Former Gov. Don Siegelman’s troubles with the legal system have been well chronicled. In 2006, Siegelman was convicted on federal felony corruption charges and sentenced to serve time in federal prison.
During an appearance on Birmingham radio’s Talk 99.5, Siegelman compared his situation to President Donald Trump, who for two years was under the scrutiny of a Department of Justice special counsel probe over allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Siegelman, a Democrat, said Trump was justified to question “political motives” of the prosecution and argued if offered, exculpatory evidence that might exonerate a target was being withheld.
“It sounds like treason as a Democrat saying this, but you know when Donald Trump was questioning the political motives of the investigators, he had reason to do that because prosecutors in the secrecy of a grand jury where there is no judge present and no defense lawyer to object to evidence or testimony, prosecutors are free to withhold exculpatory evidence – evidence that might free the defendant or the target,” Siegelman said during Wednesday’s “Matt & Aunie” radio program. “And they are capable of presenting witnesses who will present false evidence in exchange for a light sentence or recommendation of no time in prison at all.”
The former governor suggested a reform to the grand jury process that would it allow it to function much like a civil deposition.
“Trump had every reason, and still does, to raise questions about grand juries that are considering bringing charges against him,” he continued. “If we want to be fair to Donald Trump and to every defendant, one of the reforms that I hope to put before Congress – I have written about it and will continue to talk about it – is that targets of prosecutors should be allowed to have a lawyer present in the grand jury to object to evidence or testimony the same as they’re allowed to do in a civil deposition today, where that objection is taken to a magistrate, and a magistrate decides whether that evidence should be allowed to be presented.”
“Trump is on to something,” Siegelman added. “I don’t know if he intended to get on to it. But, we happened to be on the right side of this issue.”
@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University, the editor of Breitbart TV and host of “The Jeff Poor Show” from 2-5 p.m. on WVNN in Huntsville.
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