“Saying that Karl Rove is not involved in my prosecution is like saying George Bush is not involved in the war in Iraq,” former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman told Dan Abrams on the MSNBC show, “The Verdict,” on Monday. It was Siegelman’s first live interview after being released on bail from prison, where he was serving a seven-year term on federal corruption charges.

“I think the House and Senate Judiciary Committee should subpoena Karl Rove and bring him before those committees.”
- SiegelmanSiegelman, a Democrat, was convicted by a jury on charges that he traded a seat on a state board for a donation to the state education lottery. Siegelman insists that “not a penny of that money” went into his own pocket (and we can assume that if prosecutors had found otherwise, we’d know it by now). So, on the face of it, the quid pro quo here is far less corrupt than when a newly elected president gives a major donor an ambassadorship to, say, Luxembourg — a trade off that happens approximately every four years in this country.

Seigelman insists Karl Rove masterminded the prosecution by U.S. Attorneys from the political office in the White House in an effort to suppress the Democratic Party in Alabama:

ABRAMS: How are you so convinced that Karl Rove and Alabama Republicans were behind your prosecution?

SIEGELMAN: Well, number one, Karl Rove‘s fingerprints were all over this case. And you know, if you ask me, do we have the knife with his fingerprints on it, no, but we‘ve got the glove and the glove fits. And here‘s how.

In 1994, when Karl Rove was in Alabama trying to steal his first election, I voluntarily testified against his client. In 1999, his client starts an investigation of me and this goes on until 2001 when Bill Canary, who is a business associate and political partner of Karl Rove, his wife is appointed as a U.S. attorney and she starts a federal investigation.

ABRAMS: … You‘re alleging that Rove talks to his friend, who‘s that Bill Canary who‘s married to the U.S. attorney and it‘s a serious allegation you‘re making that he then effectively gets his wife to go after you?

SIEGELMAN: Well, I‘m telling you, the facts of this are that Rove‘s fingerprints are all over here - all over this case because his client investigated me, one of his friends, social friends started an investigation and prosecution of me that was dismissed after just a couple of days in court.

They went after me again, this time with the wife of Bill Canary—the wife of Karl Rove‘s business client and political associate. And, you know, it continues from there. When those investigations were faltering, the people who were holding back the investigation, a career Department of Justice employee was replaced, was replaced with someone who was the wife of the campaign manager of one of Karl Rove‘s clients … And then when that investigation was slowing down, they were called to Washington and they were told to go at Siegelman again.

Siegelman says Rove has strong connections into Alabama Republican politics:

SIEGELMAN: I believe that when you look at the totality of Rove‘s involvement in Alabama politics, his closeness with the two attorneys who brought charges against me, the fact that he was the political adviser to the attorney general who started the investigation and brought charges against me, the fact that the Justice Department went out of their way to ignore breaches of standards of ethics, violations of the law, someone was giving them an umbrella of protection.

Because we had investigators, we had assistant U.S. attorneys, we had the U.S. attorney herself, and we had representatives from the Public Integrity Division of the Department of Justice who were violating laws with impunity. There is no logical conclusion other than they had someone higher up than those people at the Public Integrity Division was offering them protection.

And I‘m saying that Karl Rove was definitely involved in this case.

Rove’s attorney says Karl would testify about his role in the Siegelman case, but Siegelman isn’t buying it:

ABRAMS: This may come as news though, governor, because we just got a response from [Rove’s] attorney tonight. I know that you called on Rove to testify in front of Congress about this case, under oath as did Dana Jill Simpson.

SIEGELMAN: Yes.

ABRAMS: We asked this question to his attorney. Will Karl Rove agree to testify if Congress issues a subpoena to him as part of an investigation into the Siegelman case?

The answer we got: “Sure. Although it seems to me that the question is somewhat offensive. It assumes he has something to hide, even though — Governor Siegelman‘s uncorroborated assertions aside — there‘s literally no credible evidence whatsoever to substantiate his charges.”

Putting that aside for a moment, he‘s saying, sure. I mean, Karl Rove wouldn‘t testify in the U.S. attorney scandal. His attorney sure sounds like he‘s saying, he‘s ready to testify if subpoenaed in connection with your case.

SIEGELMAN: Well, then, let‘s don‘t waste any time. I think the House and Senate Judiciary Committee should subpoena Karl Rove and bring him before those committees. Let him put his hand on the Bible and either tell the truth or lie under oath or plea (INAUDIBLE). Any of those scenarios will be fine with me.

ABRAMS: Are you surprised that Rove‘s attorney is saying he‘ll testify?

SIEGELMAN: I would be surprised if he does. I‘m not surprised that he would say that without getting a subpoena.

As with every other scandal in the Bush era, the biggest surprise will be if anything comes of Siegelman’s allegations at all.