Corruptocrat skates, but he’s still guilty as hell
The Justice Department filed court papers this morning asking a federal judge to toss out the conviction of former senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) on corruption charges.
The move comes as a federal judge was preparing to conduct hearings to probe allegations of prosecutorial misconduct by the team that tried one of the most powerful Republicans in Congress. Stevens, 85, was convicted in October on seven counts of making false statements on financial disclosure forms to hide about $250,000 in gifts and free renovations to his Alaska home. Stevens’s attorneys have urged U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan to drop the case and prevent prosecutors from seeking to retry the former senator, who lost a reelection bid about a week after his guilty verdict.
They have argued that prosecutors with the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section withheld key pieces of evidence and mishandled witnesses.
So, prosecutors screwed the case up royally. There should be consequences for that. Will there be?
As for Ted “Bridge to Nowhere” Stevens, he may not be a criminal under the legal definition, but he was an entrenched Washington corruptocrat whose arrogance and fiscal recklessness remain a stain on the GOP.
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- Bloodthirsty Liberal » Where Does He Go to Get His Reputation Back?
- The TIW Blog » Blog Archive » Another sleazeball thug gets away with it
- For Democrats, the Rules Are Just Different « Teh Resistance Blog
- The Irascible Chef » Made me laugh!
- Hot Air » Blog Archive » Palin to Begich: Resign and face Stevens again in a new election
- A "Moderate" Voice [Dan Collins]
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Frankly, I would be willing to let most of the Socialists in our Fed just retire without criminal charges, so long as they JUST LEAVE.
Good riddance!
The Repubs didn’t need a kleptocrat they could keep getting hammered over, any more than they need Larry Craig or Trent Lott.
Alaskans need to find a better replacement for Stephens, but this is one less albatross around the necks of the GOP in 2010 and 2012.
Mew
Sorry! Very O/T but sneakyville put back the Obama teleprompter video with Benny Hill theme.
Does he still get to keep his post “service” benefits?
“An entrenched Washington corruptocrat…”??!!
At 85 years old i’d say Methusala was about 36 years past being entrenched.
He fought the Japs. There, I said something nice.
I can’t think of a more appropriate tune for him, except maybe Darth Vader’s Imperial March theme.
Schweggie–funny you should mention ‘Benny Hill’ when the other thread has gone the way of British comedies…
He’s free on a technicality and the prosecutor screwing this up royalty. Doesn’t change the fact he’s a piece of work and doesn’t make me want to see him ever again.
Go spend the rest of your time in obscurity in that lobbyist remodled house of yours
Our competent government working for us…
Republican skates-hard to believe.
Abuse of prosecutorial power–regular.
Called on abuse of power–wow!
The Stevens trial was engineered by Lefties in the “Justice” Dept. solely to kill Stevens’ reelection bid and win the seat for the Democrats. You may cheer the convictions on minor corruption charges, but the loss of that Senate seat and the corruption in the so-called “Justice” Dept. is costing you dearly right now, Comrades. Better bend over and grab your ankles whilst you are chortling.
“Guilty as hell, free as a bird. Is this a great country or what?”
Where have I heard that before? That’s right, that’s what Bill Ayers said after he was released as a terrorist after government screw ups.
Steven’s will probably end up with a position in the administration in OB’s efforts to be inclusive. Maybe FBI
Director, or Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.
The same efficiency in government that is going to run the rest of our lives very soon!
Is there any difference between the D and R at the back of these names any more? Skroomall!
Welcome to the new world!
Beat me to it. For sure he will win his next seat as a (D).
Now, now. If he’s corrupt, it’s only because he was taking care of his district.
Wait a second. My bad, I’m talking about the wrong corrupt politician. It all seems the same from thread to thread somehow.
GladzKravtz said (#9):
Bush appointed prosecutors, Republican incompetence. Republicans believe government is dysfunctional and they work night and day to make it so.
While you’re at it, recall that Oliver North had his conviction tossed on a technicality. Newt Gingrich was caught committing a felony but could not be charged because the evidence was illegal, though public.
Im sorry…. who is this guy again? Hmmm no doesnt ring a bell.
Now, see how easy that was? Thats what I want to be saying about most of congress after the 2010 elections.
Dont forget G Gordon!! But its good to see you defending a Republican for once.
The prosecution NEVER EXPECTED TO WIN. Their sole purpose was to remove Ted and replace him with a Democrat, tipping the Congressional balance more in favor of their schemes.
Obama’s thugs prevailed.
This case was dismissed due the potential damage it would bring to the Obama’s corrupt regime.
The real object of the trial was to get a Democrat installed in the seat. Now that it’s ‘Mission Accomplished,’ there’s no point in going after Stevens.
Stevens, a shining example as to why we need term limits.
The solution is simple: 1) if an appeals court determines the withheld evidence material, hold a retrial; and 2) the prosecutors who withheld the evidence should face disciplinary action, perhaps suspension.
The title of this piece speaks volumes. . . I am surprised that you, Ms. Michelle, would write it.
Were you privy to all of the facts at the trial? Did you sit in the jury box throughout? Were you present at the prosecutors’ meetings? Were you fully apprised of the defenses’ case? Do you know everything that the judge now knows?
Your statement is grossly unfair–an emotional and unreasoned piece of bigotry unworthy of you.
The Government, with all of its power, denied Mr. Stevens elementary justice. They stacked the deck of jsutice cards illegally–and patently unnecessarily, had they possessed an ironclad case to begin with. Clearly, their case could not stand on its merits, so they grotesquely propped it up with lies, half-truths, and innuendo.
Some justice. Mr. Beria would be proud.
sandydog said (#23):
Disappointed maybe, but not surprised. Conservatives can tell who is innocent or guilty without trials. The people in Gitmo are all guilty. Tom Delay is innocent.
Wow, lgm, you must be a closet Republican, being such a shill for a Republican Senator. You don’t care about the truth. You just want to argue. You are right about Conservatives not needing trials to determine guilt, for example, it’s obvious that you are guilty of idiocy, you idiot.
lgm’s asides aside, there is an awful emphasis in the court system on winning as opposed to seeking truth. Both sides lie, cheat, obfuscate and obstruct. The defense gets to do that–it’s encouraged by the rules of court, rightly or wrongly (mostly wrongly). The prosecution, on the other hand, is supposed to be seeking TRUTH, not a conviction at all costs.
Yes, those at Gitmo are guilty. Tom Delay is innocent. Obama is really Cthulhu. Any other questions?
Nifong works in Alaska now?
We have just witnessed the future of any member of Congress who goes on trial for corruption. Having established a presedent, now every Congress critter that gets tried will have an incompetent prosecutor. The prosecutor will feel shame for 2 minutes, then go on with his life with no other consequence whatsoever.
Within the Beltway, they take care of their own. Just watch if and when the William Jefferson trial ever takes place.
precedent…precedent…I will write it 500 times tonight…sorry, Mrs. Sutton.
Yes. We are still waiting for the William Jefferson trial, now aren’t we? Someone want to tell me about this “Justice” Dept. again?
I can’t totally agree with you on this one Michelle. The fact that Stevens was a total pork guzzler was not the question here, and regardless, he deserved a fair trial. When the prosecution goes so far as to intentionally withhold exculpatory evidence, to the point that they go through great lengths to redact exculpatory text from documents submitted to the court, then a fair trial and true justice are no longer possible. Furthermore, the evidence is tainted to the point that it’s impossible to say with anything approaching certainty that Stevens was guilty.
Furthermore, the prosecutors didn’t merely “screw up this case”, they committed an egregious abuse of power, not much different than what Mike Nifong tried to do. Throw in all the prosecution’s strategically timed leaks, the fact that the trial was held before a DC jury (as if a Republican could ever get a fair trial in DC – remember Libby?), and you have a total travesty of justice.
Given the rash of cheating prosecutors we’ve seen lately, I don’t think this is something to dismiss so lightly, regardless of how much of an earmark addict that Stevens was.
BTW, Redstate has a great post about this topic. Money quote: