News is just breaking that Attorney General Eric Holder is withdrawing the indictment of former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens based on severe prosecutorial misconduct. The Politico reports, via NPR, that Holder will instruct deputies to withdraw the indictment against the Alaska Republican today, effectively voiding the conviction that cost Stevens his job:
[...]
This is what happens with politically motivated prosecutions. While Stevens may or may not have committed a crime, he was deprived of a fair trial by prosecutors who knowingly and in defiance of court orders withheld relevant documents and information in order to secure a conviction of a
high-profile Senator. The result was not just a wrongful conviction, but a change in the overall structure of our political process which will have implications for decades if Begich becomes the deciding vote on Obama's agenda.
"in defiance of court orders withheld relevant documents and information in order to secure a conviction of a high-profile Senator. The result was not just a wrongful conviction, but a change in the overall structure of our political process"
....sooooo why are these criminally liable prosecutors not on trial themselves??
Typical political class dust up...no guilty party does any hard time...these mutts throw mud at each other but no one does jail time for it as if they were just politically unconnected schmoes.
http://media.npr.org/documents/2009/apr/stevens_attorneys.pdf
"We are grateful to learn that Attorney General Eric Holder has decided to drop all
charges against Senator Ted Stevens. That decision is justified by the
extraordinary evidence of government corruption in the prosecution of Senator
Stevens.
This jury verdict was obtained unlawfully. The government disregarded the
Constitution, the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, and well-established case
law such as Brady v. Maryland, Giglio v. United States, and United States v.
Safavian, which require the government to reveal to the defense all evidence that
demonstrates the innocence of the accused.
The misconduct of government prosecutors, and one or more FBI agents, was
stunning. Not only did the government fail to disclose evidence of innocence, but
instead intentionally hid that evidence and created false evidence that they
provided to the defense.
The government also presented false evidence on a key matter when it elicited
testimony from its principal witness – Bill Allen – that a crucial hand-written note
by Ted Stevens was an effort to “cover his ass.” This testimony was false and a
“recent fabrication.” Members of the prosecution team knew that it was false.
Nonetheless, it was presented by the prosecution at trial in a manner to give it
maximum “bombshell” effect. Bill Allen had no recollection of the “CYA” statement
when first questioned about it on April 15, 2008 in a meeting with four prosecutors
and an FBI agent, but was subsequently “pushed” to provide the false “bombshell”
testimony favorable to the prosecution.
On February 16, 2009, a new team of prosecutors was assigned after members of
the original government trial team were held in contempt of court. The new team of
government lawyers provided to the defense clear evidence that the “CYA”
testimony was false. In essence, the government tricked the jury into returning a
tainted verdict against the Senator based on false evidence.
...
This case is a sad story and a warning to everyone. Any citizen can be convicted if
prosecutors are hell-bent on ignoring the Constitution and willing to present false
evidence.
There are thousands of ethical prosecutors and FBI agents who have our
admiration and respect for the work they do. The wrongdoing of a few should not
taint the majority. Some ethical government attorneys who came late to this case
were lied to by the original trial team. Accordingly, it is crucial that this matter be
fully investigated to determine the complete facts and assess responsibility."
A ham fisted attempt by prosecutors to skewer Sen. Stevens who should be hoisted on their own petard.
Oops we lied about disclosure won't go over well with the ethical reviews.
Yesterday's Judge Cosgrove removal recommendation in Canada has similar overtones.
http://www.cjc-ccm.gc.ca/cmslib/general/Report_to_Minister_Justice_Cosgrove.pdf
Cheers
Hans-Christian Georg Rupprecht, Commander in Chief
1st Saint Nicolaas Army
Army Group "True North"
The election should be re-done . . . one mistrial = one mis-election.
I like your solution Fred, but the poor guy still has the stigma of the trial over his head. Its kind of like being one of the Lacrosse players from Duke University. All of those boys were proven innocent, the girl who accused them was proven to have lied, and yet they still have to deal with the fact that they were accused of rape. Its still a horrible social barrier.
New election though, good idea, lets just bring in two completely new candidates.
A new election requires a recall mechanism.
so what do the anonymous j q public types do? the ones without the friends in big places, fat wallets and public outrage on their side?
hmmm??? what ???
Fascists are not known for going by the rules, know what I mean? They cheat. Its what defines them.
Yeah and O.J. Simpson was innocent due to persistent problems stemming from the actions of prosecutors.
Canada is not Lilly white by any standard in matters concerning use of the courts for political purposes. Take the case of Jack Ramsay for example.
What Wikki doesn't describe is the loathing the Liberals had for a former policeman who trashed their gun control fantasies.
And in addition, we have the HRCs if anyone "without the friends in big places, fat wallets and public outrage on their side" gets out of hand.
The difference between a Democracy and a Constitutional Monarchy/ Republic is worth a discussion.
They did the same thing to Tom Delay the Republican House Leader from Texas. A Democrat District Attorney kept on convening grand jurys until he finally found one that would indict him. As the Republicans had a rule that you had to step down until you were cleared this effectively removed a senior republican.
Like I keep saying the Lefties are waging a Nuclear war against conservatives and we politely argue on blogs oblivious to how we are being slaughtered.
Never forget that politics is a blood sport. That's how the leftoids play it. We need to stop pussy-footing around and use the same tactics if we want to maintain our freedom.
Attorney General Eric Holder has given the justice system a little glimmer of integrity; remember this is the 9th circuit and a democrat judicial cesspool.
The FBI seems to have protected the agent (whistle Blower) and they did right too.
You have to give them credit when credit is due!