Sen. Stevens (R-AK)- ex-President Pro Tempore of the Senate - who lost re-election bid a week after being found guilty for corruption charges had his conviction dropped by AG Eric Holder today. Basically, the prosecutorial misconduct was so bad that Holder had to send a message. Stevens definitely doesn't have clean hands, but the DOJ overstepped. Holder actually started his career at the public integrity department, and knows the AK judge who reprimanded the prosecutors - so he has incentive to keep the department clean, and had reason to trust the judge's reprimands. Here's how the Congress Daily reports it:
NEVER MIND. The government today dropped corruption charges against former Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, because prosecutors withheld potentially exculpatory evidence from his lawyers. The decision by Attorney General Holder was announced early this morning. Stevens, who was convicted in late October on charges of failing to report more than $250,000 in gifts and favors on Senate financial disclosure forms, had not yet been sentenced. "I always knew that there would be a day when the cloud that surrounded me would be removed," Stevens said today. "That day has finally come." Defense lawyer Brendan Sullivan said the case provided "a warning to everyone. Any citizen can be convicted if prosecutors are hell bent on ignoring the Constitution and willing to present false evidence." But he called Holder a hero for asking the judge to dismiss the verdict and not seek further charges.
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