McCain’s Connection to the Siegelman Case

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Just yesterday we mentioned the railroaded former Governor of Alabama, Democrat Don Siegelman, who is now in prison after a six-year-long witch hunt prosecuted by that state’s GOP.

Turns out, John McCain is connected to the scandal. As head of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, McCain released a report on the Abramoff scandal in 2006 that didn’t include any mention of an Abramoff email that implicated Siegelman’s opponent in a gubernatorial race later that year, Bob Riley, in Abramoff’s influence peddling schemes. Riley went on to win, and Siegelman went to prison. McCain has refused to make the email public since that election; it only came to light because an anonymous source leaked it to the Huffington Post.

Siegelman’s Democratic allies in Alabama are calling for a special prosecutor to reexamine his case.

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This is how change happens.

One story at a time.

This investigative reporting takes time too. Months of research. Weeks of writing, editing, and fact checking—and putting together the photography, art, video, and audio that tell the stories in a new way, illuminating new perspectives and voices.

We can afford to take our time because we don’t report to oligarchs or corporations. We report to you, and for you.

And the stakes are high. Democracy is on the defense. We’ve been exposing corruption and scandal for five decades, and this is a pivotal moment in our country’s history. Will democracy prevail? We won’t wait for time to tell—independent journalism is essential for democracy, and we’ll keep doing our part to amplify the free press.

So, we’re asking: Will you join the fight? Mother Jones has been here for 50 years, and we need your support to fuel the future of investigative journalism. Mark our 50th anniversary with a gift of any amount.

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