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<p>MONTGOMERY, AL., (WSFA) -- WSFA 12 News is on top of some breaking news at this hour. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has returned a verdict in the appeals of former Governor Don Siegelman and former Health South CEO Richard Scrushy.</p>

Former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman blames Republican dirty tricks for the nine months he spent in prison. He talks to the Daily Beast’s Paul Alexander about clearing his name, anger at Rove—and mopping prison floors. Last week, Al Gore sent an email message urging supporters to give money to Don Siegelman’s legal defense fund. Gore is the latest in a string of high profile supporters to suggest Siegelman, the former Governor of Alabama, was the victim of a Republican plot when he was found guilty of bribery, conspiracy and fraud in 2006, and sentenced to seven years in prison. Now,...

The Associated Press WASHINGTON | Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday rejected Karl Rove’s latest offer to provide written responses to questions about the federal prosecution of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman. In a letter to the former White House adviser’s attorney, Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., and several other Democrats said Rove’s written responses would not allow for give-and-take questioning. They asked Rove to reconsider his refusal to testify in person and under oath, giving him until May 21 to respond. The committee has threatened to subpoena Rove about allegations that he pushed the Justice Department to...

Just off the House floor today, the Crypt overheard House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers tell two other people: “We’re closing in on Rove. Someone’s got to kick his ass.” Asked a few minutes later for a more official explanation, Conyers told us that Rove has a week to appear before his committee. If he doesn’t, said Conyers, “We’ll do what any self-respecting committee would do. We’d hold him in contempt. Either that or go and have him arrested.” Conyers said the committee wants Rove to testify about his role in the imprisonment of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, among...

The House Judiciary Committee on Thursday asked former White House adviser Karl Rove to testify about claims that he influenced a federal corruption case against former Democratic Gov. Don Siegelman of Alabama. ... Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., accused Attorney General Michael Mukasey of not taking the allegations seriously and of blocking congressional requests for documents. Conyers said the evidence presented thus far threatens to undermine public faith in the judicial system.

BIRMINGHAM | Former Gov. Don Siegelman said Thursday that he wants former White House adviser Karl Rove to testify before Congress, whether 'he lies under oath, tells the truth or pleads the Fifth.' Siegelman was freed on bond March 28 after serving nine months in federal prison for bribery and obstruction of justice. He said that while his primary concern is winning his appeal, there are bigger issues involved in his prosecution by the U.S. District Attorney's Office in Montgomery... The case against Siegelman centered around a contribution by Richard Scrushy, the founder of HealthSouth, to an organization Siegelman had...

April 13, 2008 Mr. Dan Abrams MSNBC 30 Rockefeller Plaza New York, N.Y. 10112 Dear Mr. Abrams: On April 7th, you again devoted a substantial part of your show to the claim of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman that I was behind his prosecution. Your continued coverage of this issue raises questions about your journalistic standards and those of MSNBC and NBC. During your broadcast, Mr. Siegelman referred to Ms. Dana Jill Simpson as a “respected Republican political operative,” a reference it seems you accept because of the frequent attention you give her in your broadcasts. Have you, during...

On April 7th, you again devoted a substantial part of your show to the claim of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman that I was behind his prosecution. Your continued coverage of this issue raises questions about your journalistic standards and those of MSNBC and NBC. During your broadcast, Mr. Siegelman referred to Ms. Dana Jill Simpson as a “respected Republican political operative,” a reference it seems you accept because of the frequent attention you give her in your broadcasts. Have you, during your coverage of Ms. Simpson, ever actually looked into her claims? For example, have you ever asked her...

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- The House Judiciary Committee is taking Karl Rove up on an offer to testify about claims that he influenced a federal corruption case against former Democratic Gov. Don Siegelman of Alabama. The committee on Thursday asked former White House adviser Rove to appear under oath soon. The panel also wants the Justice Department's inspector general to investigate allegations that political motivations drove the Siegelman case and several other . . .

WASHINGTON -- Karl Rove says a one-time Republican campaign worker who has accused him of dirty tricks against a former Alabama governor is a "complete lunatic," and he calls CBS a "shoddy operation" for airing her allegations. In an interview with GQ magazine, President Bush's former political guru says he has never met Jill Simpson, an Alabama attorney and GOP campaign volunteer who has claimed that Rove tried to sabotage Democratic Gov. Don Siegelman's career. "She's a complete lunatic," Rove is quoted as saying. "This woman was not involved in any campaign in which I was involved. I have yet...

OAKDALE, La. (AP) -- Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman was released on bond from a federal prison Friday, saying he remains upbeat despite serving nine months for corruption. Leaving the prison in a black sport utility vehicle, he stopped on a road outside the lockup to comment. He wore a ragged shirt that appeared to be prison clothing. ''I may have lost my freedom for awhile, but I never lost faith,'' Siegelman, 62, told reporters. A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that Siegelman should be released while he appeals his conviction. He declined further comment, saying, ''I want to be...

MONTGOMERY -- A federal appellate court today ordered former Gov. Don Siegelman released from prison while he appeals his 2006 conviction, saying there are "substantial questions" about his case. Siegelman attorney Vince Kilborn said Siegelman would be released sometime Friday morning. "His wife and his daughter, Dana, are driving out to get him," Kilborn said. Siegelman has been in an Oakdale, La., prison camp for nearly nine months. A federal jury in 2006 convicted Siegelman and HealthSouth founder Richard Scrushy of federal funds bribery. Prosecutors alleged Scrushy bought a seat on a state board with a $500,000 donation to Siegelman's...

Former Gov. Don Siegelman will be released from prison, after the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals granted him an appeal bond, the lead prosecutor in the case said. Acting U.S. Attorney Louis Franklin said he received a courtesy call from the court today. "He's going to be released," Franklin said. He said he was disappointed but said, "The 11th Circuit has the discretion to do that and I respect that." Kim Chandler Return to al.com for updates on this breaking story.

Karl Rove says he does not recall ever meeting the woman who is accusing him of asking her to help dig up dirt on former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman and was never given a chance to respond to charges she made Sunday on "60 Minutes." Rove is the former top political adviser to President Bush and is now a FOX News contributor. Sunday night, an Alabama lawyer named Jill Simpson said on CBS' "60 Minutes" that Rove was behind an effort to derail Democrat Siegelman's effort to win back his office in 2006 -- after losing it in 2002. Simpson...

CBS aired its long-awaited feature on the prosecution and imprisonment of former Alabama Governor Don E. Siegelman this evening at 7:00. In a stunning move of censorship, the transmission was blocked across the northern third of Alabama by CBS affiliate WHNT, which is owned by interests of the Bass Family.... The CBS piece, for which I was repeatedly interviewed, came through on its promise to deliver several additional bombshells. The most significant of these was the disclosure that prosecutors pushed the case forward and secured a conviction relying on evidence that they knew or should have known was false, and...

WASHINGTON - Attorneys for imprisoned former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman on Monday called for a special prosecutor after a key government witness claimed that he was forced to write out his testimony to get his story straight. Vince Kilborn, an attorney for Siegelman who contends Republican politics was behind the Democrat's prosecution, said the defense was never told of any written notes by Nick Bailey, a former Siegelman aide whose testimony was crucial to the government. CBS's "60 Minutes" reported Sunday that Bailey said prosecutors met with him some 70 times and had him repeatedly write out his testimony because...

February 24, 2008 We apologize that you missed the first segment of 60 Minutes tonight featuring "The Prosecution of Don Siegelman." It was a techincal problem with CBS out of New York. We are working with them right now to see if we can re-broadcast the segment. Please be patient with us during this time. We are doing our best to correct the problem.

Less than four years after getting embroiled in a scandal over their use of forged military records, CBS' "60 Minutes" is attacking Karl Rove with a witness who has already been discredited: On Thursday, the 60 Minutes web site began hawking a feature to run on its show. This Sunday, an already discredited Alabama attorney named Dana Jill Simpson will claim that Rove asked her to photograph Democratic former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman in a "compromising, sexual position with one of his aides." Nothing about her story even begins to stand up to scrutiny; indeed all of it fails every...

60 Minutes: Woman Says Top Bush Adviser Asked Her To Take Compromising Pictures Of Alabama Gov. Siegelman. (CBS) A Republican operative in Alabama says Karl Rove asked her to try to prove the state’s Democratic governor was unfaithful to his wife in an effort to thwart the highly successful politician’s re-election. Rove’s attempt to smear Don Siegelman was part of a Republican campaign to ruin him that finally succeeded in imprisoning him, says the operative, Jill Simpson. Simpson speaks to Scott Pelley in her first television interview, to be broadcast on "60 MINUTES" Sunday, Feb. 24, at 7 p.m. ET/PT,...

For those who want, finally, an answer to whether Karl Rove and others at the White House were behind the United States attorney scandal — and ordered federal prosecutors to bring and not bring cases to help Republicans win elections — next Tuesday could be an interesting day. The House Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing for Oct. 23 on selective prosecution. The committee is expected to take a hard look at the prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, a Democrat, who may have been prosecuted primarily to keep him from running against the state’s incumbent Republican governor, Bob...