U.S. drops corruption case against ex-Sen. Stevens

[me]

U.S. drops corruption case against ex-Sen. Stevens
Wed Apr 1, 2009 5:22pm EDT

By James Vicini

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department asked a federal judge on Wednesday to throw out the corruption conviction of former Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens because prosecutors withheld helpful evidence from his lawyers.

Attorney General Eric Holder said he decided to abandon the case against Stevens, a Republican who narrowly lost his bid for re-election last year amid heavy publicity over the case, after a review showed prosecutors did not turn over to the defense information that might have helped Stevens' case.

In October, a federal jury found Stevens guilty of seven counts of lying on a Senate disclosure form to conceal $250,000 in gifts and home renovations from an oil executive and other friends.

"I have determined that it is in the interest of justice to dismiss the indictment and not proceed with a new trial," Holder said as department prosecutors filed a motion in federal court to set aside the jury verdict and throw out the charges.

The decision to drop the high-profile case was a major embarrassment for the Justice Department. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan immediately set an April 7 hearing on the department's request.

Stevens, 85, -- who had been the longest-serving Republican in the U.S. Senate -- said he is grateful the department acknowledged that he did not receive a fair trial.

"I always knew that there would be a day when the cloud that surrounded me would be removed. That day has finally come. It is unfortunate that an election was affected by proceedings now recognized as unfair," he said in a statement.

Allegations of prosecutorial misconduct had delayed the sentencing of Stevens, who was narrowly defeated in the November election by Mark Begich, a Democrat. The case was cited as one reason for the loss.

Stevens had faced up to five years in prison on each count, but under federal guidelines was likely to get much less prison time or just probation if he had been sentenced.

Stevens' defense attorneys had sought to overturn the conviction, citing a whistleblower complaint by an FBI agent who said another agent and prosecutors improperly concealed evidence helpful to Stevens.

U.S. prosecutors are required to fully disclose evidence to defendants.

Earlier this year, Sullivan, the presiding judge in the case, ordered three Justice Department attorneys held in contempt for failing to turn over documents to Stevens' legal team.

The department said in court documents filed on Wednesday it failed to turn over to the defense for use at trial notes from an interview in April last year with Bill Allen, the former head of an Alaska oil-services firm and the prosecution's star witness.

It said Allen in the interview estimated the value of the renovation work at Stevens' home to be far less than what he testified at trial and said he did not remember talking to a mutual friend about a bill for Stevens for the work.  Continued...http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE5302O820090401

A fine example of your dems at work.  Proves what lengths they would go to to win house majority. 

[Exterminator]

Hot off the press!  (last week's press)   

[Sandy Eggo]

So, he's corrupt and that's "the dems" fault?

[me]

So, he's corrupt and that's "the dems" fault?

Read the story.  Those were false, trumped up, bogus charges to keep him from being re elected.  Read Forrest, read.....

[Exterminator]

Read the story.  Those were false, trumped up, bogus charges to keep him from being re elected.  Read Forrest, read.....

Perhaps you should be the one who should learn to read.  The charges haven't been dismissed; only the verdict, based on prosecutorial misconduct.  The case will likely be re-tried and will likely produce the same outcome.

[me]

Judge Tosses Stevens Verdict, Blasts Prosecutors
Special Prosecutor to Probe Alleged Misconduct in Ex-Alaska Senator's Corruption Case
By PIERRE THOMAS, JASON RYAN
and THERESA COOK
April 7, 2009


In a fatal blow to the corruption case against former Alaskan Sen. Ted Stevens, a federal judge granted a Justice Department request to throw out the guilty verdict against Stevens and ordered a criminal investigation into alleged misconduct by the prosecutors tasked with trying the case.
Outraged federal judge throws out guilty verdict against former Alaskan senator.

U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan, who rebuked the prosecutors repeatedly during the trial last fall, said today that "For 25 years I've told defendants they'd receive a fair trial... I've never seen such mishandling or misconduct."

Last week, the Justice Department took the extremely rare action to issue a mea culpa and announce its intention to drop the matter after prosecutors had already won a conviction in the high-profile case.

A federal jury in Washington convicted the Alaska Republican, 85, on corruption charges last October, just days before Stevens lost a re-election bid. The prosecution charged that Stevens lied on his Senate financial disclosure forms, in effect concealing $250,000 worth of gifts and home renovations from a wealthy oilman, Bill Allen, and his oil services company, Veco.

Stevens said in court today that he had begun to question his faith in the judicial system, but that the most recent actions taken by Attorney General Eric Holder, Sullivan and new prosecutors who reviewed the case restored that confidence.

"I'm deeply grateful for all you've done," he told the court.

He did not make a formal statement to reporters as he departed the courthouse, but asked how he felt, Stevens said, "Well, if I was Sen. Byrd, I'd say Hallelujah" as he entered a waiting SUV.

West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd is the longest-serving Democrat in the U.S. Senate; Stevens, who had been a senator since 1968, was the longest-serving Republican.

Though Stevens appeared to have had a weight lifted from his shoulders, the judge remained troubled by the allegations of misconduct.

At the hearing, Sullivan clicked through a litany of alleged prosecutorial missteps, including the improper release of a witness who then returned to Alaska, blacking out exculpatory information from an FBI report, withholding a key grand jury transcript and submitting false business records into evidence. Prosecutors have since admitted that some of the moves were "mistakes."
http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/Politics/story?id=7277926&page=1

[Henry Hawk]

I am split on this.........I have no doubt in my mind that Stevens is corrupt....but I also believe that there was some dirty pool being played here by the democrats to keep him from being re-elected....

[Exterminator]

I am split on this.........I have no doubt in my mind that Stevens is corrupt....but I also believe that there was some dirty pool being played here by the democrats to keep him from being re-elected....

Agreed and those officials guilty of the misconduct that resulted in the verdict being overturned should lose their jobs.  It still remains, however, that Stevens took what amounts to bribes and then lied about it.  It isn't a partisan issue although me seems to think he should get a pass simply because he's a Republican.

[Sandy Eggo]

Exactly

[Ma and Pa]

I believe that most of us would agree that public officials SHOULD be held to higher standards than the general populace. We would probably also agree that when found guilty of violating our laws and the public trust, these fatcat bozos usually receive a much lighter penalty for their actions than would any of us were we similarly indicted. I wonder if the prosecution, with egg all over its face, will even bother to reinstate charges against Teddy boy?   

[Bo D]

.but I also believe that there was some dirty pool being played here by the democrats to keep him from being re-elected....

Excuse me, but I believe that it was the Bush DOJ that prosecuted Stevens.

[Exterminator]

Excuse me, but I believe that it was the Bush DOJ that prosecuted Stevens.

Details, details...

[Henry Hawk]

Excuse me, but I believe that it was the Bush DOJ that prosecuted Stevens.

First of all, it was....On June 16, 1994, Judge Sullivan was appointed by President William Clinton to serve as United States District Judge for the District of Columbia.

Second of all, a good judge is not left or right, but simply interprets the law....

and third...it was the Justice Department attorneys held in contempt for failing to turn over documents to Stevens' legal team.

[Exterminator]

Do we really have to explain to you the difference between the prosecutors who brought the charges and the judge who heard the case?

[Henry Hawk]

Do we really have to explain to you the difference between the prosecutors who brought the charges and the judge who heard the case?

Nope, I jumped the gun there....and misread Bo's post.......