Georgia (Thompson) on my mind

Thu, 04/05/2007 - 11:00pm |

Thoughts about the 7th US Circuit of Appeals' stunning reversal of the Georgia Thompson case:

This was a total, humiliating embarrassment for Milwaukee-based US Attorney Steven Biskupic. The poor assistant US attorney who was tasked with appearing to argue the government's case, Greg Haanstad, (where was Biskupic?) was like a lamb led to slaughter. The three-judge panel eviscerated the government's case against Thompson.

The fact that the was issued within hours after oral arguments is almost unheard of. It's like a jury returning a verdict in 5 minutes. Almost no deliberation was needed.

The order set Thompson free immediately. She has served four months in a federal prison, because the Republican-appointed prosecutor and Republican-appointed federal judge would not agree to let her remain free while the case was appealed. Too great a threat to society, apparently (unlike Scott Jensen, who's still at large after three felony convictions.)

Some highlights follow below, but you can listen to the oral arguments yourself. Start at just before the midpoint to hear Haanstad being roasted.

The judges seemed incredulous about the claims that Thompson steered the contract to Adelman Travel for political reasons.

Judge Diane Wood: "...that's a pretty thin sets of facts to show some tight political relationship between Gov. Doyle and the people who own Adelman Travel..."

Later she called the evidence "beyond thin" and noted it would not be unusual for a governor to meet with business executives or attend or speak at a company party.

"There's nothing wrong with those links between Adelman Travel and the administration," Haanstad was forced to admit under questioning by Judge Wood.

Noting that the government did not prosecute Doyle or Adelman executives, Judge William Bauer said: "So the people you think were responsible for all this horsing around are Adelman and the governor, but she carries the sack."

No wonder the statement from Biskupic's office praised Thompson's attorney, Steve Hurley. Hurley was not bought off by a little flattery. His statement notes that his client lost her job, her life savings, her home and her liberty, and asks: Where does Georgia Thompson go to get her life and reputation back?

Good question.

Another good question: What about the millions of dollars worth of negative commercials the Republicans ran about the Thompson case, basically calling Doyle a crook? Will we be seeing a "never mind" apology on the airwaves soon?

Final question: Will Chris Lato, former poison pen of the state Republican Party, be "reporting" on this in his new job at WTMJ radio?

POSTSCRIPT: Considering how WTMJ radio discussed the case in the past, Lato couldn't be any worse.

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Comments

Georgia Thompson et al

Submitted by hdhouse (not verified) on Fri, 04/13/2007 - 6:20am.

Just a couple of questions: 1. Did Biskupic's predicessor refuse to prosecute or get into any of this? 2. If Biskupic's prosecution here was payback, which it appears to be in some form, what prior affilations or obligations did he have? 3. Does all of this explain Harriet Miers nomination to the supreme court? 4. Does all of this have any email trace? I would love to see an email trail between Bikupic's office the the RNC/Rove. 5. If only 8 (now Wisconsin, now Minnesota so 10) USAs were fired for not taking orders or somehow running contrary to the Rove doctrine of how things should be, what about the rest who stayed? 6. What does this tell you about our chief law enforcement office, President Bush.

NYT calls for investigation of Biskupic

Submitted by Paul Robeson (not verified) on Mon, 04/09/2007 - 7:25am.

This morning's NYT features an editorial entitled "Another Layer of Scandal." A good part of it relates to the Thompson case. It begins: "As Congress investigates the politicization of the United States attorney offices by the Bush administration, it should review the extraordinary events the other day in a federal courtroom in Wisconsin. The case involved Georgia Thompson, a state employee sent to prison on the flimsiest of corruption charges just as her boss, a Democrat, was fighting off a Republican challenger. It just might shed some light on a question that lurks behind the firing of eight top federal prosecutors: what did the surviving attorneys do to escape the axe?" The JS refuses to pursue this angle, but it looks like the NYT and other major outlets are going to be more aggressive.

Like most good Republicans,

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 04/07/2007 - 7:53pm.

Like most good Republicans, Cheesehead is unable to address the issue at hand because he is blinded by rage against the TRUTH coming out. Cheesehead and his rich buddies spent over 5 million dollars to buy the AG seat and now a Supreme court seat with a corrupt judge and an ethically challenged lawyer, both of whom have promised to call WMC first everytime there's a decision to make. Georgia Thompson's life was destroyed by the Republican operatives intent on taking down Doyle. It's time for serious payback-Biskupic should go to jail for his malicious prosecution of an innocent woman. The Gonzales investigation must be expanded to this case; find the links between the WMC, national Republicans, and loyal Biskupic who was willing to sacrifice his principles to save his job. The whole damm works should rot in jail.

What's sad to me is that so

Submitted by Paul Robeson (not verified) on Sat, 04/07/2007 - 4:22pm.

What's sad to me is that so many people still can't wrap their brains around the fact that Thompson didn't do anything wrong. Mike McCabe is still pouting that something "smells funny" about the contract -- this after two years of investigating led to exactly one wrongful conviction! What's going to happen with Paul Ryan and Troha? For me, that's the big question now, especially given the larger USDOJ issues.

On the subject?

Submitted by xoff on Sat, 04/07/2007 - 10:09am.

Now that you've had your two-minute hate (See Orwell's 1984), perhaps you'll address the merits of the case, which three Republican-appointed federal judges threw out.

I can't believe anyone can get so rabid about ethanol.

Doyle IS corrupt...

Submitted by Cheesehead (not verified) on Fri, 04/06/2007 - 11:35am.

Ok...so he weaseled his way out of this one. How is it that his fore-headedness gets away with illegally signing gaming compacts, running for office on a 'no new tax' platform (complete lie), gutting the sex offender law that graced half his campaign adds, kowtowing to every union and teachers organization he can find, pushing for more ethanol that does not free us from foreign oil, gets horrible mileage, and encourages using a FOOD SOURCE for FUEL... I am a conservative - I can say without doubt that George Bush has been a disappointment; is there a liberal in the land of cheese who has the cojones to admit that Doyle is a corrupt, self-serving pile of crap?

is there a liberal in the

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 04/16/2007 - 6:40pm.

is there a liberal in the land of cheese who has the cojones to admit that Doyle is a corrupt, self-serving pile of crap?

- sure, the day that you admit that your party's hand picked prosecutor, the republican judege that insisted that Thompson must go to Jail NOW (how convenient) and the entire republican state apparatus that defamed this poor woman on television is also.......

Uppity Wisconsin