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Ted Stevens

Ted Stevens

Judge Demands Report On Prosecutorial Misconduct In Ted Stevens Case Be Made Public


Former Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK)

A federal judge in D.C. ruled Wednesday that an unredacted copy of an independent report on prosecutorial misconduct during the federal investigation of the late Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens (R) has to be made public by March 15.

U.S. District Court Judge Emmet G. Sullivan said the report written by Henry F. Schuelke "chronicles significant prosecutorial misconduct in a highly publicized investigation and prosecution brought by the Public Integrity Section against an incumbent United States Senator."

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Topics: DOJ, DOJ Public Integrity, Eric Holder, Justice Department, Ted Stevens

Ted Stevens

DOJ Prosecutors Concealed Exculpatory Evidence Against Ted Stevens


Former Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK)

A lawyer appointed by a federal judge to investigate allegations of misconduct by Justice Department prosecutors handling the botched corruption case against the late Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) found "systematic concealment of significant exculpatory evidence" -- some of which was "willful and intentional" -- but is not recommending any criminal contempt charges.

The 500-plus page report by Henry F. Schuelke, III -- based on a review of 150,000 pages of documents, interviews with numerous witnesses and twelve depositions -- finds that the Stevens case was "permeated by the systematic concealment of significant exculpatory evidence which would have independently corroborated his defense and his testimony, and seriously damaged the testimony and credibility of the government's key witness," according to an excerpt released by U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan on Monday.

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Topics: DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility, DOJ Public Integrity, Eric Holder, Ted Stevens

Ted Stevens

Senators Press Holder On Probe Of Ted Stevens Trial


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.

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Topics: Brenda Morris, DOJ, DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility, DOJ Public Integrity, Edward Sullivan, Eric Holder, James Goeke, Joseph Bottini, Justice Department, Nicholas A. Marsh, Orrin Hatch, Patrick Leahy, Ted Stevens

Ted Stevens

Ted Stevens Prosecutor Now Working On Abramoff Scandal Case


The late Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK)

A federal prosecutor who was transferred out of the Justice Department's Public Integrity Unit more than two years ago in the fallout of the mishandling of the corruption case against late Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) has returned to his position, NPR's Carrie Johnson reports:

Edward P. Sullivan, who had been working on international affairs at Justice Department headquarters since June 2009, will appear in federal court in D.C. today as a member of the government team handling the sentencing of Trevor Blackann, a lobbyist and former GOP Senate aide. Blackann pleaded guilty for failing to report $4,100 in tickets and other gifts he received in connection with the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.

Sullivan's lawyer Brian Heberlig told NPR that Sullivan was cleared of wrongdoing in the ethics investigation.

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Topics: Edward Sullivan, Jack Abramoff, Justice Department, Nicholas Marsh, Ted Stevens

New Black Panthers

Holder: Rhetoric On New Black Panther Case Does 'Great Disservice' To Civil Rights History

Attorney General Eric Holder went up for his first round of hearings in the Republican-controlled House on Tuesday, where he faced questions over the Justice Department's handling of a two-year-old voter intimidation case against members of the New Black Panther Party.

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Topics: Eric Holder, J. Christian Adams, New Black Panthers, Ted Stevens, Tom DeLay

Ted Stevens

Feds Says More To Come From Ted Stevens FBI File


Fmr. Sen Ted Stevens (R-AK)

The release last week of the FBI file of the late Sen. Ted Stevens painted a colorful portrait of the long serving Alaska Republican. But noticeably absent from the file were documents from the federal corruption investigation that ended his political career. Not to worry -- the FBI says that part of the file is still in processing and will be released down the line.

An FBI spokesman told the Associated Press that the investigative files were still pending. The news service said it wasn't clear when the new investigative files would be released.

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Topics: Alaska, China, Drugs, FBI, Senators, Ted Stevens

Ted Stevens

FBI Director Asked Ted Stevens To Tell Them When He Met With Chinese Officials


Former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK)

The FBI told the late Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) back in the early 80s that they would appreciate a heads-up next time he met with the Chinese.

As Reuters reports, the FBI file posted by the bureau this morning included the senator's contacts with a diplomat from the Chinese Embassy in 1982. The FBI requested that he inform them when he met with the Chinese in the future.

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Topics: China, FBI, Intelligence, Ted Stevens

Ted Stevens

Ted Stevens FBI File Posted


Former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK)

The FBI just posted the massive FBI file of the late Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK).

From the FBI:

This release contains approximately 3,600 pages of responsive material; the majority of it--approximately 2,700 pages--consists of public source material from the media file associated with the pending "POLAR PEN" public corruption investigation of the FBI Anchorage Field Office.

The remainder of the release consists of 11 main files from the Anchorage and Washington Field Offices and from FBI Headquarters. The files include material on extortion threats to the senator, press reports and newspaper articles about public corruption, and correspondence between Stevens and the FBI.

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Topics: Alaska, Anchorage Daily News, Corruption, FBI, FOIA, Freedom of Information Law, Ted Stevens

Ted Stevens

Ted Stevens FBI File Could Answer Questions On Botched Prosecution


Fmr. Alaska Senator Ted Stevens (R)

The FBI will post the bureau's file on the late Sen. Ted Stevens today, which could clear up some questions about the long serving Alaska Republican who was found guilty in a corruption trial but had his case tossed out due to prosecutorial misconduct.

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Topics: Bill Allen, Chad Joy, FBI, Justice Department, Mary Beth Kepner, Office of Professional Responsibility, Ted Stevens

Bill Weimar

FL Sheriff: Corrupt Alaska Mogul Sexually Battered Child, Lives On Boat

Bill Weimar, the Alaska halfway house mogul who went to prison for attempting to bribe state politicians, is being sought by Florida police for allegedly sexually battering a child under the age of 12.

The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office this week posted a photo of Weimar, whose last known address was a boat dock, and said they were seeking him on the sexual battery charge. Online records found by TPM show a William C. Weimar has a registered a 59.5 ft recreational boat in the state called "RENEWAL II."

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Topics: Alaska, Bill Weimar, Florida, Ted Stevens

Ted Stevens

Photos Show Wreckage Of Ted Stevens Plane Crash

Through a Freedom of Information Act request, TPM obtained government reports on the plane crash that killed Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), which included these photos of the wreckage. Some have been published before, and some haven't. Several are available below.

[TPM SLIDESHOW: The Senator From Alaska: Ted Stevens' Political Career]

Much of the information included in the reports obtained by TPM were included in the Washington Post's comprehensive story of the plane crash, which included interviews with survivors of the accident. Selections from the preliminary report and follow up report on the crash -- which took place on Aug. 9 about 10 miles northeast of Aleknagik, Alaska -- are available here.

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Topics: Alaska, Aviation, Federal Aviation Administration, Freedom of Information Law, Plane Crash, Ted Stevens

DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility

DOJ's Oft-Criticized Watchdog Doing 'A Real Good Job' Says Holder

Despite an investigation this week by USA Today that showed federal prosecutors are unlikely to be fired even when investigators conclude that they committed prosecutorial misconduct, Attorney General Eric Holder said Thursday that the Office of Professional Responsibility is up to its task.

"I think OPR does a real good job," Holder said in response to a question from TPM. "The overwhelming majority of federal prosecutors in this country handle themselves in appropriate ways."

"You can find a few instances where mistakes have occurred and people have been disciplined, but people who represent the United States on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice do so honorably and do so within the rules," Holder added.

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Topics: DOJ Office Of The Inspector General, DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility, Eric Holder, Justice Department, Ted Stevens

Ted Stevens

Reports: Stevens Prosecutors Engaged In Misconduct But Won't Face Criminal Charges


Fmr. Alaska Senator Ted Stevens (R)

DOJ investigators have found that two prosecutors in the corruption trial of the late Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), as well as an FBI agent, did engage in misconduct during the trial, according to the AP. But the prosecutors will not face criminal charges, according to NPR.

Stevens was found guilty on corruption charges in 2008, but Attorney General Eric Holder asked the judge to throw out his conviction over concerns of misconduct by the prosecutors.

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Topics: Justice Department, Ted Stevens

William Welch

DOJ Prosecutors On Ted Stevens Case Appeal Civil Contempt Finding


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.

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Topics: Brenda Morris, Justice Department, Ted Stevens, William Welch

Ted Stevens

Contempt Charges Against DOJ Lawyer In Ted Stevens Case Dismissed


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.

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Topics: Brenda Morris, Justice Department, Ted Stevens, William Welch

Corruption

Casino Owner's Bidder To Alabama Pols: Don't 'You F**kers F**k Us' On Bingo Bill

Eleven people -- including four current Alabama state legislators, three lobbyists and two businessmen with casino interests -- were charged Monday for their roles in an alleged conspiracy to influence pro-gambling state legislation. FBI agents arrested seven as of mid-Monday, and federal officials said the rest of those named in the wide-ranging probe would be in custody by the end of the day.

Conversations unveiled in the indictment released Monday by the Justice Department and the FBI show that Alabama politicians and lobbyists allegedly used hard ball tactics and salty language that could make even former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich blush.

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Topics: Alabama, Corruption, Department of Justice, Ethics, Ted Stevens

Nicholas A. Marsh

Ted Stevens Prosecutor Felt 'Scapegoated' During Misconduct Investigation


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.

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Topics: Brenda Morris, Justice Department, Nicholas A. Marsh, Nicholas Marsh, Ted Stevens, William Welch

Nicholas Marsh

Prosecutor Involved In Botched Ted Stevens Prosecution Commits Suicide


Fmr. Alaska Senator Ted Stevens (R)

One of the federal prosecutors who was involved with the prosecution of the late Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens -- which the Justice Department dismissed due to allegations of prosecutorial misconduct -- has taken his own life.

News of Nicholas Marsh's death, first reported by NPR on Monday, came ahead of a forthcoming report by a special prosecutor appointed by a judge that looks into those misconduct allegations.

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Topics: Justice Department, Nicholas Marsh, Ted Stevens

Don Young

Feds Drop Don Young Investigation


Rep. Don Young (R-AK)

Rep. Don Young (R-AK) said yesterday that the Justice Department has dropped its years-long corruption investigation.

The DOJ has been investigating Young since 2007. The probe has reportedly focused on "pig roast" fundraisers organized by former oil executive Bill Allen. Allen told prosecutors last year that he gave gifts to Young, including a $1,000 set of golf clubs, as well as up to $200,000 in illegal campaign contributions.

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Topics: Alaska, Corruption, Department of Justice, Don Young, Ted Stevens

Leura Canary

Siegelman And Stevens Prosecutors Team Up -- And Controversy Ensues


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.

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Topics: Bob Riley, Brenda Morris, Don Siegelman, Electronic Bingo, Justice Department, Karl Rove, Leura Canary, Lobbyists, Louis Franklin, Ted Stevens

John Ensign

Report: Probe Focused On Whether Ensign Deliberately Evaded Reporting Rules


Former Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)

The federal probe into Sen. John Ensign's sex and lobbying scandal is said to be focused on whether the Nevada senator structured financial transactions in order to evade reporting requirements. That's according to "a reliable source familiar with the deliberations occurring inside the Justice Department," reports Jon Ralston of the Las Vegas Sun.

Ralston's report suggests that the $96,000 payment from Ensign's parents to the Hamptons -- which was called a gift, but appears to have been an unreported severance payment from the senator -- may have run afoul of "structuring" laws. If that's accurate, it raises another question: could Ensign have dragged his mother and father -- a wealthy and well-connected casino entrepreneur -- into legal jeopardy with him?

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Topics: John Ensign, Justice Department, Lobbyists, Sex, Ted Stevens

Don Young

Don Young To GOP: Earmark Ban Schmearmark Ban


Rep. Don Young (R-AK)

Rep. Don Young (R-AK) praising earmarks is hardly news. After all, the Alaska lawmaker, whose "generous appetite for legislative pork," was once noted by the New Republic, is a co-sponsor of the Bridge to Nowhere, and bragged of an appropriations bill that he had "stuffed it like a turkey" with homestate spending items.

But these days, Young's pro-earmark position isn't jibing too well with the image the GOP caucus wants to project. Eager to present themselves as more restrained than House Democrats and the Obama administration, House Republicans last week announced a one-year earmark hiatus.

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Topics: Alaska, Bridge To Nowhere, Don Young, Earmarks, Oil, Oil Business, Ted Stevens, VECO

Bill Allen

Star Witness In Alaska Corruption Cases Begins Prison Term


Bill Allen, former owner of VECO

Bill Allen, the Alaska businessman whose secretly taped declaration, "Ted, I love you," was played during the Ted Stevens corruption trial, reported to prison in California yesterday, the Anchorage Daily News reports.

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Topics: Alaska, Bill Allen, Ted Stevens, VECO, Veco Corp.

Bill Allen

Docs: Feds Pressed Police To End Child-Sex Probe Of Bill Allen


Bill Allen, former owner of VECO

Hat tip Alaska Dispatch...

Did U.S. prosecutors pressure police to end a child-sex-crimes investigation in order not to endanger the federal probe of corruption in Alaska politics, then withhold evidence about the episode? That's what court documents filed on behalf of a former state lawmaker convicted in the investigation are charging.

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Topics: Alaska, Bill Allen, Justice Department, Oil, Pete Kott, Sex, Ted Stevens

Alaska

Bill Allen Gets Three Years For Role In Alaska Public Corruption Scandal


Fmr. VECO chief Bill Allen outside of federal court today.

Bill Allen, the former chief of an Alaska oil services company who became the key government witness in the Ted Stevens trial last year, was sentenced to three years in prison today for his role in the wide-ranging public corruption scandal in the state.

Allen was also fined $750,000.

The Anchorage Daily News reports from the courtroom:

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Topics: Alaska, Anchorage Daily News, Bill Allen, Justice Department, Oil, Ted Stevens, Veco Corp.

Alaska

Young Mum On New Ties To Corruption Probe


Rep. Don Young (R-AK)

Rep. Don Young (R-AK) is refusing to talk about new claims that for over a decade, he received gifts from the same oil-industry executive whose ties to Ted Stevens were at the heart of that case last year.

Don't bother me, don't bother me," the congressman commanded a reporter from the Anchorage Daily News yesterday. A spokeswoman for Young did not respond to a request for comment from TPMmuckraker. And even Young's Washington lawyer, John Dowd, didn't get back to the ADN.

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Topics: Alaska, Bill Allen, Don Young, Ted Stevens, Veco

Justice Department

Head Of DOJ Unit That Botched Stevens Case Steps Down


Fmr. Sen Ted Stevens (R-AK)

The head of the Justice Department's beleaguered Public Integrity unit is stepping down.

William Welch, who supervised the department's botched prosecution of former Alaska senator Ted Stevens, will remain with DOJ but return to Massachusetts, the Washington Post reported yesterday.

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Topics: Eric Holder, Jack Abramoff, Justice Department, Kevin Ring, Ted Stevens, William Welch

David Safavian

Former DOJ Prosecutor: Ring Case Was "Extremely Problematic" From The Start


Kevin A. Ring

A former prosecutor with the Justice Department's Public Integrity unit has called the case against Kevin Ring "an extremely problematic prosecution," since the favors that Ring was accused of doing for public officials weren't in themselves illegal.

A mistrial was declared in the case yesterday, after jurors deadlocked on the charges against the former Team Abramoff lobbyist.

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Topics: David Safavian, Jack Abramoff, Justice Department, Kevin Ring, Lobbyists, Ted Stevens

John Ensign

CREW: DOJ Integrity Unit "Punted" On Ensign Complaint

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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Topics: FBI, John Ensign, Justice Department, Sex, Ted Stevens, William Welch

Alaska

Stevens Prosecutors Messed Up Other Alaska Corruption Cases

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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Topics: Alaska, Justice Department, Ted Stevens

Ted Stevens

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.

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Topics: Alaska, Justice Department, Karl Rove, Ted Stevens

Don Siegelman

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

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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Topics: DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility, Don Siegelman, Justice Department, Ted Stevens

Alaska

Report: Stevens Prosecutor Hires Rove Lawyer

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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Topics: Alaska, Justice Department, Ted Stevens

Alaska

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

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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Topics: Alaska, Justice Department, Ted Stevens, William Welch

Alaska

Stevens Rejected No-Jail Plea Deal Last Summer

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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Topics: Alaska, Justice Department, Ted Stevens

Alaska

Who Are The Stevens Six?

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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Topics: Alaska, Eric Holder, Justice Department, Ted Stevens

Alaska

Alaska Lawmakers Want Government To Apologize To Stevens

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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Topics: Alaska, Justice Department, Sarah Palin, Ted Stevens

Alaska

Did Mukasey Ignore Evidence Of Misconduct In Stevens Case?

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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Topics: Alaska, Eric Holder, Justice Department, Michael Mukasey, Ted Stevens

Alaska

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

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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Topics: Alaska, Don Siegelman, Justice Department, Karl Rove, Ted Stevens, U.S. Attorneys

Alaska

Stevens Judge Seeking Contempt Charges

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...

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Topics: Alaska, Justice Department, Ted Stevens