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Curse of the AT&T Letter
We have written about this document twice before, last summer, and in October, but now the CDLU has learned from anonymous sources that the letter that Robert Ronnlund dispatched in January of 2016 to AT&T in the Newsome Conspiracy Case could become the catalyst for a possible settlement. We do not know what is going on in the Star Chamber and neither do our anonymous sources, but we understand the letter is the most difficult item to justify, explain, or even dismiss. Ronnlund, whose wife was a Balch partner at the time the letter was written, appears to have engaged…
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From Balch Partner to Selling Mattresses
The hottest post this past month has been one of our first, Unprofessional Conduct? about former Balch partner Clark A. Cooper who was fired on March 3, 2017. He is the alleged mastermind of the horrific Newsome Conspiracy Case, now taking place (or not?) in a secretive and unconstitutional Star Chamber. Cooper allegedly hit the send button on an email with Newsome’s mugshot on a Saturday afternoon, hours after Newsome was falsely arrested, allegedly defaming Newsome, a father of four young children. So why the hot interest? Looks like Cooper is in the mattress business and now selling mattresses. Who…
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Happy 1st Birthday to BanBalch.com!
Today marks one year since we launched BanBalch.com and what a year! We never thought this project would last this long and evolve into such a quagmire for the once prestigious law firm. As we have told The New York Times and The Washington Post, our advocacy project began with Burt Newsome and will end with Burt Newsome. The North Birmingham/Oliver Robinson bribery scandal, the Vincent whites-only controversy, the Mississippi billing probe, and the Black Hall Aerospace lobbying fiasco landed in our laps as reaffirmations of the alleged unsavory conduct in the Newsome Conspiracy Case. We are not a party…
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Did Balch Terminate Stiers? Russian Link Clarified
After 20 years at Balch & Bingham, William F. Stiers, their top-Washington, D.C. lobbyist, left the firm in November. Stiers announcement came shortly after half of Balch’s paying lobbying clients dumped the firm that October. In our 48 minute conversation yesterday with Paul Daigle, the CEO of Black Hall Aerospace, Inc., Daigle alleges that Stiers was fired and may have been given time to find a new position as a courtesy. Saying that Stiers was an upstanding professional, Daigle opined that Stiers may have not wanted to adhere to demands by Balch. In November, Politico.com quoted Stiers as saying, “The…
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Balch Allegedly Fired Black Hall Aerospace
Yesterday, we had a 48 minute phone conversation with the CEO of Black Hall Aerospace, Inc., Paul Daigle, who had written to us via email at the end of January. We spoke of many things, and listened carefully to the military veteran who has been involved in heated civil litigation with Oleg Sirbu, the Soviet-born immigrant. Balch & Bingham represented Black Hall Aerospace as lobbyists in Washington D.C. between 2014 and 2017. Mr. Daigle told us that he wanted to reach out to us last year, when we initially exposed the fact that Balch & Bingham had represented a Russian-linked…
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In a State of Denial, Balch “Bolsters” their Happy Face
This morning, Balch & Bingham bolstered a happy face in front of all the chaos and alleged institutional racism linked to the once prestigious firm by announcing in a fluffy press release the addition of 7 healthcare attorneys to their Jackson, Mississippi offices who appear to have left another Mississippi law firm, Copeland, Cook, Taylor, & Bush. Trying to counteract the exodus of 10 money-making partners who left in January and the worst financial year on Capitol Hill in 19 years, Balch looks like they are in a state of denial, like a Toys R Us kid. These 7 new…
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Luther Strange Coordinated with Indicted Balch Partners
We always suspected they were in cahoots. Former State Attorney General and ex-U.S. Senator Luther Strange appears to be—unequivocally—the biggest stooge for Balch & Bingham, the once prestigious, silk-stocking law firm. Besides ghostwriting for their alleged bought-and-paid-for-politicians, Balch appears to have directly coordinated with state agencies. The Alabama Media Group reports: What hasn’t been evident before was how closely Strange’s office and the Balch lawyers Gilbert and McKinney were working together. When Strange’s administrative assistant emailed the letter to the EPA, she blind carbon copied three lawyers in the Alabama Attorney General’s office — and Gilbert at Balch. Essentially, Strange’s…
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Balch’s Stooge, Luther Strange, Under Scrutiny
Ex-U.S. Senator Luther Strange, one of the biggest stooges for Balch & Bingham, is under scrutiny this morning after a public records request by the Alabama Media Group shows that Strange’s letter submitted to the EPA opposing the placement of North Birmingham on the national priorities list may have been ghost-written by lawyers at Balch & Bingham. An act of environmental racism, Balch and their goons appear to have suppressed African-Americans from having their toxic and contaminated property tested in North Birmingham. Two Balch partners were indicted last September in a bribery scheme tied to the suppression of Blacks. North…
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Can Balch become Good, Sensible, and Ethical?
Although we, the CDLU, are not environmentalists, conservationists, or preservationist, we do believe in common sense and respecting the community. With the serious allegations of suppressing the African-American community in North Birmingham from having their toxic and contaminated property tested; wrongly targeting a competitor and father of four young children in an alleged criminal conspiracy; being linked to an alleged scheme to buy white-only property for a limestone quarry in Vincent, Alabama; Balch and Bingham is now involved in another controversial wrangling. According to a report in the Courthouse News Service, Balch represents Luminate’s Martin Lake Power Plant (pictured above)…
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The Smitherman Shuffle
As we pointed out in different posts starting in December, Judge Carole Smitherman’s husband Alabama State Senator Rodger Smitherman received first-time contributions and other political cash tied to Balch & Bingham or the co-conspirators of the Newsome Conspiracy case, a case that Judge Smitherman is presiding over. Influence peddling? Corruption? Or just coincidence? Now comes Judge Carole Smitherman’s first campaign disclosure report of the election season, and guess who has donated to her heavily? Attorneys and law firms. No surprise. But what will surely raise eyebrows is the $500 contribution from Hare, Wynn, Newell & Newton. As we wrote on…
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Alabama Anniversaries
This week marks significant anniversaries of the scandals and controversies surrounding Balch & Bingham. Yesterday, February 28th marks the two-year anniversary in which then-U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions endorsed President Donald Trump. Sessions was to have endorsed Trump at the Russian-linked aerospace company, Black Hall Aerospace Inc. a/k/a AAL USA Inc. but the venue was changed at the last moment. Ironically, February 28th also marks the one-year anniversary in which we met with attorneys at Burr Forman who represent Oleg Sirbu, the Soviet immigrant who owns AAL USA Inc. a/k/a Black Hall Aerospace. Tomorrow, March 2nd, is the one-year anniversary in which Balch…
