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Author:
Chris
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Date Posted: 01/18/06 6:57pm
Editorial from the Detroit Free Press
The Fieger Circus
No charges, much politics, and elusive rule of law
January 17, 2006
Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox has now gone 0-2 trying to get somebody to throw a book at Geoffrey Fieger, but Fieger's legal troubles from his political activity leading up to the 2004 election are far from over. Fieger acknowledged Monday that, while he won't face state criminal charges, he fully expects to be indicted by the federal government.
The Southfield defense lawyer and 1998 Democratic candidate for governor considers all of this an exercise in political persecution. But there are also rules enacted in the public interest to police political campaigns and -- whether or not he approves of them -- Fieger is not above them.
Patrick Shannon, the special prosecutor named by Cox to investigate Fieger's role in a political action committee set up for a 2004 state Supreme Court race, washed his hands of the matter Saturday after less than a month's work. He said, in effect, Fieger appears to have done something wrong but nothing worth criminal charges.
Shannon suggested the secretary of state, as chief Michigan elections officer, bring a civil case that could produce heavy fines. But it was the secretary of state who sent the matter to Cox in the first place. Cox accused Fieger of trying to blackmail him by publicizing an old extramarital affair, but Oakland County Prosecutor David Gorcyca refused to file charges, suggesting it was an ethical issue best dealt with by the state's legal community.
So it seems as if people are passing Fieger around like the proverbial hot potato -- wary of the political carnage he is likely to inflict and perhaps mindful of Gov. John Engler's successful strategy against Fieger in 1998: Ignore him.
That will not, however, deter federal investigators, who suspect Fieger funneled campaign money through his employees for presidential candidate John Edwards. Fieger said Monday that he just gave bonuses to "employees who are civic-minded and who care about this country."
If this is indeed a selective prosecution, Fieger seems to have no qualms about being selected.
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