Published January 17, 2006
SOUTHFIELD (AP) - Attorney Geoffrey Fieger, recently cleared of criminal wrongdoing in a state campaign finance investigation, yesterday predicted a separate federal investigation will lead to his indictment.
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Fieger said he would be indicted as a result of a federal investigation into campaign contributions. Federal investigators are looking into contributions Fieger's staff made to Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards.
"I fully expect that I will be indicted by a grand jury, who will indict a bottle of beer if the Republican U.S. attorney told them to do it," Fieger said yesterday at a news conference at his Southfield law offices.
"It has never been illegal in this country to give bonuses to civic-minded employees," he said.
Fieger refused to elaborate on the bonuses he gave.
Joseph Bird, a lawyer formerly employed by Fieger's firm has said he and his wife each gave $2,000 to Edwards' 2004 campaign at the request of one of Fieger's law partners and were later reimbursed by the firm. Such reimbursements, designed to skirt campaign finance limits, are illegal.
Fieger also said he was grateful to Patrick Shannon, a special prosecutor appointed by Republican Attorney General Mike Cox to investigate Fieger's funding of television ads against GOP-nominated Michigan Supreme Court Justice Stephen Markman.
On Saturday, Shannon said the ad campaign did not merit criminal charges, but could warrant hefty civil fines.
Fieger repeated his claim yesterday that state and federal investigations were part of a Republican conspiracy against him.
