By Associated Press
Washington, DC – A lawyer who claims that Republican political motivations influenced the prosecution of former Democratic Alabama Governor Don Siegelman says Karl Rove asked her to find evidence that Siegelman was cheating on his wife. According to a release Thursday from CBS, Jill Simpson makes the claim in an upcoming broadcast of ''60 Minutes.''
Simpson is an attorney and former Republican campaign operative in Alabama. The CBS release said she makes the claim against the former top White House adviser in a broadcast scheduled to be aired Sunday.
Simspon has alleged for months that she overheard conversations among Republican operatives showing that Rove was involved in Siegelman's prosecution by the Justice Department. But she has never before said that Rove pressed her for evidence of marital infidelity.
According to the CBS release, she says Rove approached her at a 2001 meeting.
The release said Simpson said she is speaking out on the issue because Siegelman's seven-year sentence on his federal conviction on corruption charges bothers her. She said she found no evidence of an affair.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)