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U.S. to drop charges against former Sen. Stevens: report

Gill

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department has decided to drop all charges against former Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens amid accusations of prosecutorial misconduct, NPR reported on Wednesday, citing Justice officials.

Stevens, a Republican who served longer than any other U.S. senator before losing a November re-election race, was convicted in October of seven counts of lying on a Senate disclosure form to conceal $250,000 in gifts and home renovations from an oil industry executive and other friends. Allegations of prosecutorial misconduct have delayed his sentencing.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder reviewed the case himself and decided not to continue to defend the conviction in the face of questions about prosecutors'' actions, NPR reported on its website.
U.S. to drop charges against former Sen. Stevens: report | Politics | Reuters

There were a lot of rumors of problems on how the prosecutor's handled this case during the trial. A lot of legal scholars thought the judge should have dismissed the case based on misconduct, but it obviously never happened.

In any case, it is probably for the best that Stevens is out of the Senate. He made a major mistake in my opinion by not dropping out of the race so that a legitimate Republican candidate could run. Almost any Republican could have beat the Democrat candidate in Alaska. He cost the Republicans a badly needed Senate seat.
 
Could be an april fools joke too :)

But if we say it is true, and there was misconduct then kudos to Holder for doing this. Although we all know Stevens was dirty, it dont change the fact that any trial has to be fair and free from misconduct, regardless of who it is.

One has to wonder what other "skeletons" there are in the DOJ and the Bush administrations handling of trials that Holder has to clean up in.
 
Could be an april fools joke too :)

But if we say it is true, and there was misconduct then kudos to Holder for doing this. Although we all know Stevens was dirty, it dont change the fact that any trial has to be fair and free from misconduct, regardless of who it is.

One has to wonder what other "skeletons" there are in the DOJ and the Bush administrations handling of trials that Holder has to clean up in.

Probably the same number of skeletons that each and every administration leaves, and the same number that Obama will leave.

Do you ever make a post that does not have a backhanded slam against Bush?? You seem obsessed.
 
Probably the same number of skeletons that each and every administration leaves, and the same number that Obama will leave.

Do you ever make a post that does not have a backhanded slam against Bush?? You seem obsessed.

Well who else is ultimately responsible?

The prosecutor in this case was most likely a Bush appointee, and worked for a DOJ marred by nepotism and other scandals under Bush. So who is responsible? Clinton? Obama? God?

If there was misconduct then why did the Bush administration and the DOJ at the time not do anything about it?

As for skeletons... I doubt that any administration has as many skeletons as the Bush administrations (thats not saying that others dont have any). The total lack of accountability by the Republican run congress the first 6 years of the Bush administration gave free reign for the Bush administration to do whatever it wanted.

So yea I do blame Bush and his administration and especially the DOJ. Who do you blame?
 
Could be an april fools joke too :)

But if we say it is true, and there was misconduct then kudos to Holder for doing this. Although we all know Stevens was dirty, it dont change the fact that any trial has to be fair and free from misconduct, regardless of who it is.

One has to wonder what other "skeletons" there are in the DOJ and the Bush administrations handling of trials that Holder has to clean up in.
We all know, we all know??? What do you know that we don't? You got something else you can show us has proven about Stevens? Let's see some sources.
 
We all know, we all know??? What do you know that we don't? You got something else you can show us has proven about Stevens? Let's see some sources.

He's a Republican. So he's guilty.

If you're Dodd, Geithner, Rangel, Daschle, Jefferson, Frank... you can commit all kinds of crimes and never have to worry.

.
 
Well who else is ultimately responsible?

The prosecutor in this case was most likely a Bush appointee, and worked for a DOJ marred by nepotism and other scandals under Bush. So who is responsible? Clinton? Obama? God?

How about the prosecutors that screwed the case up? Ever consider that it might be their fault??


If there was misconduct then why did the Bush administration and the DOJ at the time not do anything about it?

Yeah, and I'm sure you would have never accused them of interfering with a case against a fellow Republican would you?

As for skeletons... I doubt that any administration has as many skeletons as the Bush administrations (thats not saying that others dont have any). The total lack of accountability by the Republican run congress the first 6 years of the Bush administration gave free reign for the Bush administration to do whatever it wanted.

So yea I do blame Bush and his administration and especially the DOJ. Who do you blame?

Your post is long on shoulda and coulda, but short of actual facts.

By the way, thanks for clearing up my confusion on the obsession issue.
 
How about the prosecutors that screwed the case up? Ever consider that it might be their fault??

Of course it is their fault, but who hired them? Should those people who hire the incompetent not also be judged on this? And are they at all qualified? Considering the amount of "friends" that have been appointed to top jobs in the Bush administration then that is a very valid question.

Yeah, and I'm sure you would have never accused them of interfering with a case against a fellow Republican would you?

Has nothing to do with it being a republican or a democrat. The prosecution did misconduct by withholding evidence. Now that evidence could just as well bury Stevens even more as well as clear him, but that is irrelevant. The relevant part is that they withheld evidence so the jury and the judge could not evaluate it in conjunction with the final result. That tainted the judgement and has now most likely freed a guilty man.

Your post is long on shoulda and coulda, but short of actual facts.

The facts are there, the right just cant accept facts any more. When it came out that AG were fired, the right dismissed the scandal. When it came out that the Bush administration used very questionable hiring practices in the DOJ and had politicized the DOJ (which like it or not was unheard of at the time), the right dismissed it. Time and time again the right has dismissed any and all scandals within the Bush administration.
 
Of course it is their fault, but who hired them? Should those people who hire the incompetent not also be judged on this? And are they at all qualified? Considering the amount of "friends" that have been appointed to top jobs in the Bush administration then that is a very valid question.

I don't know who hired them. Do you?


The facts are there, the right just cant accept facts any more. When it came out that AG were fired, the right dismissed the scandal. When it came out that the Bush administration used very questionable hiring practices in the DOJ and had politicized the DOJ (which like it or not was unheard of at the time), the right dismissed it. Time and time again the right has dismissed any and all scandals within the Bush administration.

Facts?? All I've seen in your posts is conjecture.
 
This is the correct outcome. Stevens was corrupt as hell, and certainly deserved to be convicted for his crimes. However, if the prosecution pulls unacceptable stunts like this, they need to lose the case. Stevens has already been removed from the Senate and it is more important that we maintain the integrity of our judicial system.
 
He's a Republican. So he's guilty.

If you're Dodd, Geithner, Rangel, Daschle, Jefferson, Frank... you can commit all kinds of crimes and never have to worry.

.


a Democratic administration decides to let him off, and you have no kudos for them, just the usual crap. Exactly what I expected.
 
a Democratic administration decides to let him off, and you have no kudos for them, just the usual crap. Exactly what I expected.

I think it was smart of Holder to let it drop, but I really don't think he had much choice in the matter.

He should be prosecuting the two DOJ attorneys that screwed this up. They've already been cited for contempt of court.
 
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