Siegelman: Rove had hand in his conviction

MONTGOMERY, Ala., March 28 (UPI) -- Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman says former White House aide Karl Rove's "fingerprints are … all over" his bribery conviction, The New York Times reported.

A federal appeals court Thursday ordered that Siegelman be released from prison on bond while his conviction appeal is heard. Siegelman was imprisoned immediately after he was sentenced in 2007 to 88 months for exchanging a seat on a state board for a contribution to an education lottery campaign.

Speaking with the Times after his release from federal prison in Oakdale, La., Friday, Siegelman said partisan politics was a major factor in his prosecution. He singled out former White House political director Karl Rove as he alleged "abuse of power" in the matter.

"His fingerprints are smeared all over the case," Siegelman said.

Rove denies involvement in the case but a Republican "opposition researcher" told CBS last month Rove asked her in 2001 to get compromising pictures of Siegelman, a Democrat.

Fifty-four former state attorneys general, including some Republicans, asked Congress in September to investigate the case, saying it "may have had sufficient irregularities as to call into question the basic fairness … of our system of justice."

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta ruled Thursday that Siegelman's appeal had raised "substantial questions."