Through a fascinating piece in the Wisconsin State Journal from Saturday, we may be beginning to get some answers to the questions of whether Wisconsin's US attorney Steven Biskupic pressed an investigation of state worker Georgia Thompson and got her convicted in order to embarrass Governor Doyle who was running for reelection. She had allegedly steered state travel contracts toward supporters of Governor Doyle but was acquitted by the 7th Circuit Court last Thursday after just 26 minutes of oral testimony. As yet, state Democrats have been reluctant to directly accuse Biskupic of politicizing the case, but the circumstances and timing of the case definitely seem fishy.
From The New York Times:
"Beyond thin" indeed. I've long thought that the most revealing part of the entire US Attorney firings scandal was not the 8 US attorneys who were fired for unacceptable momentary lapses of competence, but rather what the other 85 US attorneys had to do in order to keep their jobs. Which federal prosecutors offices aren't cesspools of corruption?
UPDATE: It appears even Biskupic wasn't a big enough hack for Karl Rove. Although this is only speculation, he may have been on the chopping block much for the same reason as Iglesias, for not pursuing voter fraud allegations from Milwaukee during the 2004 elections.
From The New York Times:
The prosecution was a boon to Mr. Doyle’s opponent. Republicans ran a barrage of attack ads that purported to tie Ms. Thompson’s “corruption” to Mr. Doyle. Ms. Thompson was sentenced shortly before the election, which Governor Doyle won.
The Chicago-based United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit seemed shocked by the injustice of her conviction. It took the extraordinary step of releasing Ms. Thompson from prison immediately after hearing arguments, without waiting to issue a ruling. One of the judges hinted that Ms. Thompson may have been railroaded. “It strikes me that your evidence is beyond thin,” Judge Diane Wood told the lawyer from Mr. Biskupic’s office.
"Beyond thin" indeed. I've long thought that the most revealing part of the entire US Attorney firings scandal was not the 8 US attorneys who were fired for unacceptable momentary lapses of competence, but rather what the other 85 US attorneys had to do in order to keep their jobs. Which federal prosecutors offices aren't cesspools of corruption?
UPDATE: It appears even Biskupic wasn't a big enough hack for Karl Rove. Although this is only speculation, he may have been on the chopping block much for the same reason as Iglesias, for not pursuing voter fraud allegations from Milwaukee during the 2004 elections.
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