Don Siegelman's book released

Former Alabama Democratic Governor Don Siegelman’s new book, “Stealing our Democracy,” is now in stores. Siegelman’s memoir alleges that his prosecution on corruption charges was based on prosecutorial misconduct by the George W. Bush (R) Department of Justice.

Siegelman was sentenced to 88 months in federal prison, served five years, with long stretches of solitary confinement. Siegelman appealed the conviction and was out for years pending appeals. No federal appeals court ever found in favor of Siegelman so the whole drama, which was featured on the CBS news-entertainment show ’60 Minutes’ at the time, dragged out into a decade. President Barack H. Obama (D) refused Siegelman’s pleas for a presidential pardon. His sentence was finally commuted by the incoming Donald J. Trump administration in 2017.

Siegelman claims that he was a literal political prisoner cut off from media interviews and outside contact.

Stealing Our Democracy claims that the Department of Justice was used as a political weapon to strip him of his freedom and his career. Siegelman’s victory over incumbent Gov. Fob James (R) in 1998 was the first victory by a Democratic nominee in an Alabama gubernatorial race since George C. Wallace (D) in 1982. Siegelman’s narrow defeat by Congressman Bob Riley, R-Ashland, in 2002 limited Siegelman’s tenure to just one term. Siegelman ran for governor again in 2006; but the Bush Administration’s indictments against him weighed down his candidacy and he lost the Democratic primary to Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley (D). Ms. Baxley was trounced by Riley as has every Democratic nominee for governor since then. Siegelman’s defenders claim that his conviction, “Brought Alabama’s era of progressive Democratic populism to an end.”

Read more: https://www.alreporter.com/2020/06/17/don-siegelmans-book-released/