Proof Mounts of Impropriety by Feds in Siegelman Case

US Attorney continued to guide case after recusing herself over GOP ties
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 14, 2008 2:40 PM CST
Proof Mounts of Impropriety by Feds in Siegelman Case
Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman arrives at the federal courthouse in Montgomery, June 27, 2007.   (AP Photo)

New court documents call further into question the actions of Justice Department officials in their prosecution of former Alabama governor Don Siegelman on corruption charges, Time reports. With the Democrat’s appeal scheduled for next month, the House Judiciary Committee disclosed violations by the Bush-appointed US Attorney, Leura Canary, who publicly recused herself from the case but continued to privately advise prosecutors.

Canary recused herself in 2002 because of her husband’s ties to Siegelman’s gubernatorial rival and GOP operative Karl Rove, but mails from a DOJ whistleblower show her managing the Siegelman prosecution from afar. “A recused United States Attorney should not be providing factual information to the team working on the case under recusal,” House Judiciary Committee chairman John Conyers wrote last week. (More Don Siegelman stories.)

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