Reversed "corruption" case may be related to partisan politics at DOJ

[Joanne98]

Thursday, April 05, 2007
Was Reversed Wisconsin "Corruption" Case Related to Partisan Politics at US DOJ? State Senator Suggests, Yes
http://faithfulprogressive.blogspot.com/2007/04/was-reversed-wisconsin-corruption-case.html

Paul Krugman has said that the biggest scandal in the hyper-partisan Bush/Gonzales US Justice Department is with the US Attorneys who are still in office, and not with those who were fired. That's quite a claim, given that some like David C. Iglesias were apparently fired for refusing to file trumped up political charges against Democrats. Was this deeper scandal a factor in a shocking turn of events today in Wisconsin--when a thin "corruption case" was reversed by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals? Democratic State Senator Bob Jauch appears to think so. But first, some details.

As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit has reversed the convictions of Georgia Thompson and ordered her released from prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in Milwaukee.

Thompson, a former state purchasing employee, was convicted of steering a travel contract to a company whose executives had given the campaign of Gov. Jim Doyle large contributions.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago heard the case on Thursday and issued a one-page order, overturning the convictions and ordering Thompson released from the federal prison in Illinois where she is being held. Thompson will remain free on a signature bond until the court of appeals issues a written explanation of its decision, which will be issued "in due course," the order said.

The case against Thompson appeared to be woefully thin: a state travel contract was given to a state vendor that was essentially the low-bid vendor (or tied with an out of state vendor). Many who followed the case, which figured prominently in the unsuccessful Republican candidate Mark Green's election campaign against Gov. Doyle, were shocked when a conviction was entered. It appeared to be a case of a US Attorney convicting the proverbial ham sandwich.

Except that Ms. Thompson is a real person, with NO political ties to the Democratic Governor (as I recall she had been hired by his Republican predecessor). As her attorney notes, she has lost a great deal from this matter. Is there a tie between the 7th Circuit's sharp rebuke of this conviction--they Ordered her release immediately today-after hearing the oral argument--and the hyper partisan US DOJ? A well-respected State Senator certainly suggests that it was.

Sen. Bob Jauch noted, "In overturning her conviction, the court has not only acknowledged the absence of evidence presented at trial, but has also concluded that election year politicking has no place in our courts."

Some people with a pay grade higher than this one person blog should look into whether Sen. Jauch, and Paul Krugman, are on to something.
posted by Faithful Progressive at 5:50 PM

http://faithfulprogressive.blogspot.com/2007/04/was-reversed-wisconsin-corruption-case.html

[DeepBlueC]

1. Krugman is right on

[enough]

2. Hair-raising story about Georgia Thompson.

Thanks for posting this.

[Joanne98]

3. Very welcome enough!