Fieger Busted for Illegal Contributions to Breck Girl

We're constantly reminded by the John Edwards team how clean they are.

Well, that isn't necessarily the case. Turns out some of his ambulance-chasing cohorts are now neck deep in trouble for funneling illegal cash to his ill-fated 2004 campaign, including former Jack Kevorkian mouthpiece Geoffrey Fieger.

Fieger, partner indicted on campaign finance charges

Naturally, they blame the evil Karl Rove.

Attorney Geoffrey Fieger and one of his law partners have been indicted by the U.S. government, which accused the pair of making $127,000 in illegal campaign contributions to the 2004 presidential campaign of John Edwards.

The indictment was unsealed today at the U.S. District Court in Detroit and accuses Fieger and Vernon Johnson of violating the $2,000 per election federal limit on individual contributions to presidential candidates.

The indictment accuses them of soliciting 60 “straw donors” to also contribute the $2,000 maximum to Edwards and then reimbursing them for their contributions through funds from their Southfield-based Fieger, Fieger, Kenney & Johnson PC firm.

Fieger, the area’s most famous and flamboyant attorney, and Johnson are accused of conspiracy, making and causing conduit campaign contributions, causing false statements and obstruction of justice.

Fieger issued a written statement in which he assailed the indictment as a product of a President George W. Bush’s Justice Department’s effort to use the federal courts to target Democrats. He cited the firings of several U.S. attorneys by the Justice Department in some cases resulting from dissatisfaction with their lack of prosecution of Democrats.

He said U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales – with the encouragement of longtime Bush political adviser Karl Rove – began a campaign in 2005 to destroy the fundraising ability of Edwards.

“It is a truly sad day in America when political prosecutions are becoming a common-place occurrence,” he said. “The timing of these unprecedented charges, that have no support in fact or law, during the height of the presidential fund-raising campaign, is solely intended to intimidate Democratic supporters around the country. The false charges made against me and my partner today will ultimately fail.”

Famed defense lawyer Gerry Spence, who counts Imelda Marcos among his former clients, is representing Fieger. He wouldn’t comment on the contents of the indictment, but said Fieger will plead not guilty.

Cry me a river.