Another Rove story involving dirty tricks? Who would have thought.

Karl Rove 60 Minutes Expose: GOP Operative Explains Smear Campaign

The Huffington Post | February 22, 2008 01:11 AM
Read More: 60 Minutes Rove Scandal, Alabama Governor Rove, Karl Rove 60 Minutes, Karl Rove Cbs, Karl Rove Cbs News, Karl Rove Smear, Rove 60 Minutes, Rove Cbs, Rove Siegelman 60 Minutes, Rove Smear 60 Minutes, Scott Pelley Rove,

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"A Republican operative in Alabama says Karl Rove asked her to try to prove the state's Democratic governor was unfaithful to his wife in an effort to thwart the highly successful politician's re-election," CBS's Scott Pelley reports for 60 Minutes. "Rove's attempt to smear Don Siegelman was part of a Republican campaign to ruin him that finally succeeded in imprisoning him, says the operative, Jill Simpson."

Simpson speaks to Scott Pelley in her first television interview, to be broadcast on "60 MINUTES" Sunday, Feb. 24, at 7 p.m. ET/PT, on the CBS Television Network.

Simpson spoke to Pelley because, she says, Siegelman's seven-year sentence for bribery bothers her. She recalls what Rove, then President Bush's senior political adviser, asked her to do at a 2001 meeting in this exchange from Sunday's report.

"Karl Rove asked you to take pictures of Siegelman?" asks Pelley.

"Yes," replies Simpson.

"In a compromising, sexual position with one of his aides," clarifies Pelley.

"Yes, if I could," says Simpson.

Simpson found no evidence of infidelity "despite months of observation," CBS reports.

But the case goes far beyond lurid photos. Simpson, the GOP operative, alleged in a sworn statement to the House Judiciary Committee last year that "she heard a close associate of Rove say that the White House political adviser 'had spoken with the Department of Justice' about 'pursuing' Don Siegelman, a former Democratic governor of Alabama, with help from two of Alabama's U.S. attorneys. Siegelman was later indicted on 32 counts of corruption, convicted on seven of them, and is currently serving an 88-month sentence in Federal prison."

Time magazine reported:

If Simpson's version of events is accurate, it would show direct political involvement by the White House in federal prosecutions -- a charge leveled by Administration critics in connection with the U.S. attorney scandal that led to the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. But her account is disputed; those who she alleges told her about Rove's involvement during a G.O.P. campaign conference call claim that no such conversation took place. Rove himself has not responded to Simpson's allegations, which are clearly based on second-hand information, and the White House has refused to comment while Siegelman's case remains on appeal.

Also in the sworn statement, Simpson...

...recalls conversations in early 2005 with Rob Riley, Jr., son of Alabama's current Republican governor, over his father's coming gubernatorial race, in which Siegelman appeared to be the top Democratic challenger. The younger Riley, she says, told her that his father and Bill Canary, the state's top Republican political operative and a longtime friend of Rove, contacted Rove in late 2004, after which he intervened with the Justice Department's Public Integrity section to push for criminal prosecution of Siegelman. Months later, in May 2005, Siegelman was indicted, setting off a chain of events that led to his imprisonment and the end of his political career.

Simpson also claims Riley, Jr., named the judge who would eventually be assigned to the case, and says Riley told her the judge would "hang Don Siegelman" because of a grudge against the former governor.

and the 60 minute preview: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/2 ... 87925.html

this calls for...

Here's the 60 Minutes clip:

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/02/2 ... siegelman/

Is no one going to bring up the fact that at least one CBS affiliate in Alabama "mysteriously" lost signal during the Siegelman piece last night and then blamed CBS in New York for the glitch (which CBS in New York denies)?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/2/25 ... /18/463728

Here's a better piece on the censorship.

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/0 ... yt&emc=rss

That's good...thanks for the link

Karl Rove is a lying sack of a shit:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/2 ... 88411.html

Here's the full clip from 60 Minutes:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/02/ ... 9830.shtml

Completely unreal politicization of democracy by the Bush Administration once again. I can't wait until these fuckers get buried.

Dan Abrams w/ Jill Simpson last night:

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/02/2 ... siegelman/

What I don't understand is that if these allegations are so serious, why can't Congress get Rove to testify? The Bush Administration has their claws so far up the Alabama GOP's asses it's completely surreal. It's like we're living under a third world dictatorship. These people need to be brought down.

So, just out of curiousity. Where does this rank along side Eliot Spitzer using the state police against political opponents? Why is this so awful anyway? I don't get it. Oh my gosh, politicians digging up dirt on other politicians. Wow.

Did you not read the story? Of course you didn't. It has to do with the Justice Department going after Spieglman over what amounts to next to nothing. It was a false bribery charge. They questioned a witness with a criminal history 70 times before they got what they wanted. 50 US Attorneys wrote to Congress to re-examine this case. This is pretty serious business. I'm sorry you somehow feel the need to continue defending this corrupt group of bastards.

I don't think Spitzer got a free ride in the press, or around here for that matter.

Looks like Alabama let Spiegelman go after the uproar over his false conviction:

60 Minutes: Gov. Siegelman challenges Rove to testify under oath
By: SilentPatriot on Monday, April 7th, 2008 at 12:01 PM - PDT



http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/04/0 ... nder-oath/

So did this guy really break the law? If so, why should he get out just because Rove exposed him? Seems kind of silly to me.

LittleWing...that's not why they let him out. Not even close.

Where does it even say that's why he was let out

Well, the sign says "Free Don Siegelman." Seems like someone wants him free, and seems like you think it's bullshit. I'm just curious as to what the whole story is. I mean, if the guy broke the law, the guy broke the law. It's not Rove made him break the law.

You either don't understand, or you're being willfully difficult.

He "broke the law" according to some incredibly dubious prosecution on behalf of the Justice Department, which is detailed rather thoroughly in the 60 Minutes segment, and here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Siegelman

So even before that, Karl Rove had Republican operatives in Alabama try to photograph him cheating on his wife. As you know, Rove has a documented history of politicizing the Department, notably in the 9 US Attorney firings last year. Now when FIFTY U.S. Attorneys, Republican and Democrat, write to Congress to re-examine the circumstances while the guy is sitting in jail, there's something terribly fishy about the way his case was handled. Again, you can follow the links. And why was someone from the White House involved in a remarkably questionable prosecution of a popular governor from another political party? There are too many other unanswered questions, namely why the Justice Department was questioning a witness with a criminal history some 70 times so they can get the "dirt" on Siegelman - dirt which apparently didn't even make Siegelman's "bribery" illegal to begin with.

Fortunately, a Federal Court wisely chose to rule that Siegelman could be free while he appeals his case. And this case won't go anywhere, you can probably bet your life on it.

littlewing crazy.

Of course I think he should go free. It was bullshit to begin with. Karl Rove is the idiot who got duped into taking a picture with that sign.