Posted by Wheeler looks at the Anthony Castaldo perjury trial and smells something funny, too. He includes a detail I had overlooked in the Birmingham News account: Jefferson County DA David Barber charged Castaldo with perjury after “Troy King’s office pointed out [Castaldo's] 2005 testimony in material sent last year” to Barber’s office, according to testimoy.
That testimony does make it appear that Troy King’s office had it in for Castaldo. Castaldo’s defense was that he was being persecuted because he wouldn’t help King with information that could be used in the AG race last fall against John Tyson, King’s opponent and Castaldo’s former boss. The jury acquitted in “about 45 minutes.”
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[...] You may remember the story of Anthony Castaldo, an investigator for Attorney General Troy King, who was charged with perjury and quickly acquitted. Castaldo claimed that the charges stemmed from his refusal to give Troy King any information that the Republican King could use against Democratic opponent John Tyson in the 2006 Attorney General race. (Castaldo had once worked for John Tyson.) As Castaldo’s lawyer said, Castaldo was “refusing to do political things” for King and his staff. [...]
[...] Attorney General Troy King demonstrates that politics can be personal with him (e.g. with Tony Castaldo and Robbie Owens), but that doesn’t mean its smart. Continuing to goad district attorneys around the state by sending critical news releases naming individual DA’s who took a public stance opposing King on the Robbie Owens issue, well, it simply does not feel politically astute. [...]