Wisconsin Senate Votes to Reimburse Prosecuted AideContinued fallout from the U.S. attorneys scandal. From The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
The state Senate on Thursday unanimously approved the payment of legal fees for Georgia Thompson, a state employee whose conviction for mishandling a contract was overturned by a federal appeals court….Senators voted 32-0 to pay $228,793 for Thompson’s legal fees; the bill now goes to the Assembly, where it is expected to pass. There was no debate on the bill, but Sen. Judy Robson (D-Beloit) said it was the “least we can do” for Thompson, who served time in a federal prison before the appeals judges ordered her released.
Of course, the appeals court’s decision to immediately overturn the case was remarkable in itself. But here you have a state legislature working to redress the wrongs of a federal prosecutor. Has this ever happened before? It strikes me as a rather unique situation.
And remember that efforts by Congress to investigate the Justice Department’s handling of the case — in addition to other possible cases of selective prosecution — have been firmly rebuffed (with the exception of the disclosure of one telling email).