Last Updated:March 27. 2008 5:30PM
Published: March 27. 2008 5:00PM
Last Modified: March 27. 2008 5:30PM

MONTGOMERY - A federal appeals court approved the release of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman on bond Thursday while he appeals his conviction in a corruption case.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the former governor had raised “substantial questions of fact and law” in challenging his conviction.

The once-popular Democrat began serving a sentence of more than seven years last June on his conviction on six bribery-related counts and one obstruction count. Siegelman, 62, has been serving the sentence at a federal prison in Oakdale, La.

“It’s a sweet day. He’s an innocent man and he’s been in prison for nine months,” said Siegelman’s attorney, Vince Kilborn.

Kilborn said that he and other attorneys were working to have Siegelman released from the Louisiana prison as soon as they can deliver a certified copy of the court’s order to prison officials. It was not immediately clear when that would occur.

Federal prosecutors accused Siegelman of appointing then-HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy to a hospital regulatory board in exchange for Scrushy arranging $500,000 in contributions to Siegelman’s campaign for a statewide lottery.

Scrushy, who was tried along with Siegelman, also was convicted on bribery counts and is serving a sentence of nearly seven years. The 11th circuit, based in Atlanta, has ruled that the multimillionaire Birmingham businessman is a potential flight risk, but that Siegelman is not.

Scrushy attorney Art Leach said the order releasing Siegelman makes him optimistic about Scrushy’s chances for release on bond.

“My belief is that there are substantial issues and in my opinion it requires reversal of the conviction,” Leach said..

Siegelman was also convicted of a separate obstruction of justice charge concerning $9,200 he received from a lobbyist to help with the purchase of a motorcycle. His attorneys have said it was a legitimate transaction.

The former governor’s release was approved on the same day the House Judiciary Committee announced that it wanted Siegelman to testify before Congress about possible political influence over his prosecution.

Siegelman has maintained that certain Republicans targeted him after he was elected governor in 1998 in an attempt to derail his political career. The House committee began reviewing his case as part of a broader investigation into allegations of political meddling in federal prosecutions.

Kilborn said he was trying to get word to Siegelman in the federal prison that the court had approved his release.

“I would love to see the expression on his face. That’s going to be a moment in history I’d like to record,” Kilborn said.

Kilborn noted that the order says Siegelman has raised substantial questions for the appellate court to consider in his appeal.

“I feel like we are getting closer to getting justice done. When you live with a case and have a step like this occur out of the blue, it’s like lightning striking,” Kilborn said.

Chief prosecutor Louis Franklin said he was “very disappointed” by the ruling, but still expects the appellate court will rule against Siegelman’s appeal.

“I don’t view this as a setback. The order is very short and concise and only deals with whether he is entitled to bond pending appeal,” Franklin said.

The ruling Thursday by 11th Circuit Court Judges Susan Black and Stanley Marcus said Siegelman could be released under the same conditions that he was allowed to remain free for about a year after his June 2006 conviction. The amount of bond then was not disclosed, but restrictions were placed on his travel.

University of Alabama political scientist William Stewart, who attended much of Siegelman’s trial, said he expects Siegelman will be free for a number of months because of the length and complexity of the appeal.

He said he believes Siegelman could avoid going back to prison if either Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama is elected.

“He’ll be out for a long time and may never go back. If he’s out until January and we elect Clinton or Obama, I expect he will be pardoned just like Scooter Libby was. I think either one is likely to pardon him,” Stewart said.

Libby is a former White House aide whose prison sentence for perjury and obstruction of justice was commuted by President Bush.

With the House Judiciary Committee seeking testimony from Siegeman before Congress, he could ask federal probation officers for permission to go to Washington, D.C. He had been approved for trips out of state while he was awaiting sentencing.

Under the committee’s plan, Siegelman would travel to Washington in May under guard of the U.S. Marshals Service. Committee Chairman John Conyers, a Michigan Democrat, believes Siegelman “would have a lot to add to the committee’s investigation into selective prosecution,” committee spokeswoman Melanie Roussell said.

Kilborn said the former governor has agreed to testify.

“He’s delighted to cooperate,” he said. “There are no restrictions on questions they can ask him.”

U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller of Montgomery had refused to allow Siegelman to remain free on appeal while challenging his conviction. But the 11th Circuit said Thursday he met the legal standard to be freed in the “complex and protracted” case.

The appeals process had been delayed for months after the court reporter during the trial died and the transcript was not completed as it normally would have.

The decision Thursday by the appeals court “is the correct step that should have been taken many months ago by Judge Fuller,” said Alabama Democratic Party executive director Jim Spearman.

Alabama Republican Party chairman Mike Hubbard called the order “a formality.”

“The former governor’s release pending appeal does not change the conviction by a jury of his peers,” Hubbard said.