UPDATE: Balch & Bingham Explodes; Lies to Alabama Supreme Court about CDLU
[Update: This post was originally published on July 9, 2018. We have since learned that Burt Newsome has filed a response to Balch’s unsolicited response to Newsome’s Writ of Mandamus. His 8-page filing to the Alabama Supreme Court can be found by clicking here. Newsome discusses and reaffirms the troubling issues that Balch’s attorney failed to address.]
We knew some egomaniacs at Balch & Bingham were stupid, but really, lying to the Alabama Supreme Court about us, the CDLU, a non-party, independent advocacy group about our coverage, our blog?
Has the leadership team at Balch sincerely lost their minds?
In an unprecedented and uncommon legal move, Balch filed an unsolicited response to Burt Newsome’s Writ of Mandamus.
Like Schuyler Allen Baker, Jr., the Balch partner who lied about us in a court filing in May of 2017, the new attorney for Balch, Andy2K Campbell, who donated $2,000 to Judge Carole Smitherman in February, filed the 300-plus page response filled with lies and half-truths about the CDLU.
Here’s a taste of their bull:
Andy2K lie: Accuses the CDLU of alleging “that Balch supported segregation.”
The truth: We have always pointing out that Balch cited a 1961 Alabama Supreme Court decision saying “ruining a rival” was justified. We point out that when that decision was rendered, racial segregation was legal, too; and that neither concept, ruining a rival or racial segregation, has a place in 2017.
Andy2K lie: Accuses the CDLU of alleging ‘that Balch…was involved with the Russian government.”
The truth: Balch & Bingham scrubbed their website after we pointed out they had successfully lobbied and changed Russian sanctions for Black Hall Aerospace a/k/a AAL USA, Inc., a Russian-linked aerospace company based in Huntsville once owned by Oleg Sirbu, a Soviet-immigrant who now lives in Dubai.
Forgetting the CDLU has been advocating on behalf of victims of unsavory business practices and inept government agencies for over 17 years, Andy2K’s long-winded response spends an enormous waste of time whining about our blog for seeking a resolution, a settlement in the Newsome Conspiracy Case; and for calling the secretive, unconstitutional Star Chamber, a “secret Star Chamber.”
Andy2K reiterates the half-truth that our tiny blog has affected the jury pool. We think the indictments and trial of Oliver Robinson, Joel Gilbert, and Steven McKinney; and the screaming headlines from AL.com, Mother Jones, and local TV affiliates have damaged Balch’s reputation and the jury pool more than anything else.
Writing to the Alabama Supreme Court, Balch failed to address the three most critical and troubling aspects of the Newsome Conspiracy Case brought up in the Writ of Mandamus:
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- Judge Carole Smitherman’s belligerent, bias, and angry conduct at the hearing about the motion for recusal.
- State Senator Rodger Smitherman sitting in on multiple secretive Star Chamber hearings after receiving about $30,000 in campaign cash.
- Judge Carole Smitherman not holding Robert M. Ronnlund accountable for alleged criminal obstruction of justice and alleged alteration of evidence.
But what really caused Balch & Bingham to explode was this satirical cartoon of Judge Smitherman and Schuyler a la Titanic which Andy2K cut and pasted into his written brief before the Alabama Supreme Court:
Singing a parody to Celine Dion “My Heart Will Go On” may have upset them, but Andy2K lies again writing, “According to the website, legal campaign contributions are bribes.”
We have never said that, but could it be another Freudian slip of the keyboard by Balch?
Andy2K goes on a long dissertation about how the contributions funneled to both the the Smithermans are all legal, and on their face they are, just like the donations to Oliver Robinson’s foundation were. Once investigators find an official act done in exchange for these donation, the legal quagmire begins.
As we mentioned last week:
Although investigators may debate which contributions were alleged bribes, which were alleged gratuities, or which were neither in the Newsome Conspiracy Case, these questionable contributions, many of which are first-time contributions, appear to have been given at critical junctures in the case, according to Newsome’s Writ of Mandamus.
Balch’s kicking the dog reminds us when we were helping numerous families not so long ago who were victims of horrific sexual crimes.
As we were fighting the inept government agencies of the State of California against serial rapist Juan Fernando Flores who raped and sodomized numerous adult children with disabilities at a day care facility for over a year, the general counsel of California’s State Council of Developmental Disabilities wrote back, saying they didn’t want to get involved shutting down the day care center because there was pending court litigation.
We responded that the CDLU was not a party in the litigation, but we gave a damn. “Now get off your asses and do something. These children deserve your help now.”
The next day, the general counsel called us personally and said they’d get on it. The next week, funding was yanked and the center, full of alleged corruption and abuse, shortly thereafter shut down.
