Eight months after his release on appeal, Governor Don Siegelman watched Karl Rove spend two years fighting a congressional subpoena — until Rove finally cut a deal. In this episode, Siegelman and host Nick Collado break down what actually happened, using transcripts Siegelman tracked down himself.

Nancy Pelosi announced in March 2009 that Rove would testify "under penalty of perjury." The actual transcripts tell a different story: no oath was ever administered, no cameras were allowed, and Rove's lawyer secured questions in advance. When committee counsel finally invokes a federal statute to press him on Alabama, Rove's attorney objects that it's "1950s-style rhetoric" — and Rove himself doesn't deny involvement. He says he has no recollection.

Siegelman also revisits his history with Judge Mark Fuller, the man who presided over his original trial — a rivalry going back to a state congressional race, Fuller's opposition to Siegelman's lottery initiative, and a state audit that found Fuller had attempted to overpay a state employee by $300,000, resulting in newspapers calling him a thief before he ever took the federal bench. Siegelman connects this history to a no-bid federal aviation contract for Fuller's company — worth as much as $3 billion over a decade — awarded shortly after Siegelman's conviction.

Along the way: a cameo appearance from novelist John Grisham, and a Supreme Court ruling on the legal definition of bribery that should have overturned Siegelman's case — and didn't.

This is Episode 5 of Me and the Gov — a series of in-depth conversations with former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, hosted by Nick Collado.

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