On Wednesday, former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy told Yellowhammer News that he and his legal team have obtained sworn affidavits and witness testimony that proves prosecutors in his bribery case withheld a high volume of exculpatory evidence.
Scrushy, who served nearly seven years in prison alongside former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, says new evidence shows Department of Justice prosecutors deliberately withheld information that would have proven his innocence.
Scrushy plans to divulge the details and documents at a press conference Thursday at 11 a.m. at the Frank M. Johnson Jr. Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Montgomery.
He’s calling on U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice to investigate the case as an example of “political prosecution” and “weaponization” of federal law enforcement. He also appealed to Pardon Czar Alice Marie Johnson to review his case.
Scrushy’s legal team contends that prosecutors violated Brady v. Maryland, the Supreme Court ruling requiring disclosure of all exculpatory evidence. Quoting from trial transcripts, Scrushy says the judge explicitly ordered prosecutors to turn over any such material, yet key documents and witness information were allegedly concealed.
In 2006, federal prosecutors argued that Scrushy’s monetary support for Siegelman’s lottery campaign constituted a quid pro quo — and that Siegelman, in turn, appointed Scrushy to the State Certificate of Need (CON) Review Board.
Throughout their trial, Siegelman and Scrushy both insisted there was no deal tying the donations to Scrushy’s reappointment and maintained that any donations from Scrushy were legal, routine campaign contributions, not bribes.
In June 2006, Scrushy and Siegelman were convicted. Scrushy was sentenced to nearly 82 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $267,000 in restitution.
Today, Scrushy claims new documents prove he was wrongly convicted of making those payments.
Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.
