Judge orders investigation of (former Sen. Ted) Stevens prosecutors (dismisses corruption charges)

[sabra]

Source: AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed corruption charges against former Sen. Ted Stevens and opened a criminal investigation into prosecutors who mishandled the case.

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan said the misconduct was the most serious he has ever seen in nearly 25 years on the bench. He appointed attorney Henry Schulke (Shul-KEE) as special prosecutor to investigate the Justice Department team for possible criminal contempt charges.

Sullivan made the unusual move Tuesday shortly before dismissing corruption charges against Stevens. Stevens was convicted in October of seven counts of lying about gifts he received from wealthy friends.

"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 in the opening moments of a hearing.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gZXmpL3-GlWbhbGKemFmCm_bPPmQD97DNB4O1

[John Q. Citizen]

1. The facts of the misconduct must be worse than those reported. This is very odd.

[Webster Green]

4. They bungled the case on orders from above, no doubt.

I mean, the U.S. Dept. of Justice is still packed with chimp-licking, repuke operatives, as near as I can figure.

It will take a major house-cleaning in that department to get rid of all the bush crime family drones.

[djg21]

7. Yeah, but . . .

I'd suspect that the "chimp-licking, repuke operatives" were largely in management positions, and the career prosecutors (who, despite Bush's efforts, for the most part are apolitical), are being forced to take the fall for the calls that were made by the higher-ranking political hacks. This is just speculation, but I hope the right people are taken to task for this travesty either way.

[merh]

20. Actually, Morris and Welch are seasoned prosecutors

they hitched their wagons to the Bush train and are responsible for the mess.

Welch was appointed to chief of public integrity by Alberto Gonzales and Welch appointed Morris to be his chief of staff. Morris is responsible for the Abramoff investigation.

Welch and Morris knew better or should have known better. It looks like they made enough blunders to make sure the conviction wouldn't stand. It is that or the US prosecutors have gotten away with this type of crap for so long, they didn't figure it mattered much.

The federal rules allow the prosecution in a federal case to conduct trial by ambush. Maybe this type of crap will make members of congress look at the rules and open up discovery, making it mandatory that all evidence in the possession of the prosecution be turned over to the defense.

[Mike Daniels]

8. So, people deliberately throw a case by bad prosecution knowing they can be charged down the road?

I find that hard to believe that someone is going to throw away their career like that.

[Webster Green]

11. I couldn't believe that the U.S. chose to torture people.

I don't find anything hard to believe anymore..:crazy:

[wroberts189]

17. If they did I hope they sing like canaries. nt

[L. Coyote]

2. This is a HOT journalism topic right now.

We need better practices ordering information overloads like this story?
LBN helps, but stories out pace discussions, and no sooner than a thoughtful post
goes up, boom, the news cycle pushes the thread down. Compilation needed. Who journals Alaska?

One useful practice might be linking the previous story on LBN:

LBN Apr-07-09 - Dismayed Lawyers Lay Out Reasons for Collapse of the Stevens Conviction
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3819426

================
Who Are the Lawyers in the Ted Stevens Trial?

Saturday, October 4, 2008 - http://alaskacorruption.blogspot.com/2008/10/who-are-lawyers-in-ted-stevens-trial.html
Who Are the Lawyers in the Ted Stevens Trial? (Part One: The Prosecutors)
Live from the Ted Stevens Trial—October 4, 2008

Washington, D.C.--
This trial features two big and powerful teams of attorneys going at each other. The prosecutors are lawyers with the U.S. Department of Justice. The defense team comes from Williams &
Connolly, probably the country’s leading law firm for white-collar criminal defense.

Let’s start with the prosecution; the defense comes tomorrow.

If there was a movie made about this trial, you’d have to say that of all the people involved, Brenda Morris is the one individual most likely to play herself. The trial’s lead prosecutor boasts a strong voice that belies her short stature.

Morris is a feisty woman who displays her aggressiveness to good effect. You wonder if—like Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin—she played high school basketball with an elbows-out style. Some of the best prosecutors in Alaska have had backgrounds as hard-nosed football or hockey players.

Morris is an African-American native of Washington, D.C .........

[acmavm]

3. Weren't the prosecutor and his buddies repubics? Or am I mistaken?

Am I just figuring every corrupt official up there is a repubic?

[npk]

5. I think the article I read

Stated that the prosecutor was selected by a democrat. I could be mistaken on that though.

[Mike Daniels]

9. Do your history and you'll find lots of corrupt Dem politicians as well.

[acmavm]

13. OH for fuck sakes, I'm sure I would. But I did have a SPECIFIC case in

mind, I'm not floundering around looking for info on corrupt politicians in general.

I'm not going to live long enough to get to the end of that list.

[merh]

21. Welch was appointed as Chief of the Public Integrity Division by

Albert Gonzales. He in turn, made Morris his chief deputy. Morris began work with the DOJ in 1991, she is a seasoned trial attorney.

[DainBramaged]

6. They can't blame Obama for this one, but Stevens is gone, good for us.

The little turd is out of politics, and it's the fault of the Bushie DOJ not the Obama DOJ, but I am positive some assholes on the Reich will try and blemish Obama over this one.

[FailureToCommunicate]

10. Good for MSM as well. Pretty sure WSJ birddogged Steven's problems... (no not the

editorial folks, the real reporting staff.)

[gulfcoastliberal]

12. Meanwhile, I wonder what, if anything, Holder is doing about the Siegelman case.

What happened in Alabama was a pure fascist play - yet I've not heard anything about his case yet? Has there been some progress that I'm unaware of??

[wroberts189]

18. Perhaps he is prepping the field.. Siegelman will come next. nt

[Liberalynn]

14. Our local newspaper reported that Caribou Barbie

wanted to rerun the Senate race because Stevens was unfairly handicapped by the corruption charges. Begich refused good for him. You and yours lost CB get over it.

[dem mba]

15. I see many are blaming Bush appointee's

but isn't it possible these prosecutors were either very liberal or at least just very ambitious and wanted to do anything they could to take down a major fuck like Ted Stevens?

I have no idea what happened, and neither does anyone else, but this seems just as likely as Bush-backers sabotaging the case.

[hugo_from_TN]

19. That seems more likely to me.

Either someone trying to take down Stevens or just horrible incompetence.

This speculation that the prosecution would purposefully produce a guilty verdict that would then get overturned due to gross misconduct on the part of the same prosecutors (who would inevitably be investigated) is quite a stretch. Some people need to loosen the foil on their hats.

If they wanted him to get off they could have simply said the evidence wasn't strong and they had a duty not to prosecute.

When you hear hooves, think horses.

[bottomtheweaver]

16. Looks like Ted crossed the oil boys.

Probably by refusing to play dead Iraqi and let Exxon and BP piss on his corpse. That's what it's looked like along.

[Blue_Tires]

22. ugh...

the rat bastard was on the cover of my newspaper today like some trumphant hero...someone should pay for letting this fish off the hook