Posted on 04/01/2009 4:46:30 AM PDT by tobyhill
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. Stevens was convicted last fall of seven counts of lying on a Senate disclosure form to conceal $250,000 in gifts from an oil industry executive and other friends. Allegations of prosecutorial misconduct have delayed his sentencing.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Please pull, repeat
Why pull this?
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.
Lying to a bunch of liars. No wonder they don't want to touch this.
I did not like the comment made by the Attorney General that we in the U.S. are all cowards about discussing race relations. However I think he has mad a wise and sound decision in dropping the charges in this case.
What’s wrong with this story???
more thought-police?
explanation needed for request, please
This is a good story with a just ending.
Vince
I suspect you're on to something. One of the charges against Balgo was that he contemplated selling the Usurper's Senate seat in return for cushy job for his wife. Somehow or other, pardon me for my evil mind, this reminds me of what happened shortly after Usurper was elected to the U.S. Senate. The lovely young Michelle was suddenly promoted from a $100,00+ job at the University of Chicago Hospitals to a $300,000+ job of Vice President for Public Relations and, almost simultaneously, the Usurper came up with a $1,200,000 earmark for the same organization. Curiously, now that Michelle has gone off to D.C., her old $300,000+ job has gone unfilled. Bribery that the ever-clean Fitz doesn't want to get near in possibly prosecuting Blago???
The conviction served its purpose - ensuring another Democrat Senate seat. There is no way that the Democrat career prosecutors at the DOJ would want any sort of scrutiny of how the conviction was obtained.
Funny how this matter is now not even covered except when the Blago does talk radio.
I am positive there is a sordid story here and one that will never see the light of day.
Vince
The only reason he went after Scooter Libby is because Libby was involved with the pardon for mark Rich and Fitzgerald wanted payback. If he was after the real leak in the Valerie Plame case he would have nailed Colin Powell's butt boy Armitage
What Stevens needs to do is turn around and sue the Justice Dept. for malicious persecution.
Can you do that?
Why not? If the charges are false, that amounts to maliciousness.
Why not? If the charges are false, that amounts to maliciousness.
There is a difference between having the charges dismissed because of the prosecutor's misconduct and being actually not guilty of the charges. There are times when the case is thrown out because of this but the client does not pursue a case against the state or U.S. DOJ because they know they are guilty.
I don't know a thing about Stevens. Is he guilty as charged and the prosecutors just went wild? or is he totally innocent and got a raw deal?
In any case he is through with politics.
What? RINO Stevens was corrupt.
How Holder is letting him off.
If he was corrupt he got better than he deserved. I would not lift one finger to help him
If he was not, then bad politics and the DOJ screwed him. in this case, i would be in favor of helping him if I could.
Last time I looked, there is no law against being a RINO.
Lots of Conservative politicians fall victim to bad politics such as Alaska's Governor PALIN. I would help her out of the financial difficulty she finds herself in.
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