Ted Stevens' charges dismissed as judge excoriates prosecutors

[Hepburn]

'I've never seen anything approaching the misdeeds and the misconduct' in this case, federal Judge Emmet Sullivan says. The corruption conviction of Stevens, a former Alaska senator, is set aside.

By James Oliphant
11:22 AM PDT, April 7, 2009

Reporting from Washington -- A federal judge dismissed the criminal charges against former Sen. Ted Stevens today while strongly criticizing the Justice Department lawyers who prosecuted the Alaskan stalwart for their actions in the case.

"In nearly 25 years on the bench, I've never seen anything approaching the misdeeds and the misconduct I have seen in this case," U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan told a packed courtroom.


A jury found Stevens guilty on seven corruption counts in October, one week before Election Day. The longest-serving Republican in the Senate lost his bid for re-election.

While setting aside the verdict today, Sullivan also pledged that he would launch his own criminal probe of the Justice Department's actions in the case, which included withholding key pieces of evidence and falsifying records.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-ted-stevens8-2009apr08,0,5556984.story

:grr: Fuck you, Justice Dept!!!!!!

Stevens took a ton of stuff, did not report it and was guilty as all hell. You blew it. He walked out of the courtroom today basking in glory and crowing about his innocence.

Damn it!

[Beetwasher]

1. Is It Possible Bush DOJ Intentionally Fucked This Up So Stevens Would Get Off?

IOW, they had no choice but to prosecute, but they intentionally did a super shitty so the charges would be dismissed.

[Hepburn]

3. Not sure....

...but withholding some of the stuff they did withhold was beyond flagrant. Any seasoned prosecutor just would not do this ~~ unless there was some underlying reason.

JMHO

[Mr. Sparkle]

20. Yes, when the Judge said that the prosecutors could face charges , that says all you need to know.

[malaise]

2. Yep he did

Bushco's justice department? :puke:

[Hepburn]

4. There are 6 prosecutors being investigated on this.

I only have the names of two:

"Those to be investigated are William Welch II, chief of the Justice Department’s public integrity section, Brenda Morris, the principal deputy director, and four other members of the trial team."

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aOvuJH12rFqg&refer=us

[aquart]

5. I hope the idiots who blew this get the punishment they earned.

They should at least be disbarred.

[DebbieCDC]

6. Bush junta DOJ did this on purpose

Teddy's BS was so flagrant they HAD to bring changes...but they didn't "have" to conduct an ethical prosecution. Once they are all disbarred, I'm sure Bushco will find them jobs somewhere. Job well done bushbots.

[Raskolnik]

18. I makes absolutely no sense that the Bush administration brought this prosecution, then botched it

purposely. There is a good chance Stevens would have won re-election had he not been prosecuted.

[Hepburn]

7. Head of the Unit, Welch, is a registered Democrat.

Soooooo....there may not be a connection to the Buch DOJ intentionally blowing the prosecution of Stevens.

Shit...

[Hepburn]

8. Brenda Morris, bio:

Adjunct Professor of Law; Principal Deputy Chief, Public Integrity Section, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice
B.S., University of Southern California; J.D., Howard University

Biography

B.S., University of Southern California; J.D., Howard University. Brenda Morris joined the Public Integrity Section, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice in September 1991. After working for twelve years as a Trial Attorney with the Public Integrity Section, she was promoted in March 2004 to Deputy Chief for Litigation. In August 2006, Professor Morris was promoted to the position of Principal Deputy Chief. Her staff consists of 30 attorneys and 11 support staff. The Public Integrity Section is a distinctive unit within the Criminal Division which is responsible for the nationwide investigations and prosecutions of corrupt federal employees. As a Trial Attorney, Professor Morris investigated white-collar cases ranging from federal conflict of interest crimes to conspiracy to commit bribery of public officials. Professor Morris has conducted federal trials across the country which ranged from perjury committed by a Border Patrol Agent in Tucson, Arizona, to witness tampering and obstruction of justice in Key West, Florida. As Deputy Chief for Litigation, Professor Morris was responsible for the daily supervision of the Section’s attorneys on all aspects of their complex litigations and trials. As Principal Deputy Chief, Professor Morris continues to supervise all cases in the Section and she spearheads investigations ranging from the Abramoff corruption scandal to corruption matters involving the theft of millions of dollars meant for the Iraqi reconstruction. Professor Morris is a career prosecutor who began as a Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorneys Office under Robert Morgenthau. Her experience in New York proved to be fertile training ground where Professor Morris honed her skills as a trial attorney by successfully prosecuting hundreds of street crimes and winning over forty trial victories. As part of her federal service, Professor Morris has been selected to instruct on white-collar statutes, including conflict of interest, and investigative techniques to international audiences consisting of prosecutors and law enforcement in Katmandu, Nepal; Dhaka, Bangladesh; and Bucharest, Romania. In April 2007, Professor Morris was chosen to represent the Department of Justice at the Global Forum V held in Johnanasburg, South Africa. Professor Morris has also instructed other federal prosecutors and federal agents on the federal criminal conflict of interest laws at various United States Attorneys Offices, Offices of Inspector General Offices, as well as the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Brunswick, Georgia. Professor Morris is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center located in Washington, DC, currently teaching a course on public corruption. Professor Morris is a native Washingtonian who received her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California, and her Juris Doctorate from Howard University Law School.

http://www.law.georgetown.edu/faculty/facinfo/tab_faculty.cfm?Status=Faculty&ID=1997

I cannot see this one as a "Bushie" either.

Soooooo...WTF is up with this? I have a general dislike of prosecutors because of my background ~~ retired lawyer who did a bit of crim defense ~~ but this seems so out of line as to someone with this background.

Wonder if the other 4 are Bushies and they withheld shit without Morris or Welch knowing?

:shrug:

[Blue_In_AK]

9. Delete - dupe

[Blue_In_AK]

10. Brenda Morris apparently has previous complaints of prosecutorial misconduct

http://www.andrewhalcro.com/stevens_prosecutor_a_record_of_bad_behavior

A Justice Department prosecutor at the center of the tossed-out corruption conviction of former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens led the failed prosecution of a San Antonio criminal defense attorney that wound up costing taxpayers at least $1.34 million.

Tax fraud charges against Alan Brown took six weeks to try in 2004 and 2005, but jurors deliberated less than an hour to hand the prosecutor, Brenda Morris, a defeat.

Brown sued the government over the tax agents' conduct and after the trial won a $1.34 million settlement.

Morris, in the Washington, D.C., office, had been picked by the Justice Department to handle the case after it recused every prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Antonio because of a potential conflict of interest.

Some observers believed Brown's prosecution was doomed from the start, partly because the government's star witness, a former staffer in Brown's office who fell in love with a drug-trafficking client, was deemed not credible.

<snip>

“It appears as though she's continuing a course of conduct of not following the rules, not reining in her agents and not operating fairly,” said Bill Reid, a former federal prosecutor who handled Brown's lawsuit against the government.

[Hepburn]

11. Wow....

...quite a history....:wow:

Thanks for the info.

[Traveling_Home]

12. You know what I'm afraid of ....

these were careerist "dems" who tried to do a political hit job on their own and got caught. All the new administration eople knew nothing of this, though Holder was (kinda) hoping that it would be held to a DOJ invesitgatino.

The judge by deciding to make it a criminal investigation just opened up a real can of whoopee, that MSM will try and make US DEMS look bad.

This isn't good.

[Hepburn]

13. I am getting the same feeling....

....that there is a hit job and it is NOT on the Bush DOJ.

[Hepburn]

14. The Judge:

EMMET G. SULLIVAN: A longtime judge in federal and municipal courtrooms, Sullivan has been named to the bench by presidents of both parties. President Reagan named him to Washington's Superior Court in 1984. The first President Bush appointed him to the city's appeals court in 1991. President Clinton named him to the federal bench in 1994.

http://www.adn.com/news/politics/fbi/stevens/story/745172.html

The article also gives info on other "key" players in the case ~~ but not that much info, IMO. I found the Judge to be interesting since he had been appointed to the bench by Reagan, Bush I, and Clinton.

[madinmaryland]

15. I also understand there is a connection between Holder and Emmet Sullivan.

I'll have to look it up, as I don't recall the exact connection.

[Hepburn]

16. Interesting ~~

I did not know that...will do some research also.

Thanks for the info! :hi:

[Ocracoker16]

17. there is a connection

I believe that both men served together on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

[madinmaryland]

19. I think that was it.

Thanks.