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Rumors have been circulating for some days about a grand jury investigation of Attorney General Troy King. Bob Gambacurta of the Montgomery Independent has has the skeleton of a story that leaves us wanting more. The Birmingham News has its story online here.
Some thoughts on the story…
- Why are some of these old matters being re-hashed now? Gifts from Alabama Power? Favors from Roy Johnson? Tony Castaldo? Re-assignment of security detail? These stories have been out there quite a while. Years in some cases. They may absolutely merit attention, but why not earlier?
- Why is not only Leura Canary, but the entire U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District, recusing itself?
- We’ve gotten indications that Alice Martin wants to stay on in her role of U.S. Attorney in the Northern District. Would King be a big enough fish to fry that she might stay on after all to see this investigation through?
- King’s Chief of Staff Chris Bence told the Birmingham News, “This is pretty much quite a shock. We are not aware that a grand jury of any kind was looking at anyone in our office.” But Gambacurta wrote:
When told of the evidence that had been gathered and that the grand jury was conducting an investigation and that he was the target, [King] responded, “Okay. I mean I have…okay,” and offered no further explanation.
Surely Bence had heard the rumors about the grand jury investigation (many others certainly had), the shock must be that they are apparently true.
- The part of the story that’s new to most of us? Questions about King’s relationship with gambling interests in the state.
We have the skeleton of the story; the grand jury may flesh it out for us.
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A good reason to rehash the old news is so the grand jury can see a pattern of inappropriate behavior or because the reporter needs something to pad out the article.
Check out King’s interview on WTVY, he flatly states supports the constitutional amendment proposed by the Sweet Home Alabama Coalition, just so it can be, of course, voted down or in the alternate, have a set of statewide laws on gambling.
Either way, an interesting spring is upon us.
The timing of this investigation and the timing of the leak are very interesting. I wonder if they have something to do with Eric Holder’s comment to the Advertiser that new U.S. Attorneys in Alabama will be named “soon” and other rumors that US Attorney nominations in Alabama are imminent.
I hear that Nancy Worley is outside Troy’s office this morning with a five-piece band belting out Broadway show tunes . . .
Looks like further evidence that if you cross riley, as king has on the gambling issue, you end up a target of federal prosecutors.
The only reason that everyone in the office would have recused is that no one in the office believed in the case, the same reason leura didn’t prosecute it before. Alice is still pissed at Troy and has been for some time now over screwing up the johnson dealings. My guess is that she is looking for a new job. Unseat troy – enter alice martin. Remember that I wrote it here first!
#5 that is patently ridiculous. Get back to your “job at the AG’s office.
Leura is married to BCA head Billy Canary which has been a very big donor to Troy. It was right for her to recuse – there is a very large conflict there.
There is no mystery about the recusals. They are playing it safe.
My job is with federal division not the state
And I’m not a prosecutor but I can believe this how alice martin would think. I think the editorial from the independent on riley taking 300k after appropriating 50 million to huntsville along with the mississippi money is going to be the subject of the first democrat grand jury. I just think this slop is going to get very slippery and one can only guess where it stops. Everything danny published is less than a 3 on a scale of 10. Political prosecutions are about to get even more frequent if this gets billed out of the grand jury.
Well when the Grand Jury finishes, Troy will probably be finished as well, regardless of outcome. This will put the connections between Troy and gambling (Milton McGregor, Country Crossings, etc.) into the public mind. And this will allow the alleged relationship with the male staffer to escape into mainstream media. He’s been very lucky to go this long without dealing with the rumors. He will have to deal with them now. And the drumbeat of ethics problems (the Power Compoany skybox, the personal entourage, the Stan Pate relationship) will all be dredged up and reinforced with voters.
Do you ever remember Bill Pryor having problems like these? Of course you don’t.
Hey “No” up in 7, okay, so Canary recuses herself because of a conflict. Why did the whole office recuse itself?
On other occasions like on the Siegelman case Canary recused herself on a case that her office handled.
Its hard to run for office from jail.
I love how they were “shocked.” Were they “shocked” when the attorney’s in his office were subpoenaed? Way to lie about something that doesn’t even matter.
It never seemed logical to me that an opponent of gambling would go out of his way to protect certain gambling establishments, current and proposed. His “how the law is written, not how I would like it to be” line never made sense to me considering how political he has made every other legal decision in his office. If King is in bed with McGregor and Matt Hart knows about it, there is little hope for Troy.
No.3 = very funny
of course king supports letting the people of the state vote…thats what a decent elected official does….many have seem to have forgot that part of politics..maybe they get reminded come election time.
No. 3, a five piece chicken bucket would be more like it
Maybe a TWENTY five piece chicken bucket anon . . .five wouldn’t be nearly enough for Nancy . . . .
CC – while your argument certainly will garner support that we should “let the people decide,” simply because people feel like that is their right, you can’t go around letting the people vote on every issue. and when would they vote on this? 2010? or a special election? yeah, that wouldn’t be expensive. the people voted on gambling via the lottery and they voted no. the people voted to be represented by legislators who will vote based on their values and ideals, and if the legislature doesn’t have enough votes, then those legislators opposing gambling, in theory, are speaking for the people already.
the answer to my question is, i believe, yes, a special election would be held. So what would that cost the state? could we afford it? will the education/bingo lobby offer to refund the state the $ it takes to have this special election – either way, whether it passes or fails? Let Milton and Hubbert foot the bill for the special election, then i say let it ride…
Doesn’t this simply reinforce the notion of Martin as a political hack? Anyone who follows politics in this state knows that King is now strongly disliked by Riley.
Could be, it really all depends on the ideological and perceptual mirrors and prisms chosen to view the world.
#18…”every issue”?? c’mon now…how long as this crap been going on now?? let get a vote on it and get past it and on to more important things…
cc, then if not every issue, who gets to decide which issues should be brought up for a vote? you and your friends?
Hey SamfordDem I don’t know about Alice Martin but there is no bigger “hack” with a law license in the state than the sitting AG who never tried a case in his life before being appointed AG. That’s a travesty right there. Bob Riley is reaping what he sowed when he put an experience-free borderline psychotic (read his “Crimson White” op/eds and you’ll see what I mean) in the position of “Alabama’s chief law enforcement officer.”
#23 you talk like the electronic bingo issue is a small issue within the state..as you can see by all the political posturing going on it is not. an issue like this more than deserving of a vote by the people…
so then, by contrast, cc, you believe this is the largest and most important issue in the state and that the majority of the public wants to vote on this asap? your view of the issues facing our state is very narrow, you only are seeing this through the eyes of CC = country crossing which limits your ability to weigh the pros and cons of such a proposal, and limits your ability to see that those with a financial interest are obviously going to paint a very rosy picture which may or may not be based in reality or on other models in the US.
i see you cannot carry on a reasonable conversation so i’ll let you go back to enjoying bashing troy king….take care..
When you think about it the partnership bewteen Troy King and Ronnie Gilley for bingo mazkes perfect sense.
If Country Crossings comes in, Troy will get what HE wants: a Village People-Themed restaurant/disco dance club.
cc,i didn’t bash troy king, worley maybe, but just ’cause she loves chicken. you simply can not offer any substantive reason as to why this issue is worth voting on at this time, and still would like to hear yours and ronnie’s take on funding the special election which will cost taxpayers money for really no urgent reason. And please don’t say it is so that we can “secure our children’s future,” vomit.
CC–what happens if, in a statewide vote, the people of Alabama say no to electronic bingo as they did to the lottery?
Is Troy still going to announce his plans for 2010 at the Greater Birmingham Young Republicans meeting Thursday night? Can he take the Fifth? In retrospect, maybe its a good thing that Troy has already been fitted for that ankle bracelet.
The only people who care about electronic bingo are the one’s profiting from it (or who stand to if/when legalized). There are MANY bigger issues facing the state. MANY. Too many to count.
Does anyone else think it’s funny that the Birmingham News frequently used the word “probe” in the article?
Yes, but it was just too easy to go there.
#33 — They were trying to get King’s attention.
Bob Riley took 13.5 mil dollars from the Mississippi Choctaw Indians to keep Gambling out of Alabama,now he has let it come to the state and they are on his case,he had to do this to Troy king in order to get the Indians off his back,that’s why he don’t want gambling in Alabama not that he is the good Christian man,he is in TROUBLE.So this is his way to try and stop it,with the help of Randy (BBA) which has filed bankruptcy and now Riley is paying him.Geesh! what a mess our State is in.Good Luck to all of you that thinks Riley is better than King,just not true.I’m out of here can’t stand ones that pretends to be so religious and don’t know what the word means.
shall be interesting, indeed. he is the party’s best chance in 2010, but that doesn’t mean much when you’re in jail/disbarred.
Sue said “I’m out of here,” see ya sue. Can’t say you’ll be missed.
anon 38 – yep this place only tolerates ditto heads.
Troy King “the party’s best chance in 2010″??????
Rusty are you off your meds????
Gay scandal. Ethics scandal. Gambling scandal. Hiring/firing scandal. Entourage/security scandal. Flak jacket scandal. Competency scandal. Now grand jury investigation.
The Troy Boys amaze me with their insistence that this scandal-plagued (if you look up “scandal-plagued” in ther dictionary you’ll see Troy King’s picture)joke is a serious contender for governor.
He’s a serious contender for the punchline of every joke you’ll hear this week.
40. – my main reason is name recognition. and krazy kay is just that, so that’s why he’s the best hope in my mind.
Between all the too obvious Troy King jokes and asides on gambling, no one has tackled Danny’s question on the timing. Grand jury probes and leaks of probes don’t just happen. Is Martin making a last minute desperation play to stay on as US Attorney? Is this investigation meant to be a balancing act to another high profile investigation? There are rumors that a statewide Democratic offical is getting nervous about some recent questions put to a Birmingham grand jury.
all i can say is…bring on luther strange. PLEASE RUN AGAINST TROY IN THE GOP PRIMARY!
42, I would imagine that there are several democratic officials getting nervous. I’ve probably heard the same as you, and the forcast isn’t good for them
What’s the deal with the security detail? I have yet to hear that one.
sounds to me like most of the stuff mentioned in these articles has been hashed and rehashed. After a string of high profile embarrassing losses it looks like Ms. Martin may be trying to tee up another losing case to pass off to her successor.
Sorry, peace, not following you on martin having “losing” cases,,,which ones has she lost?
Ummmmm…anon, where have you been? Have you ever heard of HealthSouth and Richard Scrushy? She lost it. He was guilty as hell and He beat her ass in court. How about her case against Seigelman, tossed by Judge U.W. Clemon. Her big case against Seigelman assoc., Dr. Bobo – Not Guilty. Virtually every single important case she has tried to a jury she has lost.
Alice Martin won’t be staying for another round:
The following is a press release from Alabama’s U.S. Representative Artur Davis:
Press Release
FROM THE OFFICE OF
Congressman Artur Davis
7th Congressional District of Alabama
208 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-0107
——————————————————
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 10, 2009
Contact: Sarah Kate Sullivan
JUDICIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE FORMED BY CONGRESSMAN DAVIS ANNOUNCES RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ALABAMA US ATTORNEYS
BIRMINGHAM, AL — The Judicial Advisory Committee formed last month by Congressman Artur Davis met this Friday and Saturday to interview candidates for U.S. Attorney positions and released their recommendations to Congressman Davis this afternoon. The committee has recommended and ranked the first and second choice candidates for U.S. Attorney in each Alabama district as follows:
First Ranked Candidates
Northern District
Joyce Vance – Chief of the Appellate Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Alabama
Middle District
Michel Nicrosi – Former Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of Alabama; also a Montgomery native
Southern District
Vicki Davis – Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of Alabama; former federal district judge
Second Ranked Candidates
Northern District
Jim Sturdivant – Attorney, Sirote & Permutt, PC; former Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Alabama
Middle District
Joseph Van Heest – Attorney, Law Office of Joseph P. Van Heest, LLC; former federal public defender
Southern District
Patrick Sims – Attorney, Cabaniss, Johnston, Gardner, Dumas & O’Neal LLP; former U.S. magistrate judge
The applicants were considered based on the merit of their legal experience and record and were evaluated through a transparent process (link to a press release outlining the process).
It is anticipated that President-elect Barack Obama will replace all three current U.S. Attorneys from Alabama. Congressman Davis believes this process has produced the best candidates for each position and will forward these names with his endorsement to President-elect Barack Obama on Monday to use at his discretion.
# # #
Far above, someone took my post to suggest that I was somehow supportive of Troy King. Let me assure you that is not the case.
My point was limited to the notion that this would somehow demonstrate a bipartisan sense for justice on Martin’s part and somehow help her keep her DA job.
King is a tool. But of course politics makes strange bedfellows.