Posted on 04/01/2009 4:43:58 AM PDT by navysealdad
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department has decided to drop all charges against former Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens amid charges of prosecutorial misconduct, NPR reported on Wednesday, citing Justice officials.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Goes to show that, Stevens’ well-known ethical problems aside, the whole investigation and prosecution was sheer Rat politics aimed at hurting Republicans.
What timing.... Now that he lost the election it turns out it was a phony prosecution. Same as what was done to Tom Delay. See a pattern here?
We sure could use another Republican Senator and Ted Stevens was it
Just great. How many $$$ were wasted on yet another commie witchhunt?
Except that the Justice Department at the time was under Bush.
Dropped all charges or did they pardon him?
Now that the election is over....
And how many Democrat tax cheats are chairing their Congressional committees now?
Now isn’t that special, was this the cause of his having to leave office, if so, I see a counter suit.
Would have been nice if the writer had given more info on this.
so stevens got NIFONGED?
prosecutorial misconduct is business as usual.
most prosecutors are totalitarian liberal.
My Congressman Curt Weldon lost his election to a Dem newcomer/rubber stamp because of a trumped up allegation of wrongdoing and a leaked FBI investigation. No charges were ever filed. And no mention of it is ever made.
If Sebelius is allowed to take a Cabinet position, it will be more confirmation of the two sets of rules. People/citizens are reaching the breaking point. Rapidly.
Your statement, although logical, assumes the Republicans can think, which is not a skill they demonstrated much over the past years.
I’m sure they’ll now go call a special election to undo the damage that was caused by his prosecution.
yes, that was sarcasm
So another Republican gets cleared of all charges after being trashed. Remember Newt? The prosecutor should be fired.
“Dropped all charges or did they pardon him?”
Pardons only go to Democrat contributors.
The Democratic Party is corrupt - and corrupting this country.
He was convicted.
You never completely clean out the imbedded termites from a former administration - unless of course you're a completely ruthless Marxist who takes no prisoners.
And your Marxist media will give you a pass on whatever form the purge takes...
Of course, you would know that if you'd have followed the Clinton impeachment wars. :-)
But Justice is and has been a bastion of liberal democrats for a long time...
This will get worse in the coming elections. The RATS should be the ones that are being investigated and charged.
good
Justice is down the series of tubes.
< sarc >This will be all over the Lamestream Media today! < /sarc >
NPR story
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102589818
Morning Edition, April 1, 2009 · The Justice Department will drop all charges against former Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, NPR has learned.
A jury convicted Stevens last fall of seven counts of lying on his Senate disclosure form in order to conceal $250,000 in gifts from an oil industry executive and other friends. Stevens was the longest-serving Republican in the Senate, however, he lost his bid for an eighth full term in office just days after he was convicted. Since then, charges of prosecutorial misconduct have delayed his sentencing and prompted defense motions for a new trial.
According to Justice Department officials, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has decided to drop the case against Stevens rather than continue to defend the conviction in the face of persistent problems stemming from the actions of prosecutors.
The judge in the Stevens case has repeatedly delayed sentencing and criticized trial prosecutors for what he’s called prosecutorial misconduct. At one point, prosecutors were held in contempt. Things got so bad that the Justice Department finally replaced the trial team, including top-ranking officials in the office of public integrity. That’s the department’s section charged with prosecuting public corruption cases.
With more ugly hearings expected, Holder is said to have decided late Tuesday to pull the plug. Stevens’ lawyers are expected to be informed Wednesday morning that the department will dismiss the indictment against the former senator.
Holder’s decision is said to be based on Stevens’ age — he’s 85 — and because Stevens is no longer in the Senate. Perhaps most importantly, Justice Department officials say Holder wants to send a message to prosecutors throughout the department that actions he regards as misconduct will not be tolerated.
Holder began his career in the department’s public integrity section; and, according to sources, he was horrified by the failure of prosecutors to turn over all relevant materials to the defense.
The attorney general also knows the trial judge, Emmett Sullivan, well. The two men served together as judges of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia before each was promoted to higher office.
Holder respects Sullivan and reportedly has watched with growing alarm as Sullivan repeatedly has scolded prosecutors for failing to follow his judicial orders to fully inform defense lawyers about everything from potentially favorable evidence to the travel plans of witnesses. During the trial, prosecutorial missteps led to the judge instructing the jury to disregard some evidence.
Sentencing has been repeatedly delayed. By last month, it was playing a back seat to charges of prosecutorial misconduct — as a whistle-blowing FBI agent made complaints about improper conduct by a fellow agent and prosecutors. With a hearing scheduled in two weeks to explore those charges, Holder decided to review the case himself.
Justice Department officials say they will withdraw their opposition to the defense motion for a new trial and will dismiss the indictment — in effect voiding the Stevens conviction.
This COULD have been Dingy Harry. Easy. But no.
Ammunition back on the shelves yet?
"Selected as Principal Deputy Chief in 2006, Brenda K. Morris has served the Public Integrity Section with distinction since September 1991."
On February 13, 2009, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan cited William M. Welch II, Brenda K. Morris, Patty Merkamp Stemler (Chief of the Justice Department Criminal Appeals Section), and another Justice Department attorney for contempt of court. Judge Sullivan amended the contempt citation on February 14, 2009 to remove the fourth attorney. The contempt citation was for failing to turn over to defense counsel for former Senator Stevens documents relating to a complaint by a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent alleging misconduct by prosecutors in the Stevens case. Judge Sullivan had ordered on February 3, 2009, that the documents in question be given to defense counsel. In the contempt citation, Judge Sullivan described the conduct of the Justice Department's lawyers as "outrageous."
On February 16, 2009, the Justice Department stated in a court filing that it had removed six attorneys from "litigation relating to allegations of misconduct in (the case against former Senator Stevens)." The six attorneys are William M. Welch II, Brenda K. Morris, Nicholas A. Marsh, Edward P. Sullivan, Joseph W. Bottini, and James A. Goeke.
LOL
“Goes to show that, Stevens’ well-known ethical problems aside, the whole investigation and prosecution was sheer Rat politics aimed at hurting Republicans”
It was the Bush Administration’s justice dept that went after Ted.
I LIKE THE HYPOCRISY OF THE LEFT!!!
Holder is dropping it partly because of Stevens’ age (85)? Oh yeah, right! Then why did DemonRATS prosecute him to begin with because of his age???
Sorry, leftists, you get NO points on that contention. Hypocrites!
It could also mean that once AK voted Democrat, the Democrats decided “why bother”.
After Able Danger, Weldon was going to lose that seat no matter how it happened and he knew that.
Still though the country is a willing accomplice to the corruption. The problem is the American people, easily fooled and uninformed.
Stephens was what was wrong with the GOP, he needed to go.
Yes, that makes sense. The Democrats have no qualms about using phony charges to reach political ends.
I guess GWB is friendlier with “Ted” Kennedy than “Ted” Stevens then. I wonder if Stevens and the elder Bush once had a long-running disagreement.
I guess GWB is friendlier with “Ted” Kennedy than “Ted” Stevens then. I wonder if Stevens and the elder Bush once had a long-running disagreement.
I guess GWB is friendlier with “Ted” Kennedy than “Ted” Stevens then. I wonder if Stevens and the elder Bush once had a long-running disagreement.
I suspect that what happens is that the career staff is heavily RAT (like all lawyers, not to mention fed workers). They start the ball rolling. By the time it works its way up the ladder, the GOP brass doesnt want to appear "political" and the case goes forward regardless of the merits.
These prosecutors want to make names for themselves. There is no surer way to win a conviction from a DC jury than to go after a GOP politician. Conviction is virtually guaranteed.
The situation is ugly that's fer sure.
Somebody in the GOP has to get a set of ‘nads... someday.....maybe W will chair the GOP?!!
Certainly a skill Bush and his "Justice" Department woefully lacked in initiating this persecution in the in the first place.
I guess Holder and the Democrat Justice Department figured there’s no reason to throw 80 year Ted Stevens in prison. After all, they got what they wanted - his senate seat. They trumped up a bunch of bogus charges and got Mark Begich elected by the skin of his teeth. Their work here is done. They got their extra vote in the senate. Move along, folks.
Violence has erupted over far less than this in democracies.
They kept him in D.C. with false charges, making sure that he could not get back to Alaska to campaign.
Now we have a demonrat senator in his place.
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