Guest blogged by Emily Levy of VelvetRevolution.us
[UPDATED by Brad Friedman, 12/12/09, 12:02pm PT]
The federal bribery convictions of Paul Minor, an influential Democratic donor and attorney from Mississippi, and several others have been overturned by the Fifth Circuit of Appeals. Critics of the Bush Administration’s Dept. of Justice have long charged that Minor’s prosecution, along with those of many other powerful Democrats, such as former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, were politically motivated and directly manipulated by Bush political operative Karl Rove.
Earlier this year, Velvet Revolution’s RestoreJusticeAtJustice.com campaign called on the Obama Administration’s Dept. of Justice to review all such prosecutions by their predecessors, and to vacate any that are found to have been politically motivated. [Disclosure: The BRAD BLOG is a co-founder of VR]
The Jackson Free Press has the details on the court’s finding overturning the “bribery” counts of Minor and a number of former judges found guilty in the same trial, after improper instructions were found to have been given to the jury by trial Judge Henry Wingate who also sat on Minor’s motion to be released during the appeal, even as his wife was dying from terminal cancer…
Attorneys representing the three argue that Judge Henry Wingate agreed to loosen the jury instructions so that jurors could decide to convict, even if there was no clear exchange of services, or quid pro quo, between the judges or Minor. All three had successfully fought back allegations of corruption in an earlier trial in which the jury instructions were more clearly defined.
Today the appeals court tossed the federal bribery charges connected to the 2007 trial, leaving intact only the charges of honest services fraud.
“As to Paul Minor, we REVERSE his conviction for conspiracy to commit federal program bribery under Count Two and his convictions for federal program bribery under Counts Twelve and Fourteen. We AFFIRM his convictions on all other counts. Because of our reversal as to Counts Two, Twelve, and Fourteen, his sentences on all counts are VACATED and the cause as to him is remanded for resentencing on all the remaining counts of conviction,” the court stated in its opinion.
Minor’s trial and conviction has been investigated over the years by reporters such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Brendan DeMelle, Legal Schnauzer’s Roger Shuler and RAW STORY’s Larisa Alexandrovna. Among other troubling aspects of the case, the Bush DoJ’s has opposed the release of Minor on furlough for the purpose of visiting his wife in the hospital who was dying of cancer. She passed in April, and Minor was allowed to visit only after she’d become largely too ill to recognize him. Such unusually aggressive tactics by the DoJ were highlighted by such critics as more evidence that the vendetta against the power Democratic attorney was a political one.
Alexandrovna has more information on the overturned conviction at RAW STORY where she highlights a comment from Columbia law professor Scott Horton:
Happy Hanukkah to all readers of The BRAD BLOG and those who are celebrating the first night of Hanukkah tonight. We’ve been advised that Hanukkah is a “Minor Holiday”, and — today at least — that now appears to be true!
Please sign on to VR’s RestoreJusticeAtJustice.com campaign to join the call for an investigation by the Obama DoJ of Bush-era political prosecutions.
For much more on the evidence of political prosecutions of Minor, Siegelman and many others by the Bush Administration, please see these important investigative articles by Alexandrovna and RAW STORY’s investigative team:
The Permanent Republican Majority Series
- Part One ““ The Political Prisoner
- Part Two ““ Exclusive interview with jailed governor’s daughter, Dana Siegelman
- Part Three ““ Running Elections from the White House
- Part Four ““ How Bush pick helped prosecute top Democrat-backed judge
- Part Five ““ Mississippi Justice: Bush US Attorney targeted my wife, supporters and friends
- Part Six – Break-ins plague targets of US Attorneys
- Part Seven – Justice for Sale: How Big Tobacco and the GOP teamed up to crush Democrats in the South
Updates to the PRM series
This is good news for Paul Minor. Unfortunately, the road ahead for Siegleman may be more difficult.
The remaining charge of Honest Services Fraud may be vacated by arguments being heard in front of the Supreme Court right now. The law covering Honest Services Fraud is extremely vaguely worded, and the SCOTUS, so far, seems very leery to allow the law to stand, as worded.
The decision may be good for Paul Minor, but it is bad for the rest of us. Weak laws make it almost impossible to prosecute politicians and judges for bribery. While state and USA laws fail to protect the public from corruption, they were made weak by the very people who would be prosecuted. Lawmakers, lawyers, judges, and politicians are not held to a higher standard of behavior as their ethical codes proclaim, they are held to a lesser standard. That lesser standard is that they have made corruption laws so weak, they get a free pass. Not only that, but they are given immunity. Go figure.
And what about whistleblower protection for those who risk everything to expose corruption?
Corruption will continue to flourish unless the public is protected by stronger, effective, and efficent laws and by effective protection for whistleblowers.