State and Regional News

MONTGOMERY — An attorney for former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman wants a Justice Department watchdog office to look into the role of U.S. Attorney Leura Canary in Siegelman's case, including 500 pages of documents about her recusal being kept secret by the department.

Siegelman's chief attorney, Vince Kilborn, made the request in a letter Monday to the Office of Professional Responsibility, which is investigating allegations that the prosecution of Siegelman, a Democrat, was politically motivated.

Canary is the wife of Bill Canary, a Republican Party operative with ties to former White House political adviser Karl Rove and Alabama's Republican Gov. Bob Riley. She recused herself in 2002 after the investigation of Siegelman had begun.

"Investigators should determine why she was ever involved in the investigation of Governor Siegelman, given the obvious conflict of interest," Kilborn wrote.

He asked OPR to determine if Canary played a role in the prosecution after recusing herself. And he told OPR's head, H. Marshall Jarrett, that the office should review about 500 pages of documents about Canary's recusal that the Justice Department has refused to release.

Kilborn said the letter was in response to one from Justice Department officials informing Kilborn of the OPR investigation and asking Siegelman's attorneys for input.

"I want them to look at everything," Kilborn said. "The burden ought to be on the Justice Department to prove there was no politicization."

Canary said Tuesday she welcomes the OPR investigation. "I have requested that OPR look into all aspects of the case and very much welcome their looking into my recusal," Canary said.

Justice Department spokesman Peter Carr said Tuesday he could not comment on an ongoing investigation.

Kilborn's letter included a list of areas that "deserve deep inquiry."

Along with Leura Canary's role, Kilborn asked OPR to look into why a key witness against Siegelman at his 2006 trial, former aide Nick Bailey, apparently received extensive coaching before he testified. Kilborn also asked OPR to find out why allegations another key witness made concerning Republican elected officials were never followed up on by investigators.

The government witness, lobbyist and landfill developer Lanny Young, testified he provided gifts and cash to Siegelman in exchange for government favors. Kilborn said Young also told investigators about gifts, including plane rides, that he provided to prominent Republican officials, including former Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor and U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions. But, Kilborn said in his letter, "investigators demonstrated no similar interest in following up."

Siegelman and former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy were convicted in 2006 of bribery and other charges. Scrushy is serving an almost seven-year sentence at the federal penitentiary in Beaumont, Texas. Siegelman was sentenced to more than seven years and is free on an appeal bond.

Kilborn said he is skeptical of the Justice Department. In his letter, he mentions the recent acknowledgment by the department that that defense was not told for more than a year that U.S. postal inspectors had investigated e-mails purportedly sent between jurors during the trial and had determined the e-mails to be fakes.

Kilborn said that incident "may well be only the tip of the iceberg of behavior that may violate various ethical standards and norms."

"Your office has the tools to get to the bottom of this matter, and more important has the tools ... to find out what else we have not been told," Kilborn said in the letter.