Senators want Stevens prosecutors punished
Three of the late Alaska Republican’s ex-colleagues want six federal lawyers fired or disciplined over alleged misconduct.
Former colleagues of the late Sen. Ted Stevens called for six assistant federal prosecutors who tried the former Alaska Republican on criminal charges to be disciplined or removed, with Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Dcalif.) saying that after four years of courtroom trials and investigations, “the tragedy is that Ted Stevens died before he knew this was a faulty prosecution.”
With a special prosecutor’s report likely to be released next week detailing allegations of misconduct by the prosecutors, three senators said Thursday they were deeply disappointed that $1.8 million in taxpayers’ money was spent to defend the prosecutors in internal misconduct investigations.
“Their conduct was intentional, it was substantial and it was widespread,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Ralaska). She called it “stunning” to give them taxpayers’ assistance. It “doesn’t give me much confidence” in the Justice Department, she added.
At a Capitol Hill hearing, Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. reminded the senators that he had dismissed the charges against Stevens after learning of the misconduct. A separate internal review will determine whether the six prosecutors keep their jobs.
“There is a legitimate public interest in knowing as much as we can about what happened, why it happened, and what steps the Justice Department has taken,” he said.
Stevens was found guilty in 2008 of failing to report gifts from an oil industry executive. He subsequently lost his bid for reelection and died in a plane crash. Then allegations surfaced that the prosecution team did not share less-incriminating statements from witnesses and other evidence with defense lawyers.
The Stevens prosecutors and their supervisors in the 30-member Public Integrity Section were transferred to other responsibilities.
The special prosecutor, appointed by Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, found in November that the Stevens prosecution was “permeated by the systematic concealment” of evidence, but recommended against criminal charges against those responsible. Sullivan has ordered that the 500-page report be made public March 15.
A separate internal investigation by the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility is continuing, and could itself result in firings or criminal charges for obstruction of justice. A seventh prosecutor, Nicholas Marsh, committed suicide in 2010.
One of the prosecutors, Edward Sullivan, filed an emergency appeal to stop the report’s release, but Holder told the senators he was not opposed to making it public.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-texas) said she hoped Stevens would be completely vindicated, calling him “a great friend to many of us and a great patriot for our country, who unfortunately was very badly abused by the Department of Justice.”