Don Siegelman to Be Released from Prison

Posted by GottaLaff , Cliff Schecter's Blog at 4:14 AM on March 28, 2008.

Gather ’round, kiddies! It’s story time! Paddy, sit still! Bucky, stop pulling Kirsten’s hair! Clancy, L.A.Dave, put your wallets away, Eve is sneaking up behind you! Addington, do I have to take that Hillary bumper sticker away from you? You know how it annoys Fernando. Mainsailset, sit between them please. Settle down, everyone. Okay? Okay. Where was I? Oh yes… Once upon a time, there were …

...a series of cases in which it is alleged that the Justice Department brought charges to advance the political agenda of the Republican Party, and not for proper law enforcement purposes. The case surrounding Alabama Governor Don Siegelman is the centerpiece, and is still reckoned by most observers as the most overpowering case for prosecutorial abuse so far.

And guess what, kids! Karl Rove was involved! Yayyyy!

Now, boys and girls, there was a very, very important question that has never been answered:

Was the convicted charge a crime?

And what a question it was! Especially because there were partisan Republican political histories of both the prosecutors and the judge in the case! Can you say par-ti-san? I knew that you could. This is such a long story, I’ll let one of you give a Show and Tell Powerpoint about it next week, or just read this to us.

Gosharootie, what next? This!

Nearly two months after being ordered by an appellate court to explain his reasoning, a federal judge wrote Wednesday that he won’t allow former Gov. Don Siegelman out of prison while appealing his conviction because he doesn’t believe the conviction will be overturned.

Well guess what, children!

Former Gov. Don Siegelman will be released from prison, after the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals granted him an appeal bond, the lead prosecutor in the case said.

Hot dog! On “3″, everyone cheer! Ready? 1…2…3!!! Bucky, leave Kirsten alone! Do I have to turn this blog around? That’s better.

And as all LaffyTales do, this has a happy ending…

Hiram Eastland, one of Siegelman’s lawyers... said that today the appeals court had issued a “straightforward” four-page order simply finding that there were, indeed, “substantial questions” raised by Siegelman’s appeal. The ruling overruled the controversial finding by the district judge in the case, which had sent Siegelman immediately to prison after his conviction. Eastland said that Siegelman could be released as early as tonight or tomorrow morning at the latest. “We’re obviously very gratified that the court gave it that thoughtful consideration,” he said. “The governor is coming home!”

Siegelman’s release means, obviously, that the House Judiciary Committee won’t have to go through the trouble of getting Siegelman released for him to testify.

Okay, everyone out of the blog. You’re all grounded.

Tagged as: corruption, republicans, democrats, alabama, rove, siegelman

GottaLaff is a regular blogger for Cliff Schecter's Blog