Justice Dept. Will Drop Anti-Gay Stevens' Corruption Conviction

Unfortunately this is not an April Fool's joke. The Justice Department will drop the seven felony counts of corruption and all charges against Ted Stevens, Alaska's formerly long-serving octogenarian anti-gay Republican senator, due to massive problems with the prosecution. ABC News reports Attorney General Eric Holder was reportedly "horrified" by the failure of prosecutors to turn over all relevant materials to the defense.

One of the key allegations is that prosecutors might have tried to make certain that a witness who would have been useful to the defense never testified. A whistleblower at the FBI supported the defense claim in a complaint filed in December.

And there have been other explosive allegations since the trial ended, including that the lead FBI agent on the case might have a had inappropriate relationship with Allen

Before losing office last year, the longest-serving Republican senator had a rabidly homophobic record. Stevens boasted of his 0% rating from the Human Rights Campaign, opposed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act  and "voted for the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2004 and 2006 and even opposed the Matthew Shepard Act in 2007."

In a statement this morning, AG Holder said it was in the best "interest of justice to dismiss the indictment and not proceed with a new trial."

Comments

[Ravenback]

I guess I'll bite on this story. As the Attorney General, Holder had no choice but to dismiss the indictment against Stevens. No Attorney General, especially the top law enforcement officer in the nation, should condone his prosecutors withholding exculpatory evidence from the defense. No exceptions ever. During the last 8 years, the AG office has been rife with incompetence and political partisanship. Prosecutors were fired because they wouldn't try cases based on political witch hunts, and prosecutors were hired based solely on political attitudes (especially right-wing attitudes). I hope this signals the beginning of the AG following the rule of law. And I think the real outcry should be that other cases of prosecutorial misconduct are not coming to light. Now, I would love for them to investigate the Bush administration and possibly try them for war crimes and other violations of the law.

[Andy Niable]

Much as I loathe Screamin' Stevens, I honor the rule of law; if this case is tainted, it should be dismissed. I trust the AG's judgment. This, ironically, is change I can believe in: fairness at the Justice Department.