A I say the blank is the client's name that I can't disclose. But it says, I e-mailed this to the client's name, Karl and Stewart today.

A "I e-mailed this to" -- and that's the client's name -- "then Karl and Stewart today."

Q Okay. And the general substance of this appears to be an effort to get a Senator to send a letter. I'll read the first two sentences of the e-mail. "I've been talking with Robby from Hutchinson's office. He has offered to try to get the Senator to send this letter." And the letter has to do with getting payment on a FEMA matter.

But there's another bit I'd like to look at closely, which the majority counsel uses to establish that Rob Riley had an extensive relationship with Simpson and that Riley has gotten Rove to intervene with legal favors in the past. Here's the document they're discussing in this passage.

As you've probably already sussed out, the transcript from the Jill Simpson interview with HJC is must-read scandal porn. In it, Simpson clearly states that Rove got involved in the Siegelman prosecution and talked to Public Integrity at DOJ in doing so.

Q Is this Rob Riley's handwriting? A Yes, it is. Q Okay. And the Karl that is referenced here -- well, let me ask about Stewart. Who is the Stewart referenced here? A Stewart is a lobbyist that works for the Federalist Group. Q Here in Washington, D.C.? A Yes. And they've now been bought out by Ogilvy. Q This matter was an effort to collect on a FEMA contract? A That is that's correct. Q And the Karl that is listed here, do you know who that is? A I believe that is Karl Rove. Q And why do you think that's Karl Rove? A Rob -- what Rob would do for us occasionally, he would ask me to do little odds and ends for him, such as follow Don Siegelman and stuff. And then he for me occasionally would -- if I needed somebody to write a letter to speed up a client getting a check or whatever, he would see if he could find somebody that would help me with that. And it was not uncommon for him to talk to Karl Rove and Stewart Hall about that because he would make reference to it. Q You had heard Karl Rove's name come up before in conjunction with matters like this? A Yes. And basically what we would do, we would help to write the letter that we wanted or he would help to write it. He would send it to me for me to approve, then he would send it to Stewart and our -- or whoever. And they would -- and Karl -- and then they would attempt to get it approved. You know, I mean get somebody to do it. [my emphasis]

This passage appears to be a response to work Simpson was doing for a client who was trying to collect money on a FEMA contract. Simpson appears to have asked Riley for help. To get that help, Riley appears to have called (and I'm guessing from the context here) KayBee Hutchison's office and gotten her to sign her name to the attached letter on behalf of Simpson's client. According to Simspon, this is something Rove did regularly. And Rove--and Stewart Hall--appears to have been right smack in the middle of these negotiations. And incidentally, just after this passage, the interview goes off the record.

There's nothing illegal in this. Riley appears to have done this in exchange for Simpson's political work--including her taking pictures at the Klan rally. Though it is notable that Simpson later got asked by this crowd to do something that Simpson believed was unethical and probably illegal.

A In the fall of 2006, a Riley campaign person came by my office wanting me to meet with the governor at a -- his birthday party out at Randy and Kelly Owens' house, who Randy sings in the band Alabama and Randy's bandmate, Teddy Gentry is my ex-brother-in-law, although he is still my brother-in-law. I mean, we get along. I see my ex-husband every day. But anyway, the thing is this, the governor was having a birthday party out there and they wanted me to meet with them to talk about some campaign stuff. And this lawyer asked me to do some things I did not feel comfortable with. [snip] A The Bar said that I could talk to Joe Espy, so I called him back and I told Joe Espy what they had asked me to do. Joe Espy felt it was illegal, I believe. I mean, he indicated that to me. And, anyway, at one point he says good God, why would they ask you, Jill Simpson, lawyer from Rainsville, to do this. [my emphasis]

So Riley gets local lawyers to do his dirty work, possibly extending to include illegal favors. And in exchange Karl Rove and a professional lobbyist return the favor--for free. Hall has never registered as a lobbyist for a trucking company (which sounds like it might apply to Simpson's client) and his only work for disaster and emergency services--FEMA's core business--came in 2006 and 2007. So it appears that whatever company he helped Simpson with, he did not register with (and presumably did not get paid by).

It sure does make you wonder what Stewart Hall got in exchange for giving his core business away for free, doesn't it?