Gonzales, Simpson Make ABA Lawyers of the Year List
Disgraced former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales may be the choice of the American Bar Association for top news maker lawyer of 2007, but watch out for Alabama's Jill Simpson in 2008.
Alberto Gonzales
"The most talked-about attorney this past year by a mile, according to the ABA Journal, "was Gonzales, 52, who rose from being the grandson of illegal immigrants to the first Hispanic attorney general of the United States.
"George W. Bush appeared to be grooming the man he affectionately calls “Fredo” for the U.S. Supreme Court. But after Gonzales appeared veracity-challenged when testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, he resigned in August.
"Gonzales went from 'Latino Lawyer of the Year' in 1999 to become the subject of several investigations involving use of the Justice Department as a political tool.
"Before becoming attorney general, Gonzales authored - or at least authorized as White House general counsel - a memo describing the Geneva Conventions as “quaint” and presided, at least nominally (see David Addington), over what now appears to have been a stealth campaign to reinstate pre-Watergate presidential authority.
"His determination to do so is epitomized in a now-infamous hospital-room meeting with an incapacitated John Ashcroft in an unsuccessful effort to gain approval for a secret wiretapping program. The highlight: Ashcroft’s wife sticking her tongue out at Gonzales and his entourage as they retreated from Ashcroft’s bedside."
New Attorney General Michael Mukasey also made the list for 2008, but here's what the journal says about our own...
Dana Jill Simpson
"As a Republican party activist and attorney, Simpson worked on Alabama Gov. Bob Riley’s gubernatorial campaign, but later shocked her GOP friends by accusing Karl Rove, President Bush’s former top political adviser, of instigating and influencing the prosecution of Riley’s chief Democratic adversary.
"Simpson’s claim, made under oath, has thus far stayed out of the national media spotlight. But that could well change if Democrats pursue, as threatened, hearings about the firing of eight U.S. attorneys. Simpson’s allegation links the White House to the corruption case against former Democratic Gov. Don Siegelman, who is now serving an 88-month sentence.
"In a 143-page sworn statement to the House Judiciary Committee, Simpson says she learned of Rove’s involvement during a campaign conference call, and also alleges that Riley helped stack the deck against the former governor by assigning a hanging judge to oversee Siegelman’s case. Riley has denied her allegations, telling Time magazine last fall: “Ms. Simpson’s statements have gone from being not only untrue to absurd and ridiculous.” Whatever the case, Simpson could be telling her story before the white hot lights of a congressional hearing.
"She will be talked about, whether or not she is believed," the journal editors conclude.
But of course they also honor Lewis "Scooter" Libby.
Comments
Dana Simpson needs to go down in the books as an attorney to be honored. To tell the truth and stand up to let the whole country speaks highly for this attorney. Our United States needs to take notice and we need more people who are not afraid to stand up for what is right!
Posted by: Sarah Smith | December 12, 2007 09:15 AM
whatever happened to Simpson? haven't heard about her in months.
Posted by: Tim | December 13, 2007 03:17 AM
High ranking state and federal Republican officials in Alabama are above the law; Bush has instructed his new Attorney General appointee not to investigate corruption in Alabama.
The GOP is deeply involved in the Jack Abramoff and Michael Scanlon scandal. Lobbyist Jack Abramoff who was a major GOP campaign fund raiser has almost 400 recorded visits to the White House. The documented prison confessions by these two along with these White House records have recently been declared secret by Bush and is being withheld by the White House. Abramoff and Lobbyist Scanlon con over sixty million dollars from the six Indian tribes that ran gambling Casinos. Abramoff also arranged secret meetings for foreign businesses and governments with the White House where Bush granted government and military favors in exchange for major campaign contributions to Bush supporters.
Now the GOP in Alabama has to depend on T. Roth and W. Canary to deal with the Choctaw Indians directly. The Choctaws aren’t the only ones that they are using scare tactics on. The GOP depends on contributions from large businesses in return for political favors. They also depend on kickbacks from military/government contractors. Some contractors in Alabama are charging tax payers as much as 80% over costs.
“THE ALABAMA GOP MISSION STATEMENT”
-We will support our present U.S. Republican senators, our U.S. Republican congressmen and our Republican governor.
-We will support our high ranking Republican judges, our Republican attorney generals and our three republican newspapers owned by Newhouse/Advance Publications, Inc. that persecutes and prosecutes those darn Democrats that keeps getting in the way.
Posted by: J Rhodes | January 4, 2008 10:57 AM