Gerry Spence is one of the nation's most flamboyant lawyers, and now has as a client one of his few rivals for the title, Geoffrey Feiger, accused of violating campaign finance laws by using straw donors to funnel money to Sen. John Edwards' 2004 presidential campaign.

Feiger's legal team held a press conference in Detroit:

Spence and other members of Fieger's defense team attacked the indictment as a political prosecution at a news conference held at Fieger's law offices this morning.

Among those who spoke on Fieger's behalf was former assistant U.S. attorney in Delaware Jack Beam, who said he was a Republican appointee of former President Gerald Ford.

"This kind of politicization that we see here is a shame," Beam said. "I'm embarrassed that this is my old Justice Department.

"It is reminiscent, and I don't think I exaggerate, of Nazi Germany."

(H/T: Hot Air, where commenter "Dusty" notes that Beam has given more than $8,000 in campaign contributions to Democrats since 2000.)

That's two bad signs for Feiger.

First, when your lawyer starts holding press conferences -- seeking to try the case in the media -- you need a new lawyer. A federal indictment is not a P.R. problem.

Second, violating Godwin's Law is always an inauspicious omen. Comparing federal prosecutors to Nazis is not likely to help you either in a plea-bargain situation or at sentencing time, if you take the case to trial and lose.

-- Robert Stacy McCain, assistant national editor, The Washington Time