By Alabama Public Radio
Montgomery, AL – Former Governor Don Siegelman has hired one of the attorneys who successfully defended state Senator Roger Bedford against extortion charges last year. Montgomery attorney Joe Espy will replace two attorneys who were kicked off Siegelman's legal team by a federal judge. Siegelman and Espy have been friends since they were students at the University of Alabama. Espy will work with another Montgomery attorney...Bobby Segall in representing the former Governor in the criminal case, where he's accused of conspiring to rig bids on a state Medicaid contract. Siegelman has also sent a letter to supporters asking them to contribute to his legal expenses. He says he needs to raise 100 thousand dollars by the end of the month. Meanwhile...U.S. Senator Richard Shelby has hired a Washington attorney to defend him against ethics charges that he leaked classified information. Gregory Craig represented President Clinton at his impeachment trial and will represent Shelby in an expected investigation by the Senate Select Committee on Ethics. The Justice Department has investigated whether Shelby leaked classified information to news organizations in 2002. The department referred the matter to the ethics committee last month. That signals that criminal charges are unlikely. Shelby is the former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. He was vice chairman at the time of the leak. The Tuscaloosa Republican says he has never knowingly compromised classified information. Shelby is running for re-election in November.