Fieger Acquitted

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Like any big scandal, the US Attorney firing scandal had any number of tendrils and vines stretching out from the main body of the plant. In this particular story some of the most interesting were a series of prosecutions of Democrats around the country which may or may not have been evidence of the push for politicized prosecutions that got those other US Attorneys fired. The shining example seems to be that of former Gov. Don Siegelman (D) of Alabama, which is still playing out. Then there was the case against Dr. Cyril Wecht, the high-profile coroner of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

Then there was the case of Geoffrey Fieger, who you probably know best as the longtime lawyer for Dr. Jack Kevorkian, but is also a reasonably high-profile Dem and was actually the Democratic nominee for governor of Michigan in 1998. Feiger was indicted last year for allegedly making more than $100,000 in illegal campaign contributions to John Edwards’ 2004 presidential campaign.

Late last year, during pre-trial proceedings Fieger’s attorneys convinced the federal district judge in the case that there was at least some reason to think that politics may have been behind the prosecution. And today a jury acquited Fieger of all charges.

I try to assume as little as possible about the intent behind these various prosecutions. Some cases like the Siegelman prosecutions I’ve looked very closely at. And I’ve always thought that that one stunk to high heaven. This case I know less about. But a jury of Fieger’s peers seems to have thought this one didn’t pass muster. And there was so much corruption in the Gonzales DOJ that, for better or worse, every indicted Democrat under his reign (or probably more fair to say Bush’s and Rove’s) has a presumption in his or her favor.

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