Ted Stevens to go free because of prosecutorial misconduct
Adam Serwer is correct, we should be outraged at the prosecutors whom Attorney General Eric Holder deems to have withheld potentially exculpatory evidence at the trial of former Alaska senator Ted Stevens. As a result of their misconduct, the charges against Stevens will, quite properly, be dropped and he will go free.
Now, how about a presidential pardon for former Alabama governor Don Siegelman. If Stevens got an unfair trial, Siegelman was arraigned by a kangaroo court.
Seriously, are those guys getting fired, or at least heavily punished?
Posted by: Chris O. | April 01, 2009 at 02:12 PM
One wonders whether this is laying the groundwork for a similar action on behalf of Gov. Siegelman. Arguably, the prosecutorial misconduct was much more egregious in the Siegelman trial, so after the wingers finish with their hoorahs WRT Stevens, it would be time for the Justice Dept to casually go: Oh yeah, this other guy, too ...
Posted by: Rich Webb | April 01, 2009 at 08:46 PM
That's a very interesting possibility, Rich. The same thought crossed my mind when I heard that DOJ declined to retry Stevens, even though he clearly failed to report tens of thousands of dollars in gifts from VECO on his ethics disclosure forms. Stevens' main defense, that he paid for everything he was billed for is pretty flimsy. The bill that never comes due is a classic way to distribute illicit benefits to public officials.
Does DOJ still have the authority to intervene in the Siegelman case now that he has appealed all the way to circuit court and lost?
Posted by: Lindsay Beyerstein | April 01, 2009 at 09:06 PM
Another travesty from the people who brought us the Siegelman case: http://abajournal.com/magazine/the_curious_case_of_alex_latifi/
Posted by: parse | April 01, 2009 at 11:45 PM
WRT the DOJ's authority, IANAL but Main Justice should be able to review the conduct and proceedings of the Siegelman prosecution and issue a report with recommendations for redress. Based on that, assuming it happens, the President should have plenty of cover to issue a pardon. First, the foundations ...
Posted by: Rich Webb | April 02, 2009 at 08:55 AM
Gosh nobody in the bush administration (Karl you pussbag)would of thought of that! Made them look tough on "gopers", and yet no lasting harm for the GOP
Posted by: madmatt | April 02, 2009 at 10:16 AM
the justice system is evidently more garbled than ever right now; they should simplify the law as much as possible for the sake of average people
Posted by: caffeine head | April 04, 2009 at 07:33 PM