MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) – People in Mobile will soon be able to see a documentary that attempts to make a case that the indictment, conviction and federal prison sentence of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman was an orchestrated attempt by Republicans to get him out of their way.
Siegelman, along with Healthsouth CEO Richard Scrushy, were accused and convicted of obstruction of justice and bribery. In 2006, Scrushy was accused of making a donation to Siegelman’s lottery effort in exchange for a seat on a state health board.
Siegelman was released from prison in February 2017. He recently came to Mobile to promote a documentary that purports to show how several high-ranking Republicans conspired to bring Siegelman down.
What may have been behind it, says Siegelman, were his aspirations for higher office. He’d set his eye on the White House and says in 2001 he’d plan to enter the Democratic Primaries as a southern Governor, much like Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter had done. That’s why he believed a plan led by Karl Rove, then President George Bush’s Chief of Staff was put into action. Siegelman says the plan was to protect national Republicans like Bush as well as Republicans in the state.
It’s a claim that has been disputed by Rove and others.
The documentary, ‘Atticus vs The Architect, The Political Assassination of Don Siegelman’ will be shown at the Mobile Public Library on December 3rd at 2 p.m. Here is a link to the trailer for the film.
The film caused controversy over its Montgomery showing earlier this year when it was blocked from being shown at a theater where one of the federal prosecutors in the Siegelman case sits on the board.