Monday, June 16, 2008

New York Times Weighs in on Siegelman Appeal

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals should take a skeptical view of the government's prosecution and conviction in the Don Siegelman case, according to an editorial in today's New York Times.

The Times notes that federal bribery statutes must be used carefully. Clearly, the paper states, the law requires an explicit quid pro quo for a bribery conviction. And The Times says the prosecution clearly did not meet that "something for something" standard in the case involving Siegelman, Alabama's former Democratic governor, and former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy.

In addition to saying the appellate court should look skeptically at the Siegelman/Scrushy conviction, The Times says Congress should compel former White House strategist Karl Rove to testify and it should continue to investigate what role might have played in the Siegelman case and other dubious prosecutions under the Bush Justice Department.

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