By LARRY NEUMEISTER, Associated Press Writer
Attornies for a man accused of fraud say he was charged at the behest
of presidential adviser Karl Rove in retaliation for a flood of spam
e-mails sent to a campaign Web site. A federal prosecutor says the
claim is "absurd."
Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Siegal urged U.S. District Judge
Laura Taylor Swain on Monday to reject arguments that Rove caused the
criminal investigation that led to charges against Robert McAllister.
Siegal said lawyers for McAllister made the "patently absurd argument
that the U.S. attorney's office in the Southern District is a shill
for Karl Rove and has arrested and indicted their client in some sort
of vindictive retaliation."
McAllister's lawyer Gerald L. Shargel said Monday he plans to try to
call Rove as a witness, if the court allows it.
McAllister, of Jupiter, Fla., is accused of conspiracy to commit wire
fraud while he was chief executive officer and president of Millennium
National Events Inc., an events promotion company. He was arrested in
August 2005.
The government says McAllister and Millennium tried to inflate the
price of the company's stock by "spreading false and misleading
information" about the company via unsolicited e-mails, or spam, to
potential investors. McAllister could face up to five years in prison
if convicted.
Shargel said McAllister's efforts to grow his company were "thwarted
by the wrongful conduct of stock promoters," one of whom sent e-mails
to a presidential Web site, http://georgewbush.com. That Web address
currently connects automatically to the Republican National Committee,
http://www.gop.com.
"Mr. Rove used his power and influence at the White House to seek
quick punishment of Millennium, and therefore also Robert McAllister,
for daring to spam the president's personal Web site," Shargel said.
The Daily News reported Sunday that e-mails, phone records and
transcripts of phone conversations indicate Rove contacted McAllister
and at least three stock promoters. The newspaper reported that White
House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Rove "vaguely remembered" the
e-mail onslaught but could not recall whether he or any other White
House worker contacted the Department of Justice.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press.
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Larry Neumeister, AP (ap@telecom-digest.org)