Special Counsel shut down probe of Siegelman case last year

[FourScore]

Special Counsel shut down probe of Siegelman case last year
5/7/2008, 6:50 p.m. CDT
By BEN EVANS
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Office of Special Counsel last year shut down a previously undisclosed investigation into the federal prosecution of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, according to an internal memo made public Wednesday.

The investigation was being conducted by a task force formed at the agency a year ago to pursue high-profile political investigations in Washington, most notably whether the White House played politics in firing U.S. attorneys. It began gathering information on the Siegelman case in September and was planning to request documents from the Justice Department in October before Special Counsel Scott Bloch ordered the case closed, according to the Jan. 18 draft memo, made public by the Project on Government Oversight, a watchdog group.

The investigation was one of many that the task force had taken up, and the memo shows that Bloch frequently differed with investigators about which cases to pursue.

For example, he asked the task force to broaden its investigations into the fired prosecutors and into whether federal agencies received political briefings from the White House to boost GOP electoral fortunes. But he shut down an investigation into whether the Justice Department was hinging its hiring decisions on job applicants' political affiliations.

SNIP

The Special Counsel's office is an independent agency charged with investigating unlawful political activity by government employees and ensuring that government whistle-blowers are not subjected to reprisals.

The January memo is a summary of the task force's activities and recommendations since it was formed in May 2007. It says investigators expressed concerns about closing the Siegelman investigation before completing it. But the task force was "directed to not further investigate this case and to wait for further instructions."

The memo says the task force still considered the case open and was requesting authorization to continue.

"I'm stunned by all this," said Vince Kilborn, one of the former governor's attorneys. "If an ongoing government investigation was shut down, I would say it's potential obstruction of justice..."

http://www.al.com/newsflash/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-35/121019664657870.xml&storylist=alabamanews

[bill for obama]

1. Siegleman was on the radio a few days ago -

He said - no matter what - all roads lead to Rove. I am sure he is right.

That guy is right - and he (siegleman) is a lawyer, good enough to be governour - if he is right - watergate looks like a walk in the park -

There was a caller and he said - you can have congresional hearings in Alabama - the caller was very smart.

Took Siegleman off gaurd - He knew - that guy just hit the nail by the hammer. Brillant,

really. This may not get proper coverage on CNN - but it will in Alabama.

"Politics by other means" - thank you caller - sometimes the obvious is not so obvious.

These criminals -and that is what they are - need to meet justice. I never thought the what so important. Maybe the how is more important in the end.

These guys are criminals - and they covered their tracks so well. Maybe not this time though.