Attorney General Eric Holder is planning to ask a judge to void the conviction of former Sen. Ted Stevens to avoid hearings focusing on prosecutorial problems in the case, NPR is reporting.
Last year Stevens, Alaska Republican, was convicted of failing to disclose gifts from a friend in the energy industry. He also lost his re-election bid in November.
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Sentencing has been delayed as the federal judge in the case chastised the Justice Department for withholding evidence from the defense and other prosecutorial misconduct.
Instead of trying to put the 84-year-old Stevens behind bars, Holder will use the case as a teaching moment for federal prosecutors.
Lesson 1: Don’t withhold evidence. That’s not nice.
Lesson 2: Don’t use witnesses who change their stories. That’s not nice.
Lesson 3: When in doubt, forget Lessons 1 and 2. But be nice about it.
Let me get this straight. Federal prosecutors committed illegal, unethical or negligent acts in the Stevens case and they still call it the Justice Department?
