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The chief of the Justice Department’s public integrity section, which came under fire for the botched prosecution of Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, is stepping down from his position. The official, William M. Welch II, who became a subject of an internal inquiry into the handling of the Stevens case, will return to Massachusetts, where he was a longtime federal prosecutor, and resume his career in that role. William W. Taylor, a lawyer representing him, said in a statement Wednesday that Mr. Welch had decided to move back to Massachusetts “for family reasons.” “While the ultimate result in the Stevens...

WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department called for the release of two convicted former state lawmakers in Alaska because of prosecutorial errors, in a new embarrassment for the department after it dropped charges against former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens. Former Alaska state Reps. Peter Kott and Victor Kohring, both Republicans, were convicted in 2007 on bribery and extortion-related charges. Mr. Kott was sentenced to six years in prison and Mr. Kohring received a 3½-year term. Attorney General Eric Holder said a review of the two cases showed that prosecutors failed to provide information that should have been disclosed to the defense....

WASHINGTON — Former Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska turned down a plea offer from federal prosecutors that would have spared him a trial and jail time but required him to plead guilty to a single felony count, according to newly disclosed records. Lawyers for Mr. Stevens rejected the proposal on his behalf, according to transcripts of discussions between the trial judge and lawyers for both sides, which were recently ordered unsealed by Judge Emmet G. Sullivan.

Most recently, former Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska was charged and convicted of corruption, leading to his defeat at the polls last November, only to find that the prosecution engaged in blatant misconduct that directly effected the outcome of the case. The result was that the U.S. Justice Department was forced to make the extremely embarrassing decision to drop all charges against Stevens, and the Judge in the case threw out Stevens' conviction after which he issued a scathing indictment against the manner in which the case was handled by an obviously corrupt prosecutor's office. All too often decisions are...

Attorney General Eric Holder has warned his U.S. attorneys that misconduct in the Department of Justice will not tolerated, but he's also trying to nip in the bud any reluctance in his staff to tackle public corruption.Good government activists are warning that the dropping of all charges against former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens and the tossing of his seven felony convictions could give U.S. prosecutors cold feet in going after other politicians who are suspected of crimes. Already the lawyer for former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, who was convicted of bribery and mail fraud, has urged Attorney General Eric Holder...

In recent years service as a successful crusading prosecutor has been a pathway to political success (See Giuliani and Spitzer, for example) and high paying positions in the private sector. At the same time, to me anyway, there was been an increasingly suspicious overreaching by too many prosecutors. The courts, bar associations and the Department of Justice are not exercising sufficient supervision of their work, for us to feel comfortable with the enormous power they wield

The dismissal of Ted Stevens' conviction and the potential contempt charges against the lawyers who prosecuted him could hinder several ongoing corruption cases against other politicians, according to legal experts. While the allegations of prosecutorial misconduct in the Stevens trial are limited to his case alone, the damage to the Department of Justice Public Integrity Section may make judges more willing to listen to defense attorneys who challenge evidence. Jurors may also be more willing to listen to claims of innocence by politicians under scrutiny, experts say. Some Department of Justice watchers predict there will be staff changes in the...

Planned Parenthood receives Title X funds from the Federal Government. Planned Parenthood also receives money from other Federal/State and Local Governments. It is reported that Obama's Headquarters in South Bend, Indiana was the Planned Parenthood Clinic. According to the report, the clinic boasted Obama signs as well as a PHONE BANK for making calls for Obama. Yet our Department of Justice went after Senator Ted Stevens during the election. Why is this not considered a serious violation of law and why is there no criminal prosecutions? South Bend, Indiana, is also the home to Notre Dame University... Finally, I would...

As he ordered a highly unusual criminal probe of the federal lawyers who prosecuted former Sen. Ted Stevens, a federal judge delivered a blistering rebuke Tuesday of the Justice Department's actions in the case--and asserted that the department's failures extend beyond its failure to give the long-time Alaska politician a fair trial. In dismissing the public corruption case against Stevens, Judge Emmet Sullivan of the U.S. District Court in Washington railed against a government agency that he said had committed unprecedented missteps in a feverish quest to secure the Republican senator's conviction. "In nearly 25 years on the bench, I...

Brief biographical sketches of six federal prosecutors under investigation for mishandling the trial of former Sen. Ted Stevens. BRENDA MORRIS: A longtime prosecutor with the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section, Morris now serves as its principal deputy. She helped supervise the investigation into disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and has prosecuted corruption cases around the country. She teaches corruption investigations within the Justice Department and is a professor at Georgetown Law School. A graduate of Howard University law school, she served as the lead attorney in the Stevens trial, giving the government's opening statement and cross-examining Stevens. NICHOLAS MARSH: One of...

Corruption Charges Dismissed Against Former Senator WASHINGTON -- A federal judge set aside the conviction of former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens and appointed a special prosecutor to investigate possible criminal-contempt charges against federal prosecutors who the judge said repeatedly withheld evidence from defense attorneys. U.S. District Court Judge Emmet G. Sullivan said, "In 25 years on the bench I have never seen anything approach the mishandling and misconduct I have seen in this case."

WASHINGTON — A furious federal judge on Tuesday took the extraordinary step of ordering that the prosecutors who bungled the case of former Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska be investigated for possible criminal wrongdoing... --snip-- One F.B.I. agent, Chad Joy, has said in an affidavit that he sat in on meetings in which Stevens prosecutors were clearly aware that they were ignoring their professional obligations to turn over materials that the defense could use to counter the charges. Agent Joy, who still works for the bureau, took the unusual step of asking the government for official protection as a whistle-blower....

Former Alaska GOP Sen. Ted Stevens' conviction on public corruption charges has been thrown out by a Federal Judge because prosecutors mishandled and withheld evidence and witnesses. The video above is of CNN Analyst Jeffrey Toobin talking about the decision . . . . . . (Watch Video)

WASHINGTON – A judge has dismissed charges against former Sen. Ted Stevens because of prosecutorial misconduct and has ordered a criminal contempt investigation of the prosecutors. "In nearly 25 years on the bench, I've never seen anything approaching the mishandling and misconduct that I've seen in this case," U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan said in the opening moments of a hearing.

<p>A federal judge says in 25 years on the bench he's never seen anything as bad as the government's mishandling of the Ted Stevens corruption trial.</p> <p>U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan is expected to dismiss charges against the former Alaska senator on Tuesday. At a court hearing, Sullivan opened with a stinging summary of the many times the government withheld evidence or mishandled witnesses in the case.</p>

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A federal judge Tuesday set aside the conviction of former Sen. Ted Stevens. The judge also initiated criminal contempt proceedings against the government lawyers who prosecuted the 85-year-old Alaska Republican. He appointed an independent, nongovernment attorney, Henry Schuelke III, to investigate possible prosecutorial misconduct.

Greg Pollowitz points me to this report from the Anchorage Daily News, that the judge in the failed corruption prosecution of former Sen. Ted Stevens is still fuming at the Justice Department. The paper reports that Judge Emmet Sullivan, "on his own, without a request by either party" issued a pair of orders over the weekend, "indicating he may not be ready to give up jurisdiction of the case even as the government is asking for all charges to be dismissed." The report elaborates that the judge directed federal prosecutors to provide him copies of everything they had gathered in...

POLL: Should U.S. Sen. Mark Begich resign his seat so a special election can be held? scroll down to the bottom of the page and vote yes. http://www.juneauempire.com/

A federal judge yesterday ordered the Justice Department to give him documents concerning allegations of misconduct by the team that prosecuted former senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) on corruption charges. The order by U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan comes days after the Justice Department said it would ask Sullivan to throw out Stevens's conviction and indictment....During Stevens's trial, Sullivan repeatedly chastised prosecutors for their handling of witnesses and evidence. A jury convicted the senator in October of lying on financial disclosure forms to hide gifts and free home renovations. But since then, an FBI agent has filed a whistleblower complaint...

How about a nice cozy job as U.S. Attorney for the state of Massachusetts? Never know, but it doesn’t hurt to ask! From an article written February 12, 2009: “A former Springfield prosecutor who rocketed to a high-ranking spot in the U.S. Justice Department is vying for the top law enforcement job in Massachusetts….” “Welch, a registered Democrat [emphasis added], served in the Springfield U.S. Attorney’s office from 1995 to 2006, where he built a reputation as a brainy, unrelenting prosecutor….” “Historically, the senior senator [Fat Sir Teddy] from the president’s party picks nominees for U.S. Attorney and other senior...

As we told you on Wednesday, the Justice Department moved to dismiss former Sen. Ted Stevens’ indictment on Wednesday, effectively voiding his conviction from last October on seven counts of filing false statements on his Senate financial disclosure forms. Click here for Wednesday’s LB post; here for Thursday’s WSJ article. Nobody seems overly thrilled with the outcome, least of all Stevens’s attorney, Williams & Connolly’s Brendan Sullivan. “This jury verdict was obtained unlawfully,” read the statement penned by W&C. “The misconduct of government prosecutors, and one or more FBI agents, was stunning.” The statement went on to decry the “corrupt”...

Now that the corruption case against former Sen. Ted Stevens has been dropped, Alaska Rep. Don Young wants Stevens to run for governor — a move that would set up a Republican primary between the veteran lawmaker and Sarah Palin, if she decides to seek a second term in 2010. "Personally I'd like to see him run for governor, and that's my personal feeling," Young told the Alaska Public Radio Network on Thursday. "So, we'll see what happens down the line. He probably won't, but I think that would be a great way to cap off a great career as...

Who are you gonna believe — politicians and the press, or your lying eyes. So, Ted Stevens isn't guilty after all. Imagine that. His case was just tossed out of court for prosecutorial misconduct . . . after the 2008 election, when the charges cost him his seat in the U.S. Senate. Add Ted to the ever-growing number of exclusively Republican non-crooks who are frog-marched by partisan elements in the American justice system in time to ruin their electoral chances, only to see the actual charges vanish in a waft of political smoke once their seat is safely in the...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 09-70 Governor Comments on Dismissal of Charges Against Stevens April 1, 2009, Juneau, Alaska - Governor Sarah Palin today released the following statement in response to the dismissal of the indictment against former U.S. Senator Ted Stevens: “Senator Stevens deserves to be very happy today. What a horrible thing he has endured. The blatant attempts by adversaries to destroy one’s reputation, career and finances are an abuse of our well-guarded process and violate our God-given rights afforded in the Constitution. It is a frightening thing to contemplate what we may be witnessing here – the undermining...

Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch said Wednesday his friend and former colleague Ted Stevens was "screwed" by the United States Justice Department, hours after Attorney General Eric Holder announced he was dropping all charges against the former Alaska senator. "Here's a guy who gave better than 60 years service to the country and was screwed," Hatch told reporters on Capitol Hill. "Screwed by our own Justice Department." Hatch went on to praise Holder for dropping the charges and "fixing this foul situation."

On Alaska Public Radio, Rep. Don Young (R-AK) says that he'd like to see former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) challenge Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R).

You have to do some digging to get the facts about the Ted Stevens sham of a suspiciously timed prosecution of a sitting United States Republican senator. The Justice Department admitted Wednesday that its career prosecutors acted improperly in the prosecution that drove Senator Ted Stevens from office last fall. Indeed, the trail was was so tainted that we can't independently assess the verdict against Mr. Stevens, but one thing is clear: Federal prosecutors are guilty of misconduct that cost Republicans a Senate seat. And upon further digging, we have the names and background information on the previously anonymous "federal...

WASHINGTON -- The head of the Alaska Republican Party today called on Sen. Mark Begich to step down from the U.S. Senate, saying that the state's voters would have re-elected former Sen. Ted Stevens had they known the U.S Department of Justice would abandon its prosecution of him. The party chairman, Randy Ruedrich, said that the only reason Begich won his race was because "a few thousand Alaskans thought that Senator Stevens was guilty of seven felonies." He added that he thought Begich should step down "so Alaskans may have the chance to vote for a senator without the improper...

JUNEAU — Gov. Sarah Palin echoed a call from the Alaska Republican Party for U.S. Sen. Mark Begich to step down after the Justice Department asked a judge to toss out corruption charges against former Sen. Ted Stevens. Stevens, a 40-year senator, was convicted on seven counts of ethics violations by a Washington, D.C., jury days before the November 2008 election. He lost a re-election bid to Begich, a Democrat and former Anchorage mayor. The U.S. Department of Justice this week said they'll ask a judge to clear Stevens' conviction.

April 1, 2009 In Alaska, Many See Stevens As Good As Vindicated Ted Stevens lost his bid for an eighth full term in office just days after he was convicted in October. Getty Images Attorney General Holder's Statement On The Stevens Case "In connection with the post-trial litigation in United States v. Theodore F. Stevens, the Department of Justice has conducted a review of the case, including an examination of the extent of the disclosures provided to the defendant. After careful review, I have concluded that certain information should have been provided to the defense for use at trial. In...

Last fall, the senior Senator from Alaska was the poster octogenarian for political corruption. As of yesterday, Ted Stevens is merely another casualty of abusive prosecutors out to make a name for themselves. The Justice Department yesterday moved to set aside an October conviction on ethics charges and forgo any future trials for Senator Stevens. He walks free, in other words, an innocent man. In the motion, Justice said it "recently discovered" that prosecutors withheld from the defense notes about an interview last April with the state's star witness, Bill Allen, that contradicted his subsequent testimony. Under the Brady Rule...

Senators who served with Alaska Republican Ted Stevens, as well as the man who beat him last November, voiced relief at the Justice Department’s decision to throw out the case against him. Sen. Lisa Murkowski , R-Alaska, said she was pleased the charges against her former colleague would be dropped, “but I am deeply disturbed that the government can ruin a man’s career and then say ‘never mind.’ There is nothing that will ever compensate for the loss of his reputation or leadership to the State of Alaska.” Sen. Mark Begich of Alaska, the Democrat who narrowly defeated Stevens last...

The U.S. Justice Department filed a motion Wednesday to drop its case against former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, who was convicted of seven counts of corruption last fall. Justice Department sources told FOX News that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder decided to abandon the case due to prosecutorial misconduct.

The Justice Department will drop all charges against former Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, NPR has learned. A jury convicted Stevens last fall of seven counts of lying on his Senate disclosure form in order to conceal $250,000 in gifts from an oil industry executive and other friends. Stevens was the longest-serving Republican in the Senate, however, he lost his bid for an eighth full term in office just days after he was convicted. Since then, charges of prosecutorial misconduct have delayed his sentencing and prompted defense motions for a new trial. According to Justice Department officials, U.S. Attorney General...

The U.S. Justice Department has decided to drop all charges against former Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens amid charges of prosecutorial misconduct, NPR reported on Wednesday, citing Justice officials. Stevens was convicted last fall of seven counts of lying on a Senate disclosure form to conceal $250,000 in gifts from an oil industry executive and other friends. Allegations of prosecutorial misconduct have delayed his sentencing.

The Justice Department, in the wake of its humiliating decision to drop the corruption conviction of former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), has agreed to throw out the results of the 2008 Senate race, in which Stevens was narrowly defeated by Democrat Mark Begich. Stevens, the longest-serving Republican senator in history, was thought to be favored to win re-election last year against Begich, the mayor of Anchorage, until the 85-year-old Stevens was indicted for lying on Senate financial disclosure forms about renovations done to his home by a contractor friend. He was later convicted of seven felony counts. But the decision...

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

ANCHORAGE, AK - Ted Stevens International Airport closed this weekend due to volcanic ash. Former Senator Ted Stevens believes it’s all part of a liberal conspiracy so he and other Republicans would lose face.

In a surprising move, the Justice Department has removed the prosecution team that won the corruption conviction of former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) from any further litigation in the case... This comes after Judge Emmet Sullivan, who presided over the Stevens trial and continues to preside over post-conviction fights over the legitimacy of those proceedings, ruled that four DOJ lawyers, including Brenda Morris, chief prosecutor in the Stevens' case, and William Welch, head of DOJ's Public Integrity Section, were in contempt for failure to comply with his orders. Sullivan has been angered by the Justice Department's unwillingness to turn over...

An FBI Agent involved with the prosecution of Senator Ted Stevens is accusing prosecutors of gross misconduct in the execution of the case: The complainant, a federal employee with “extensive knowledge of the investigation and trial in this case,” according to Judge Sullivan, also alleges that a member of the prosecution team schemed to relocate a witness to keep him from testifying and also intentionally withheld evidence from the defense lawyers. Judge Sullivan said the complainant is not a "stranger" to the proceedings and was "significantly" involved in the investigation and prosecution. Stevens, the longest-serving Republican in the Senate, was...

In an MSM eager for the dawn of the Age of Obama, Kate Snow may have taken the cake. The weekend GMA co-host almost sounded as if she were calling for some kind of coup d'etat, musing whether Obama should do something to "force" change before he officially takes office. How over the top was Snow? She had to be talked down from her fin de regime fantasy but none other than . . . Paul Krugman. ABC reporter John Hendren set the tone for the notion that time is dangerously a-wasting. JOHN HENDREN: As with Hoover and FDR, the...

Witness in Ted Stevens Trial: I Lied WASHINGTON, Nov. 22, 2008(AP) One of the government's witnesses against convicted Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska says he didn't tell the truth on the stand about an immunity deal with the Justice Department in exchange for his testimony. But federal prosecutors said Friday that his current story is the false one. "I testified to the fact that there was never immunity for me or my family and friends," welder David Anderson said in a November letter to a federal judge placed in court files by Stevens' lawyers. "That is simply not true." The...

"I testified to the fact that there was never immunity for me or my family and friends," welder David Anderson said in a November letter to a federal judge placed in court files by Stevens' lawyers. "That is simply not true."

WASHINGTON (AP) - One of the government's witnesses against convicted Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska now says he wasn't truthful on the stand. David Anderson, who worked on Stevens' house for VECO founder Bill Allen, testified during the trial that there was no agreement with the Justice Department for immunity for him, his family or friends in exchange for his testimony.

Anchorage, Alaska (AP) -- Alaska's incoming senator is bullish on gun rights, wants to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling and believes less government is better. And he's a Democrat. But "definitely different than a New York Democrat," says Mark Begich. "I'm from Alaska." Begich, the 46-year-old, two-term Anchorage mayor, will take office in January after narrowly defeating 85-year-old Ted Stevens, the longest serving Republican in the history of the Senate. Part of Stevens' undoing in his bid for a seventh term was his conviction on federal felony charges last month. With Republican Gov. Sarah...

The Democratic Anchorage mayor widened his lead to 3,724 votes in today's counting of absentee and questioned ballots. The only votes left to count are approximately 2,500 special absentees from people living outside the U.S. or in remote parts of Alaska with no polling place.

Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens loses re-election bid From AP - go to URL

AK-Senate: Begich Widens Lead Democrat Mark Begich has nearly doubled his lead over Republican Sen. Ted Stevens with just 8,000 votes remaining to be counted in the Alaska Senate race, according to tabulations provided by the state's Division of Elections. With 16,000 of the 24,000 remaining ballots counted, according to the Anchorage Daily News, Begich now has 146,286 votes (47.56 percent) while Stevens has 143,912 votes (46.79 percent). Under Alaska law, a recount would be mandated only if the final margin is less than .5 percent ; Begich's lead is currently .77 percent. (Hat tip: Fellow numbers geek and Post...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens dropped further behind Democrat Mark Begich in his re-election bid Tuesday as the convicted felon's 85th birthday became a grueling wait that could determine whether his decades-long hold on power is over. The longest-serving Republican in the history of the Senate trailed the Anchorage mayor by 2,374 votes out of 290,198 counted as election officials continued tallying absentee and other ballots. Begich had led by about 1,000 votes before Tuesday's count.