Federal Bribery Trial Digs into Lobbying Around Birmingham Superfund Site
For three weeks, federal prosecutors in Birmingham have detailed what some might see as the dark underbelly of state politics in the trial of a coal company executive and two attorneys. Attorneys Steven McKinney and Joel Gilbert of the law firm of Balch and Bingham along with David Roberson, a vice president at coal company Drummond, are accused of bribing State Representative Oliver Robinson. Prosecutors say it was an effort to stop the Environmental Protection Agency from expanding a Superfund toxic cleanup site in North Birmingham. Drummond could be responsible for some cleanup costs if that happened. Robinson already pleaded guilty to accepting bribes and was a key witness for the prosecution, which rested their case last week.
Alabama Media Group columnist John Archibald has been watching the trial. He spoke to WBHM’s Andrew Yeager about what he’s seen so far.
Interview Highlights
How prosecutors are trying prove a complex case:
“The crux of that whole case is was [Robinson] hired as a state legislator…There is a lot of discussion in emails and documents about what they’re trying to do. They’re hiring him as a public relations consultant, etc., etc. Some of the most damming testimony so far has been documentation that showed that Joel Gilbert, who was really the prime mover of all of this among the defendants, requested that a letter that he, in fact, drafted for Oliver Robinson, he specifically said it should include language that he’s a state legislator when he was trying to appear before a state agency.”
How the defense may present its case:
“If you’re defending the vice president of Drummond, for instance, you can say, hey, he hired a lawyer to protect him and to serve his interests. And if that lawyer failed him, then that’s on the lawyer…For Steve McKinney who was the boss at Balch and Bingham, a lot of the emails and documents don’t necessarily reach to him. Some do, but in a far more limited way than to Joel Gilbert…And with Joel Gilbert it’s a little more explicit because he was the tip of the spear in this. He was writing letters for public officials to use as their own. His defense is going to be a little tougher.”
John Archibald’s takeaway from the first half of the trial:
“What sticks out is the fact that the defense contends that this is essentially business as usual. That’s how politics gets done in Alabama. It’s how people are persuaded in Alabama. And I think ultimately when I look at this trial, the reason I find it so interesting, even though a lot of other people do not, it is because it represents so much of how things get done in Alabama and how so much corruption has been done in Alabama.”
The Supreme Court will let Alabama’s congressional map be redrawn to better represent Black voters
The justices, without any noted dissent, rejected the state's plea to retain Republican-drawn lines that were turned down by a lower court.
6 months later, Mississippi communities hit by March tornado fear they’ve been abandoned
As national attention wanes and volunteers head to other disasters, residents of Rolling Fork and nearby Silver City have been left to recover on their own.
Court appointee proposes Alabama congressional districts to provide representation to Black voters
The three proposals all create a second district where Black voters comprise a majority of the voting age population or close to it — something that state lawmakers refused to do when they drew lines this summer.
Elections in two JeffCo-area seats Tuesday
In the House District 55 race, voters will select a replacement for Rep. Fred Plump. The District 16 seat is vacant after former Rep. Kyle South stepped down June 30.
Supreme Court to decide whether Alabama can postpone drawing new congressional districts
The outcome could determine what map the state uses in the 2024 elections and whether the high court will revisit arguments over the role of race in redistricting.
Q&A: Author of ‘Rocket Men’ details how Black quarterbacks helped move the NFL forward
John Eisenberg talks with the Gulf States Newsroom about the Black quarterbacks who helped change the NFL, as well as the players who never got the chance.
