Media Advisory: The noted forensic expert and former Allegheny County Democratic Chairman Dr. Cyril Wecht, recently vindicated from a longstanding federal prosecution, appeared on my noon radio show today at 12:30 to discuss abuses by the U.S. Department of Justice in using selective prosecutions to target him and others around the nation for political reasons. Age 78 and now $6 million in debt from legal bills after already spending millions more in defense, Dr. Wecht seeks to regroup. Meanwhile, his Bush administration U.S. Attorney [] prosecutor, Mary Beth Buchanan, remains in office, and continued to attack the defendant this summer even after charges were dropped.
He is a real-life victim of the U.S. Attorney firing scandal whose news coverage so far only skims the surface. The charges against Dr. Wecht included 27 felony counts of using an office fax machine as county coroner with a total cost to government estimated at less than $15 -- compared to millions of dollars spent by taxpayers to prosecute him. Question: Instead of focusing upon the nine U.S. attorneys fired in 2006, what about those defendants falling under the jurisdiction of the 84 U.S. attorneys who were retained, or put in place as successors to the nine fired? DoJ's former chief of staff in 2005 cited the need for "loyal Bushies." With only five successors approved so far (all last week) by the Obama Administration, what are the consequences for the public? See details on this exclusive interview, now archived at: <http://snipurl.com/pt3xa>http://snipurl.com/pt3xa. The discussion today with Dr. Wecht and Project Save Justice Vice President Gail Sistrunk, who has documented such prosecutions nationally, is a preview of my Netroots Nation convention panel Saturday. It will include former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, a Democratic defendant in the most controversial federal case of the decade and now facing 20 years in prison - upon the recommendation of the Obama administration. Experts will discuss why the corporate media has largely ignored the impact of the 93 U.S. attorneys offices in these cases, and focused primarily about the facts long known about the office in New Mexico. The Netroots panel will provide independent journalists the tools to dig into such situations around the nation. Details: <http://snipurl.com/pt49x>http://snipurl.com/pt49x. Andrew Kreig DC Update Radio Host, Author & Attorney Washington, DC (202) 638-0070; (202) 787-8335 (cell) Twitter: <http://twitter.com/AndrewKreig>http://twitter.com/AndrewKreig Please hit Reply and write Remove if you would like to be removed from occasional notifications such as this on this topic --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to Mark Crispin Miller's "News From Underground" newsgroup. To unsubscribe, send a blank email to newsfromunderground-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com OR go to http://groups.google.com/group/newsfromunderground and click on the "Unsubscribe or change membership" link in the yellow bar at the top of the page, then click the "Unsubscribe" button on the next page. For more News From Underground, visit http://markcrispinmiller.com -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
