingly, prosecutors weren't interested in hearing about that -- they wanted to hear about Don Siegelman. Davis asserted this preferential interest in Siegelman wrongdoing indicated selectiveness on the part of the Department of Justice.
Unwilling to let that "selectiveness" charge stand, writers for the Birmingham News talked to someone who was involved in the case:
Ya'll just need to go read Scott Horton today. Who knew Leura was one of those Garretts, indeed!
Uncle Si had supported Patterson’s opponent, and he worked hard to swing the election by reworking some tally sheets in populous Jefferson County. Garrett had tried to convince the Democratic leadership that Patterson was linked to gambling interests; but in fact it was Si Garrett who had tight connections to the Phenix City organized crime nest. Patterson was a clean government candidate, and the organized crime interests were afraid of him. Still, the vote rigging scheme failed, and after some curious phone calls placed to Garrett out of Phenix City, Albert J. Patterson was mysteriously murdered. After he became the prime target of the murder investigation, Leura’s Uncle Si checked into an insane asylum in Texas to avoid prosecution.
There have been questions floating around the internet (at least) for quite a while as to Leura Canary's recusal from Don Siegelman's case. Best I can tell, those questions arose from a lack of documentation of the recusal -- apparently it's a formal process that involves legal papers. This definitely won't put those questions to rest:
The Justice Department is withholding 514 pages of documents related to the recusal of U.S. Middle District Attorney Leura Canary from her office's criminal investigation of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, according to correspondence between the department and an Alabaster attorney.
The Department of Justice initially told John Aaron, the Alabaster attorney who worked on Siegelman's 2006 gubernatorial campaign and requested the documents under the Freedom of Information Act, that it had no documents related to the recusal.
After Aaron appealed, the Justice Department's Executive Office for United States' Attorneys said it had 516 pages related to the case but would only release two -- Canary's 2002 news release announcing her recusal for personnel and privacy issues.
They just released the press release. Which he already had. A big chunk of the country has lost faith in the Justice Department and stuff like this doesn't help restore confidence. They need to reevaluate this request and err on the side of openness in releasing these documents, either to the House Judiciary Committee or to Mr. Aaron. Stonewalling just invites more questions about the Department's motives.
The same names keep coming up in Alabama politics, as they do in the Seigelman case. Are there so few political players in our state? If so, surely it's time to get some new names and faces involved. Until recently I did not realize that Steve Feaga, the Assistant U.S. Attorney who took over the Siegelman case after Leura Canary recused herself is the same person who handled the prosecution of former Gov. Guy Hunt in 1992. Several news articles have reported on the fact that he did not request jail time for Guy Hunt in 1992, even though he is asking that Don Siegelman be sentenced to 30 years in prison at the present time. Feaga says that is not really a change of heart, rather that the Alabama Attorney General did not want Feaga to seek a jail sentence for Hunt.
Who was this decent, merciful Alabama Attorney General in 1992? I had to look it up, but he was Democrat Jimmy Evans who held that office from 1991 until 1995. After the prosecution of Guy Hunt, AG Evans was persona non grata with Alabama Republicans. I came across this comment dated 7/2006 at Free Republic:
Folsom conspired with the 'Rat Attorney-General, Jimmy Evans, to depose Gov. Guy Hunt.
If they still remember him as the "Rat Attorney General" after he's been out of office over 10 years, think how reviled he must have been in Republican circles right after Hunt's trial.
T.H.E. Social Work Agency Adoption home studies & care management services in the North Alabama area.
Licensed, certified, caring social workers. blog advertising is good for you
Is the Middle District of Alabama finally going to get a new nominee for U.S. Attorney, almost a year after Barack Obama was sworn in as President?
When gubernatorial candidate Rep. 
THE RAW STORY
At long last, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has 
