DOJ on Siegelman: Nothing to See Here

The Justice Department doesn’t think much of Dana Jill Simpson’s affidavit implicating Karl Rove in the decision to prosecute former Gov. Don Siegelman (D-AL), according to a letter Paul discussed yesterday. In the letter, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski took a number of swipes at Simpson’s credibility.

Simpson, an Alabama native and Republican lawyer, signed a sworn statement this spring saying she was part of a Gov. Bob Riley (R-AL) campaign conference call in 2002 discussing how to get Siegelman to concede the close election. Simpson said that one caller, Bill Canary, offered that his “girls would take care of him” — referring to his wife Leura Canary, a US attorney in Alabama, and her friend, another US attorney in the state. Canary also assured the group that he and Rove had previously discussed Siegelman and that Rove made sure the DoJ was pursuing the former governor.

Benczkowski attempted to dismiss Simpson’s claim, saying:

In the affidavit, Ms. Simpson claims to have overheard statements she attributes to U.S. Attorney Leura Canary’s husband. The national media interpreted the alleged statements as linking the prosecution of former Governor Siegelman to Karl Rove.

At the time Ms. Simpson alleges the purported statements were made, Mr. Siegelman was already under federal investigation. The existence of the investigation had been widely reported in newspapers and television reports, some released more than ten months before the alleged conversation. The alleged conversation described by Ms. Simpson has been denied by all of the alleged participants except Ms. Simpson.

A couple of things to note about this. It says Simpson claims she “overheard” statements, though she actually says she was an active member on a campaign strategy call. And more importantly, Simpson said in her affidavit that the investigation of Siegelman was already underway. DOJ’s insistence that the Siegelman probe began before the call does not contradict her set of facts. The question about the seed of that probe remains.

Simpson is set to give closed-door testimony before the House Judiciary Committee Friday.