In this Nov. 2, 2011 file photo, former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman talks with reporters outside the Federal Courthouse in Montgomery, Ala.MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Former Gov. Don Siegelman is asking a federal appeals court to grant him a new trial on his 2006 bribery conviction.
Siegelman's attorneys filed papers with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals arguing that the case was tainted by the U.S. attorney in Montgomery having ties to Republican politics. They also argued that the trial judge erred in sentencing the former Democratic governor.
Former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy, who was convicted with Siegelman, raised the U.S. attorney argument in his appeal, and it was rejected by the 11th Circuit last month.
One of Siegelman's attorneys said his legal team now includes Gregory Craig, a former White House counsel for President Barack Obama
Siegelman is serving a six and one-half year sentence at a federal prison in Oakdale, La.