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Justice Picking Up Tab For Stevens Six Defense
Guess who's footing the bill for those fancy lawyers the Stevens Six have hired? We are.
The Justice Department confirmed to TPMmuckraker that the prosecutors -- who are being investigated for criminal contempt in connection to misconduct in the Ted Stevens case -- requested representation under a DOJ provision that applies to employees who run into legal trouble while doing their jobs, and that the request was authorized.
A we noted yesterday, Legal Times reported that four of the six prosecutors have hired prominent Washington lawyers -- including Robert Luskin, who represents Karl Rove -- and that the other two prosecutors are in talks with similar heavy hitters.
The prosecutors are being investigated for withholding evidence in the Stevens trial, which ultimately led to the charges against Stevens being dropped on appeal.
Josh
Zachary
If they had done their job would they need a legal defense? Is witholding disclosure material doing their job or trying to convict to pad their resumes?
April 23, 2009 12:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
They should have hired each other to defend themselves, then charged the government fees for representing the other parties in the case.
April 23, 2009 2:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
When I choose a medical care provider, I am free to choose anyone I like. However, I am required to personally pay any difference between my billed expenses and the "fair and reasonable" standards established by the insurance company. I am not given a blank check. While I would like to have the insurance company give me everything I desire, I do not consider their position unreasonable.
I do not seek this medical care because I have been accused of betraying moral and ethical standards, and furthermore, I have personally paid the premiums for this coverage. On the other hand, we now find that the Department of Justice attorneys who are accused of unethical behavior and who have not paid malpractice insurance to the government are entitled to whatever they want at my expense.
I fail to see the Justice in this.
April 23, 2009 3:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
I may be wrong about this (I'm no lawyer), but I think that it works very similarly to the medical example provided. IIRC the state level prosecution here is provided coverage by the government for charges that may arise from pursuit of their work (the charged prosecutor being innocent until proved guilty, etc. in a system somewhat analogous to a medical doctor's malpractice insurance). The state justice dept. covers X dollars/hr. in fees, and the charged prosecutor either covers the rest if their defense lawyer's fee exceeds that amount, or the defense lawyer agrees to work for an amount lower than their standard fee. I would assume that this same situation may happen at the federal level--there should be a standing policy (or maybe even a statute) that lays out how a situation like this is handled.
April 23, 2009 11:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Obama may be a better negotiator than I thought. He certainly knows how to husband his chips. Let's see how he manages the healthcare deal.
April 24, 2009 11:45 AM | Reply | Permalink