Crooks and Liars
Oct 5th, 2007 at 1:29 pm by Susie
Can’t wait to read this:
“I’ve never seen anything quite like this,” remarked a nationally known print journalist in a conversation three weeks ago. “Everything I’ve been told by the convicted defendants checks out as the gospel truth. And everything I’m told by federal prosecutors who pushed the case turns out either to be an outrageous lie or at least a very serious distortion. And the local journalists who wrote the most about the case all behave like they’re accessories after the fact in a criminal investigation.”
Welcome to the Siegelman case. And this week the cover will be pulled back further on the fraudulent criminal prosecution launched by U.S. Attorney Leura Canary, wife of the state’s G.O.P. campaign kingpin, and attorneys working for her. On Thursday of next week, the House Judiciary Committee will conduct its first hearings ever dealing with politically motivated prosecutions. And center stage will be occupied by the corrupt trial and conviction of Alabama Governor Don E. Siegelman.
Today, Time Magazine delivers us a tiny appetizer for the feast which is approaching. It publishes as its cover story for the next issue the first pieces of its research project looking at the Siegelman case. Time poses the question: Was this a politically motivated prosecution? And it answers the question: Yes.
Imagine. It turns out several prominent Republicans were identified by witnesses - but they only went after the Democratic governor:
Those raising complaints of criminal conduct on the part of senior Alabama Republicans with the U.S. Attorney’s office in Montgomery are told in plain terms that the Justice Department is not interested in the accusations. And if they persist, they quickly become the targets of threats. In one case, it was asserted, a threat was leveled that a grand jury would be empaneled and an indictment sought: against the person raising the corruption charges.
Republicans prosecuting people based on politics? I’m shocked. But I bet Susan McDougald isn’t.
And then there are the cases of Republicans not prosecuting people,
based on politics.
Crooks & Liars is what’s known as a left gatekeeper blog. Their job is discourse control, keeping the discussion within parameters “safe” for the regime, while simultaneously giving simpletons the illusion that America has free, open discourse. It’s part of the overall programme of perception management, and serves roughly the same purpose as other well-known and lesser-known left gatekeeper blogs like Daily Kos, Democratic Underground, MyDD, Moxie Grrrl, Cannonfire, Huffington Post, Mother Jones, Sadly No!, The American Prospect etc.