Ted Stevens

Senators Press Holder On Probe Of Ted Stevens Trial

Ryan J. Reilly | November 10, 2011, 6:00AM

Former Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK)

Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens (R) died 15 months ago. Two-and-a-half-years earlier, the federal corruption case against him was dropped due to allegations of prosecutorial misconduct. Now Attorney General Eric Holder says DOJ's internal investigators are "in the last stages of their examination" of what went wrong in the case and that a multi-hundred page report is on its way.

Read more »

Bingo Bribery

After Major Setback, Feds Set To Retry Alabama Pols, Casino Owner In Bingo Bribery Case

Ryan J. Reilly | August 15, 2011, 5:30PM

The Justice Department suffered a major setback last week when a federal jury in Alabama tossed out most of the charges in a massive public corruption case involving casino interests allegedly bribing state senators to support a bill legalizing bingo in the state.

But federal prosecutors indicated Monday that they'll give it another go on the charges that weren't unanimously acquitted. A judge has scheduled a new trial for October.

Read more »

Bingo Bribery

Judge Rules Trial Of Alleged AL Bingo Bribers Can Proceed

Ryan J. Reilly | December 15, 2010, 12:05PM

All 11 defendants in a massive corruption case out of Alabama that has snared several politicians and lobbyists appeared in federal court on Tuesday, where a judge denied a motion of several of the defendants to delay the April trial because their lawyers didn't have enough time to prepare.

Nine of the defendants argued that starting the trial on April 4 would be unfair because they'll need more time to go through 2,800 telephone calls and 200,000 pages of documents turned over by the prosecution. Court records show the motion was denied.

Read more »

William Welch

DOJ Prosecutors On Ted Stevens Case Appeal Civil Contempt Finding

Ryan J. Reilly | November 12, 2010, 2:23PM

Fmr. Alaska Senator Ted Stevens (R)

Two Justice Department prosecutors involved in the botched investigation of former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens have asked a federal appeals court to review a judge's ruling which upheld a civil contempt finding against them.

A motion was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Friday on behalf of federal prosecutors William Welch II and Brenda Morris, reported Mike Scarcella of the Legal Times.

Read more »

Ted Stevens

Contempt Charges Against DOJ Lawyer In Ted Stevens Case Dismissed

Ryan J. Reilly | October 12, 2010, 4:41PM

Fmr. Sen Ted Stevens (R-AK)

A federal judge on Tuesday lifted a civil contempt finding against a high-level Justice Department official involved in the aftermath of the botched Ted Stevens prosecution, the National Law Journal reported.

The judge's order also removed the civil contempt finding against DOJ prosecutors William Welch II and Brenda Morris, but they both remain under criminal investigation, reported NLJ's Mike Scarcella.

Read more »

Nicholas A. Marsh

Ted Stevens Prosecutor Felt 'Scapegoated' During Misconduct Investigation

Ryan J. Reilly | September 28, 2010, 4:40PM

Nicholas Marsh, left, Brenda Morris, center and Joseph Bottini, right, walk out of the Federal Court in Washington after Sen. Ted Stevens was convicted on seven corruption charges, Monday, Oct. 27, 2008, in Washington.

Nicholas A. Marsh, the federal prosecutor who had been involved in the botched prosecution of the late Sen. Ted Stevens and took his own life over the weekend, felt abandoned by some at the Justice Department because of its handling of a probe into allegations of misconduct, friends tell TPMMuckraker.

Marsh felt that he had been sidelined during the course of an investigation into allegations of prosecutorial misconduct while other colleagues also under investigation were able to continue prosecuting cases, according to friends familiar with Marsh's views. They say waiting for the investigation to play out its course was difficult for him to handle.

"Particularly when you're dealing with someone like Nick, who is someone with the utmost character and integrity... for him to sort of have to sit by and wait for this investigation to run its course while he is waiting to have is name cleared is very hard for him," Josh Waxman, a longtime friend who was a summer law associate with Marsh, told TPMMuckraker.

"I think he felt scapegoated," one friend speaking on the condition of anonymity told TPMMuckraker.

Read more »

Leura Canary

Siegelman And Stevens Prosecutors Team Up -- And Controversy Ensues

Zachary Roth | April 8, 2010, 12:08PM

Gov. Bob Riley (R-AL) and U.S. Attorney Leura Canary

OK, this is one of those stories where there's just so much potential muck that no one comes out looking too good...

The Justice Department is investigating credible allegations that an Alabama lobbyist tried to bribe lawmakers for their votes on a recent high-profile state bill. But the prosecutorial team -- which includes several members of the group that ran the controversial Don Siegelman case as well as the Justice Department lawyer who's under investigation for misconduct in the Ted Stevens case -- is being accused of conducting a politically motivated prosecution on behalf of the state's Republican governor.

Read more »