John Ensign

CREW: DOJ Integrity Unit "Punted" On Ensign Complaint

Zachary Roth | July 20, 2009, 5:17PM

The Justice Department has responded to a formal complaint filed by a good-government group over the John Ensign matter by saying in a letter that the complaint should be filed with the FBI, rather than the department's public integrity unit, reports the Las Vegas Sun. And the good government group -- Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) -- has itself responded to DOJ's bureaucratic fastidiousness with what we can only describe as a sassy retort that rubs salt in some recent DOJ wounds.

As requested, CREW has forwarded its complaint to the FBI. Executive Director Melanie Sloan writes:

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Alaska

Stevens Prosecutors Messed Up Other Alaska Corruption Cases

Zachary Roth | June 4, 2009, 6:19PM

It looks like it wasn't just the Ted Stevens case in which Justice Department prosecutors screwed up.

Attorney General Eric Holder has found similar missteps in the convictions of two former Alaska state representatives, Victor Kohring and Peter Kott, and has asked that the two be released from prison, reports the AP.

Those convictions sprang from the same wide-ranging probe of corruption in Alaska politics. It was also the same DOJ prosecution team. Five of the six prosecutors in the Stevens case -- William Welch, Joseph Bottini, James Goeke, Nicholas Marsh, and Edward Sullivan -- ran the Kohring and Kott prosecutions.

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Ted Stevens

Justice Picking Up Tab For Stevens Six Defense

Zachary Roth | April 23, 2009, 11:39AM

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.

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Don Siegelman

Seventy-Five Ex-AGs To Holder: Review Siegelman Case

Zachary Roth | April 22, 2009, 5:29PM

Former Alabama governor Don Siegelman is stepping up his campaign to persuade Attorney General Eric Holder to take another look at his case.

Seventy-five former state attorneys general, including ten Republicans, have sent a letter to Holder saying that Siegelman's defense lawyers have raised "gravely troublesome facts" about whether he got a fair trial, reports the New York Times. The letter cites Holder's recent decision to ask that the charges against Ted Stevens be dropped, thanks to prosecutors' failure to turn over evidence to the defense, as required. It argues that there is evidence of similar misconduct in Siegelman's case, and that the charges should similarly be dropped if that's borne out in an investigation.

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Alaska

Report: Stevens Prosecutor Hires Rove Lawyer

Zachary Roth | April 22, 2009, 4:40PM

The Stevens Six have lawyered up. And what lawyers they are.

Legal Times reports that Nicholas Marsh, one of the public integrity prosecutors, has hired Karl Rove's lawyer, Robert Luskin, of Patton Boggs.

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Alaska

Justice Unit Being Probed For Contempt In Stevens Trial Brought Similar Case In 2006

Zachary Roth | April 15, 2009, 4:02PM

Are the Ted Stevens prosecutors in line to get a taste of their medicine?

As we've reported, six federal prosecutors from the Stevens case -- members of DOJ's Public Integrity unit, including its head, William Welch -- are now being investigated for knowingly withholding evidence, a potential criminal act.

Prosecutions for this offense -- known as a Brady violation -- are exceedingly rare. But it turns out that in 2006, an Assistant US Attorney was tried on the charge -- and acquitted amid allegations that his prosecution was over-zealous. In fact, the prosecutors who argued the case against the AUSA were with -- you guessed it -- the Public Integrity unit. And for part of that time, they were supervised by Welch himself. (For more on the Stevens Six, go here.)

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Alaska

Stevens Rejected No-Jail Plea Deal Last Summer

Zachary Roth | April 14, 2009, 1:40PM

You can say one thing for Ted Stevens -- he's got cojones.

Court records that were just unsealed show that the former Alaska senator last summer turned down a plea deal with prosecutors that would have resulted in no jail time.

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Alaska

Who Are The Stevens Six?

Zachary Roth | April 9, 2009, 4:25PM

Earlier this week, Judge Emmet Sullivan formally dropped the charges against former Alaska senator Ted Stevens, thanks to prosecutorial misconduct. And Sullivan also announced that he's appointed a special prosecutor of his own to investigate contempt charges against the six Justice Department lawyers whose string of missteps -- the most serious of which involved withholding key evidence -- doomed the case. That misconduct is also the subject of an internal DOJ probe.

Since then, there's been a tangle of competing claims from all sides. We've seen some critics of the Bush administration suggesting that Justice intentionally sabotaged the prosecution, in order to let Stevens, a Republican, off the hook. Meanwhile, some of the more paranoid figures on the right are arguing that the entire prosecution was an (ultimately successful) effort by liberal DOJ bureaucrats to use bogus charges to create a cloud of suspicion around Stevens and thereby win another Senate seat for Democrats.

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Alaska

Alaska Lawmakers Want Government To Apologize To Stevens

Zachary Roth | April 9, 2009, 10:00AM

The Ted Stevens pity party continues.

The Associated Press reports:

Alaska lawmakers want the U.S. government to apologize to former Sen. Ted Stevens, whose corruption conviction was dismissed this week by a federal judge.

...

The Alaska House passed a resolution Wednesday calling for the apology to Stevens.

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Alaska

Did Mukasey Ignore Evidence Of Misconduct In Stevens Case?

Zachary Roth | April 8, 2009, 12:58PM

Buried in the news about charges against Ted Stevens being dropped, there's an additional serious indictment (as if more were needed) of the Bush Justice Department -- and specifically, of Attorney General Michael Mukasey.

Reporting from yesterday's hearing, at which Judge Emmet Sullivan formally announced that the charges would be dropped, the Washington Post notes:

When the judge heard that Stevens's attorneys sent three letters about prosecutorial misconduct to former Attorney General Michael Mukasey but received no response, he called it "shocking -- but not surprising."

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Alaska

Keying Off Stevens Decision, Siegelman Steps Up Push To Have His Own Charges Dropped

Zachary Roth | April 7, 2009, 2:23PM

In the wake of the charges being dropped agaisnt Ted Stevens, is pressure building on the Justice Department to make a similar decision on behalf of Don Siegelman?

A lawyer for the former Alabama governor -- who last week told TPMmuckraker that the misconduct in his own case "dwarf[s]" that in Stevens' -- sent a letter Friday to Attorney General Eric Holder, asking that Holder review the evidence of "serious and pervasive" prosecutorial misconduct in Siegelman's case.

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Alaska

Stevens Judge Seeking Contempt Charges

Zachary Roth | April 7, 2009, 1:37PM

It looks like Judge Emmet Sullivan didn't just leave things at a few harsh words for those government prosecutors who botched the Ted Stevens case by failing to hand over evidence.

Politico reports that the judge will seek contempt charges against the six-person prosecution team for their misconduct. That team includes William Welch, the head of the Public Integrity Section, Brenda Morris, the lead prosecutor in the case, and trial lawyer Nicholas Marsh, all of whom were replaced earlier this year, as a result of the missteps.

Sullivan also appointed a lawyer, Henry Schulke, to investigate the Justice Department in relation to the contempt issue. DOJ has said that its Office of Professional Responsibility is conducting its own probe of the misconduct, but clearly Sullivan wants an independent inquiry.

This could get interesting...

Alaska

Dismissing Charges, Stevens Judge Slams Government Misconduct

Zachary Roth | April 7, 2009, 12:51PM

The judge in the Ted Stevens case has granted the government's motion to drop the charges against the former Alaska senator -- but not before slamming the government prosecutors on the case.

"In nearly 25 years on the bench, I've never seen anything approaching the mishandling and misconduct that I've seen in this case," U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan said at a hearing on the government's motion, reports the Associated Press.

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Eric Holder

Stevens Judge Weighing Sanctions Against Prosecutors

Zachary Roth | April 6, 2009, 9:14AM

The charges against Ted Stevens may be about to be dropped -- but the fallout isn't over.

The judge in the case yesterday ordered the Justice Department to hand over documents relating to allegations of prosecutorial misconduct in the case, reports the Washington Post.

It was because of this misconduct that Attorney General Eric Holder last week decided to ask the judge, Emmet Sullivan, drop the charges against Stevens.

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Alaska

Palin Jumps On Begich-Should-Resign Bandwagon

Zachary Roth | April 3, 2009, 9:00AM

Looks like Sarah Palin agrees with the Alaska GOP:

The Anchorage Daily News reports:

Gov. Sarah Palin and the head of the Alaska Republican Party said Thursday that Sen. Mark Begich should give his Senate seat up to a special election now that prosecutors have abandoned their case against Ted Stevens. "Alaskans deserve to have a fair election not tainted by some announcement that one of the candidates was convicted fairly of seven felonies, when in fact it wasn't a fair conviction," Palin said in a Thursday interview with the Daily News.

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Alaska

Begich To Alaska GOP: Yeah, Right!

Zachary Roth | April 2, 2009, 5:29PM

We told you how the Alaska Republican party earlier today reacted to the news that the Justice Department is dropping the charges against Ted Stevens by absurdly calling for the resignation of Sen. Mark Begich, the Democrat who beat Stevens last fall.

Well, now Begich has put out a statement in response:

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Alaska

Alaska GOP: Stevens Decision Means Begich Should Resign

Zachary Roth | April 2, 2009, 3:48PM

Here's the logical (read: nuts) conclusion to the fast-growing Poor-Ted-Stevens movement:

Via Think Progress, a press release from the Alaska GOP:

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Justice Department

Beltway Establishment's Misplaced Orgy Of Stevens Sympathy

Zachary Roth | April 2, 2009, 1:02PM

We told you yesterday about Chris Matthews' flub on the Ted Stevens news -- telling viewers that the decision by Justice to drop the charges, thanks to prosecutorial misconduct, means that "the charges should never have been brought."

But it looks like Matthews was just the tip of the iceberg. Since yesterday morning, the self-appointed guardians of the Beltway discourse, in Congress and the press, have been lining up to express their sympathy for Stevens and lament the way the case has unfairly "besmirched" his sterling reputation.

Please.

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Alaska

Siegelman: Stevens Case Is Dropped, So Why Not Mine?

Zachary Roth | April 1, 2009, 7:04PM

For Don Siegelman, DOJ's decision on Ted Stevens just adds insult to injury.

"There seems to be substantial evidence of prosecutorial and other misconduct in my case, that would dwarf the allegations in the Stevens case," the former Alabama governor told TPMmuckraker in an interview moments ago.

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Alaska

MSNBC's Matthews Goofs On Stevens Decision

Zachary Roth | April 1, 2009, 6:03PM

Chris Matthews says a lot of things. So it's to be expected that sometimes they're smart and insightful, and sometimes they're embarrassingly wrong.

Just now, the MSNBC anchor, opining on the news that DOJ is dropping the charges in the Ted Stevens case, declared that the decision means "the charges should never have been brought, there should never have been a prosecution."

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Alaska

Decision To Drop Stevens Case Was Triggered By Latest Government Fumble To Emerge

Zachary Roth | April 1, 2009, 12:10PM

It sounds like the decision to drop the charges against Ted Stevens was prompted by a new example of prosecutorial misconduct, which only came to light recently.

Here's the key excerpt from the Justice Department's motion:

The Government recently discovered that a witness interview of Bill Allen took place on April 15, 2008. While no memorandum of interview or agent notes exist for this interview, notes taken by two prosecutors who participated in the April 15 interview reflect that Bill Allen was asked about a note dated October 6, 2002, that was sent from the defendant to Bill Allen. The note was introduced at trial as Government Exhibit 495 and was referred to as the "Torricelli note." The notes of the April 15 interview indicate that Bill Allen said, among other things, in substance and in part, that he (Bill Allen) did not recall talking to Bob Persons regarding giving a bill to the defendant. This statement by Allen during the April 15 interview was inconsistent with Allen's recollection at trial, where he described a conversation with Persons about the Torricelli note. In addition, the April 15 interview notes indicate that Allen estimated that if his workers had performed efficiently, the fair market value of the work his corporation performed on defendant's Girdwood chalet would have been $80,000. Upon the discovery of the interview notes last week, the Government immediately provided a copy to defense counsel.

Defendant Stevens was not informed prior to or during trial of the statements by Bill Allen on April 15, 2008. This information could have been used by the defendant to cross- examine Bill Allen and in arguments to the jury. The Government also acknowledges that the Government's Opposition to Defendant's Motion for a New Trial provided an account of the Government's interviews of Bill Allen that is inaccurate.

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Alaska

DOJ's Motion To Dismiss Stevens Case

Zachary Roth | April 1, 2009, 9:31AM

Here's the Justice Department's undated motion to dismiss the case, which lays out the rationale in detail, and was presumably filed yesterday or this morning.

Eric Holder

Holder: Withholding Evidence Was Key Factor In Decision To Drop Charges

Zachary Roth | April 1, 2009, 9:21AM

So which of the many well-documented prosecutorial missteps was most important in leading to the Justice Department's decision to drop the case against Ted Stevens?

The initial read, based on DOJ's statement, is that it was prosecutors' withholding of evidence from the defense.

Holder:

After careful review, I have concluded that certain information should have been provided to the defense for use at trial. In light of this conclusion, and in consideration of the totality of the circumstances of this particular case, I have determined that it is in the interest of justice to dismiss the indictment and not proceed with a new trial.

We'll have more on the details of this soon.

Alaska

DOJ Statement On Stevens Case

Zachary Roth | April 1, 2009, 9:10AM

The Justice Department has released a statement on the decision to drop the Ted Stevens case:

STATEMENT OF ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER REGARDING UNITED STATES V. THEODORE F. STEVENS

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PERMALINK | COMMENTS (10) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (10)
Topics: Alaska, Justice Department, Ted Stevens

Alaska

Justice Department To Drop Stevens Charges

Zachary Roth | April 1, 2009, 8:43AM

NPR:

The Justice Department will drop all charges against former Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, NPR has learned.

It added that Attorney General Eric Holder decided the conviction could not be defended thanks to problems with the prosecution.

The news of the case being dropped has now been confirmed independently by the AP and CNN.

Read more »

Alaska

Justice Department Replaces Stevens Prosecution Team

Zachary Roth | February 16, 2009, 5:03PM

Talk about ironic.

Amid concerns over the integrity of their work, the Justice Department has removed the head of the Public Integrity Section and several other prosecutors from the Ted Stevens trial, according to court filings examined by The Politico.

Late last week, the judge in the case, Emmet Sullivan, ruled that four of the prosecutors, including William Welch, the Public Integrity chief, were in contempt of court for failing to turn over documents as he'd ordered them to do.

The documents at issue relate to allegations by an FBI agent in the case that another agent had an improper relationship with a key government witness, and that the prosecution concealed this from the defense.

Along with Welch, the lead prosecutor on the case, Brenda Morris, as well as several other prosecutors, are being ousted. They're being replaced by Paul O'Brien, chief of the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section, David Jaffe, the deputy chief of the Domestic Security Section, and William Stuckwisch, senior trial attorney in the Fraud Section.

Stevens the Republican former Alaska senator, was convicted last fall of failing to report gifts on his Senate disclosure form. But defense lawyers have appealed, questioning the legitimacy of those proceedings, citing, among other things, the claim of withheld evidence.

Justice Department

Judge To Stevens Prosecutors: "Isn't The Department of Justice Taking Court Orders Seriously These Days?"

Zachary Roth | February 13, 2009, 4:42PM

This just gets worse and worse...

Last week, as we told you, defense lawyers for Ted Stevens formally asked the judge in his case to hold the prosecution in contempt, after a string of incidents in which the government was found to have withheld information from the defense.

And now Judge Emmet Sullivan has done so, reports the Associated Press.

Last month, Sullivan ordered prosecutors to turn over FBI documents concerning a whistleblower complaint against the agent leading the investigation into the former Alaska senator.

But they didn't, provoking the wrath of Judge Sullivan:

"That was a court order," he bellowed. "That wasn't a request. I didn't ask for them out of the kindness of your hearts. ... Isn't the Department of Justice taking court orders seriously these days?"

He said he didn't want to get "sidetracked" by deciding a sanction immediately and would deal with their punishment later. But he ordered them to produce the material by the end of the day.

"That's outrageous for the Department of Justice -- the largest law firm on the planet," he said. "That is not acceptable in this court."

This is just the latest embarrassment for the Justice Department in the case. In late January, the head of the department's Public Integrity Section admitted in writing to Judge Sullivan that he erred when he said that a group of government employees, who were cited in the FBI agent's publicly-filed complaint wanted their story to be made public. Some didn't, it turned out.

Stevens, the former Alaska GOP senator, was convicted last fall of filing false disclosure reports to hide gifts from an oil-services contractor. He is appealing the conviction.

Ted Stevens

D'oh! Another Screwup By Stevens Prosecutors

Zachary Roth | February 6, 2009, 3:17PM

Those Ted Stevens prosecutors are just looking more and more clueless.

The Anchorage Daily News reports that William Welch, the head of the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section, wrote a letter to the judge January 30, admitting that he erred when he said last month that a group of government employees, who were cited in an FBI agent's publicly-filed complaint, alleging improprieties by government officials, "want their story to be made public."

In the complaint, the FBI agent, Chad Joy, had accused a fellow agent and prosecutors of violating FBI policy and fair-trial rules. But Welch has now acknowledged that not all of the employees had agreed to have their names released.

This latest screwup comes on the heels of another slip, in which prosecutors have gone back and forth on whether Joy meets the technical definition of a protected government whistleblower.

As the ADN puts it

:
"Initially, when prosecutors sought to keep the complaint secret, they said he was a protected whistle-blower. When they sought to make the complaint public, they said he wasn't.

The defense has also filed a complaint alleging that a female FBI agent on the case had an improper personal relationship with one of the key witnesses for the prosecution, former oil-services exec Bill Allen.

And even before Stevens, the former Alaska GOP senator, was found guilty in late October of concealing gifts from Allen on his Senate disclosure form -- a conviction he is appealing -- prosecutors were reprimanded by the judge for not turning over key evidence to the defense.

Stevens' defense team has already filed a motion that the charges be dismissed, on account of government misconduct. And in a new filing made yesterday, they went further, arguing that the government should be held in contempt.

"The government still does not get it. Over and over again, it has been caught red-handed making false representations to the Court and the defense," defense attorney Robert Cary wrote.

Ted Stevens

Reid: Free Ted Stevens!

Matt Berman | January 7, 2009, 11:21AM

Former senator Ted Stevens (yes, now actually former) is keeping up the fight against his guilty verdict -- and now Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid has lent him a hand.

Reid told Politico that he believes Stevens shouldn't serve jail time.

My personal feeling, you guys, I don't know what good that [would do]... He was a real war hero too, you know. He's been punished enough.

Reid said he thinks Stevens was simply behind the curve of modern ethics standards in not disclosing the $250,000 in gifts he received from VECO CEO Bill Allen, saying of the famously internet-unsavvy Uncle Ted that "it's a different world we live in, and Stevens did not understand that."

Sentencing for Stevens had tentatively been scheduled for next month, but it's unlikely that he'll be sentenced any time soon. Last month, lawyers for Stevens asked for a new trial, claiming that the prosecution had presented false evidence and withheld information that could have helped the defense.

Ted Stevens

Stevens Case 'Whistle-Blower' Revealed To Be FBI Agent

Justin Elliott | December 22, 2008, 6:40PM

We now know that the federal employee alleging government misconduct in the Ted Stevens case is a special agent with the FBI, according to a heavily redacted version of the agent's complaint released today.

While working on Operation Polar Pen -- the wide-ranging probe into public corruption in Alaska whose most prominent catch has been Ted Stevens -- the agent "witnessed or learned of serious violations of policy, rules, and procedures as well as possible criminal violations."

Among the agent's more eye-popping charges -- which you can read here -- is that an unnamed government employee "accepted multiple things of value from sources," including "drawing/artwork, house-hunting assistance and employment for ___."

TPMmuckraker can't help but wonder how the artwork in question compares to Ted Stevens' salmon statue -- one of the unreported gifts that led the government to prosecute the elderly senator in the first place.

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Ted Stevens

'Whistle-Blower' Complaint Latest Twist In Ted Stevens Case

Justin Elliott | December 22, 2008, 2:49PM

It's now been about two months since Ted Stevens' conviction on seven counts of making false statements on his Senate financial disclosure forms, and there's yet another twist in the case, this time in the form of new allegations of prosecutorial misconduct by an anonymous federal "whistle-blower."

This one may end up being a lot more consequential than the last twist in the case -- that juror who skipped out of the trial early to catch a horse race in California and later admitted lying about it.

The new charges came to light in a 29-page ruling issued late Friday by Judge Emmet Sullivan. The prosecution first alerted the court to the whistle-blower complaint on Dec. 11 in a sealed filing, prompting the defense to urge the judge to make the complaint public, the Washington Post reports. Sullivan described the whiste-blower as someone "significantly involved in the investigation and prosecution of the defendant."

The Post details some of the charges:

Among the accusations were that the government intentionally "schemed to relocate a witness" and that an employee working on the investigation accepted artwork and employment for a relative from a cooperating source, according to a legal ruling issued late last night by the federal judge who presided over Stevens's trial.

Sullivan ordered prosecutors to make a redacted version of the complaint public Monday afternoon.

The new charges are just the latest in a string of developments that will determine whether the outgoing Alaska Senator ever faces punishment for his felony convictions.

There's a hearing scheduled for Jan. 15 for a witness who said he lied on the stand about having no immunity deal with prosecutors. Sullivan also has set a Feb. 25 hearing on Stevens' lawyers' motion for a new trial.

Ted Stevens

Stevens To Ask For New Trial

Zachary Roth | December 3, 2008, 5:01PM

Looks like we may not have heard the last of Uncle Ted.

Politico reports:

Lawyers for convicted Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) told a federal judge today that they will soon file a motion seeking a new trial.

Stevens, who was defeated in a bid for a seventh full term, will ask Judge Emmet Sullivan to overturn his conviction on seven federal corruption counts for failing to disclose more than $250,000 in improper gifts.

Stevens' defense team raised numerous objections to the Justice Department's handling of his corruption trial, arguing that the government deliberately withheld potentially exculpatory information and witnesses during the proceedings.

A hearing is scheduled for next month in regard to claims by a witness that he was unofficially promised immunity by prosecutors in exchange for his testimony, and lied about it on the stand.

Several of Stevens' Senate colleagues have recently raised the possibility of asking President Bush to pardon the octogenerian lawmaker.

Ted Stevens

Hearing Scheduled For Witness Who Claims He Lied in Stevens Case

Zachary Roth | November 26, 2008, 3:47PM

Last week we told you about a letter sent to the judge in the Ted Stevens trial, from a witness claiming that he lied on the stand when he said he had no immunity deal with prosecutors.

Now, reports the Washington Post, the judge, Emmet Sullivan, has scheduled a hearing for Monday to consider a request from Stevens' lawyers to question the witness, David Anderson, a welder who worked on Stevens' home.

Anderson also alleged in his letter that prosecutors allowed him to look at documents he wasn't supposed to see.

Based on Anderson's claims, defense lawyers last week filed documents accusing prosecutors of "suborning perjury and making intentionally false statements." The Justice Department has denied the allegations.

Stevens was convicted last month of making false statements on his Senate disclosure forms, hiding $250,000 in gifts from Bill Allen, the owner of an oil-services contracting company -- and Anderson's uncle. Shortly afterwards, he narrowly lost his Senate reelection bid.

And speaking of Uncle Ted, at last the wait is over. We've updated our "Ted Stevens' Road To Ruin" timeline, so you can now see in glorious technicolor just how the curmudgeonly lawmaker got to this point. Check it out...

Ted Stevens

Stevens Witness: I Lied About Immunity Deal

Zachary Roth | November 21, 2008, 4:30PM

A witness who testified against Ted Stevens has said in a letter to the judge that he falsely denied on the stand that he had an immunity deal with prosecutors in exchange for his testimony.

The witness, David Anderson, a welder who worked on the Alaska senator's home, wrote in the letter that his testimony that there was no immunity agreement "is simply not true". And he wrote that prosecutors "instructed me on how to sugar coat [the immunity deal] and get it swept under the rug during the trial."

The letter was filed today by defense lawyers.

Stevens was convicted on seven counts of having lied on his Senate disclosure forms about gifts he received from an oil-services contractor. Earlier this month, he lost his bid for re-election to the Senate.

Late Update: Anderson's letter contains more eyebrow-raising allegations than we'd first noted. He writes: "There was a contract to have me murdered issued by Bill and Mark Allen."

According to a report on the blog AlaskaDispatch, Anderson is Bill Allen's nephew, and Mark Allen is Bill Allen's son. Anderson clashed with Mark Allen, and therefore Bill Allen, over a woman. To protect his family, both from Bill Allen and from unspecified future charges, Anderson testified against Stevens, he told AlaskaDispatch's Tony Hopfinger, who has written for Bloomberg News and Newsweek.

So obviously, this news is being driven by a lot of different agendas, which we don't yet know enough to evaluate. And the specific details of the Anderson-Allen dispute aren't necessarily relevant. But the key point is that if there's compelling evidence that Anderson gave false testimony, or that prosecutors encouraged him to testify falsely or in a misleading manner, Stevens' conviction could potentially be put in doubt.

We'll keep you posted as things become clearer...

Late Late Update: DOJ has responded to Anderson's claims. AP reports:

The Justice Department responded quickly, saying the government never made any agreement of immunity for Anderson or any of his family or friends. "Mr. Anderson's statement in his November 2008 letter is not true, and the court is aware that it is not true," government lawyers said.

...

[T]he Justice Department said Anderson told two FBI agents in an August 13 meeting that he knew there was no immunity agreement and that the March affidavit was false.

The government agreed not to make him testify against family members, but "Anderson knew that there had been no agreement relative to immunity or promises of immunity by the government as to anyone," the Justice Department said.

Alaska

Sen. Stevens Fights On

Kate Klonick | November 5, 2008, 3:16PM

Though the race is still too close to be called, Sen. Ted Stevens' slim lead over his Democratic contender, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, has many wondering what exactly would happen if the convicted felon (and perhaps seven term senator) succeeded in his bid for re-election.

Assuming he wins re-election, Stevens with have a two-front battle to wage: one with his colleagues in the Senate, and the second with an appellate court.

Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has already said that "a convicted felon is not going to be able to serve in the United States Senate" shortly after the Alaska Republican's conviction. He has promised that Stevens will face an ethics committee investigation and expulsion, regardless of his appeals process. With Democrats holding a strong majority and many Republicans -- from John McCain to Mitch McConnell -- calling for his resignation, it's unlikely that Stevens would last long after a January swearing in.

So what will happen to Alaska's second senate seat if Stevens is sent back to the wilderness of AK? ProPublica has your answer:

So what happens if the Senate gives Stevens the boot? Under Alaska state law, the current governor--perhaps you remember her--would appoint a temporary replacement. Then a special election would be held to choose a senator to serve out the remainder of Stevens' six-year term. With no primary election in the near future, a special election would need to be held within 90 days of Stevens leaving office.

Could Stevens actually run again via the special election? After all, Alaska's voters and Senate leaders could theoretically end up playing a game of ping-pong--where Alaska votes him in, the Senate expels him and then Alaska votes him back in. We're looking into it.

ProPublica consulted an Alaska law expert in a later article and discovered that it wasn't quite that simple (is it ever?) -- in 2004, Alaska voters approved an initiative that stripped the governor from the power to appoint a replacement to the U.S. Senate, and which conflicts with current state law. It looks like it'll come down to the Alaska Supreme Court -- with nothing even starting to be resolved until the legislature meets in January.

After covering Alaska for the last five months -- and staying up until 4 a.m. refreshing State Election Board results -- I would have to say you shouldn't put anything past Alaska.

As for Stevens' appeal, it hasn't been filed yet, but we can already hypothesize what it will entail: prosecutorial misconduct and perhaps grounds related to the jury.