Ted Stevens on The Huffington Post

Ted Stevens Prosecution: Some Catharsis

2009-10-22T12:37:48Z

For those following the debacle of former Senator Ted Stevens' prosecution, the big news today was that the head of the unit at the Justice Department who handled the case, stepped down, moving back to Massachusetts for "family reasons."

For those that diligently followed the Stevens' investigation this is something of a catharsis. There were a lot of things that went wrong with the government's case against Stevens. To refresh: there was a huge typo in the indictment; the Justice Department withholding of evidence in discovery (which led to it being excluded) and the affair the Justice staffer supposedly had with the government's key witness. And that's not even counting the other distractions in the trial, like the juror who skipped deliberations to head to a horse race in California.

Brendan DeMelle: Wheels of Justice Are Grinding Too Slowly For Paul Minor and Other Political Prisoners

2009-09-30T16:52:03Z

Attorney General Eric Holder did not hesitate to release Senator Ted Stevens and overturn his wrongful conviction when evidence emerged of the government's botched prosecution of the former Republican Senator from Alaska.

So why has Holder's Justice Department left Democrats Paul Minor and Judges Walter Teel and John Whitfield languishing in jail despite extensive knowledge that these men are entitled to release from prison pending the outcome of their appeals process? Each of these men has raised "substantial questions" on appeal, remarkably similar to the quid pro quo substantial questions presented to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals which required the Justice Department to release former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman pending his own appeal.

The federal bail statute is crystal clear on this point, requiring the release on bail of any appellant who raises substantial questions for the court's review. It is patently absurd for the DOJ to continue to oppose this no-brainer release requirement in the cases of Minor and the former Mississippi judges.

Despite more than ample substantial questions presented in each man's appeal -- highlighting the severe flaws in the government's prosecution and the undeniable fact that GOP politics trumped the law in their wrongful convictions -- the government continues to oppose their mandatory release pending appeal that was readily granted to Don Siegelman, let alone the immediate release and overturned conviction granted to Ted Stevens.

Attorney General Holder should make sure these men are reunited with their families while the 5th Circuit Court thoughtfully considers their appeals.

More importantly, the Justice Department must expedite the review of Paul Minor's case in light of explosive new revelations that Dunnica Lampton -- the partisan U.S. Attorney who indicted Minor - had refused to pursue an egregious case of fraud involving several prominent Mississippi Republicans that came to his attention during the same time period as Minor's July 2003 indictment.

Minor's attorney, Hiram Eastland, wrote a letter to Attorney General Holder last week outlining "new evidence... that unequivocally establishes that prosecutive decisions made by U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton were based upon political motivations."

According to the letter, Lampton went after Minor, a Democrat, while explicitly ignoring a massive fraud and money laundering scheme perpetrated by several major Republican supporters in Minor's home state of Mississippi. The letter indicates that "a previous undercover government witness" who worked on another large scale Justice Department investigation

"is prepared to testify and provide documents indicating that U.S. Attorney Lampton chose not to prosecute a compelling multi-million dollar fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice case against several prominent Republican defendants in the exact timeframe as Mr. Minor's July 25, 2003 indictment."

Eastland explains that this undercover government witness

"is prepared to testify that he was informed by his assigned FBI investigator that the political 'fix' was in and that U.S. Attorney Lampton had indicated there would be no prosecutions because he did not want his legacy as U.S. Attorney to be the prosecution of some of the biggest Republican supporters in Mississippi."

Lampton did not hesitate to indict Minor on overreaching bribery allegations, lacking any evidence that Minor ever engaged in a quid pro quo "this for that" agreement with Teel and Whitfield. He also did not hesitate to re-indict Minor immediately after a jury failed to convict Minor on the trumped-up charges in his first trial. Yet Lampton steadfastly refused to prosecute several Republicans he knew were engaged in starkly obvious fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice.

This new evidence of Lampton's partisan agenda undoubtedly calls into question the political targeting of Minor, Teel and Whitfield (who had already presented ample evidence that the government botched their prosecutions before this explosive development).

Eric Holder now knows, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that a GOP operative pursuing a strictly partisan agenda targeted Paul Minor and the Democratic judges. Holder must immediately release these political prisoners during the remainder of their appeals process. Paul Minor has already endured the loss of his wife Sylvia to brain cancer while he sat in prison, and he deserves immediate release while the 5th Circuit thoughtfully considers his appeal.

Attorney General Holder's very next move must be to launch an exhaustive investigation to reveal the depths to which Lampton and other partisan U.S. attorneys went to wrongfully target prominent Democrats across America during the Bush/Cheney administration. The Justice Department's reputation and credibility will be forever tarnished unless it fully exposes this repulsive partisan agenda and remedies the wrongful convictions of Minor, Teel, Whitfield and every other victim of political prosecution during the Bush years.

Sen. Fritz Hollings: Creating Terrorism

2009-09-30T15:59:49Z

Barack Obama has done a lot of contentious things since becoming President. But getting Robert Gates to continue as Secretary of Defense is one thing that has received universal acclaim. Gates' reaction over the weekend to withdraw from Afghanistan shows the best of our leadership has yet to understand the cause of terrorism against the United States. Quoting from the New York Times:

"Mr. Gates said that imposing timelines and exit strategies at this point 'would all be a strategic mistake. The reality is, failure in Afghanistan would be a huge setback for the United States."

He argued that if the leadership of the Taliban and Al Qaeda could brag to the world that the United States was driven from the region, it 'would have catastrophic consequences in terms of energizing the extremist movement, Al Qaeda recruitment, operations, fund-raising and so on.'" "Brag to the world" - that's what the terrorists have been doing! Energizing extremist movement, Al Qaeda recruitment? What in the world does the Secretary and his generals think we've been doing?

On 9/11, Afghanistan and the Swat Valley in Pakistan were peaceful. We ran Osama bin Laden into the Swat Valley and now have ended up shooting lethal missiles from drones into villages, killing civilians, turning a peaceful valley into chaos, and causing two million refugees to flee. Refugee camps are hotbeds for energizing militancy, insurgency, and Al Qaeda. How do the Secretary and generals think one creates a terrorist?

Exactly the way my friend, Vice President Biden, suggests. Stay off-shore and lob artillery into the Valley, or with drones lob missiles into supposed militants' homes. You hit a home in my neighborhood and you've got a militant. I've become a believer in Osama -- a terrorist. Osama said the U. S. was engaged in a Crusade against Islam. Now, the U. S. deployed in Kuwait, having invaded Iraq, invading Afghanistan, and invading Pakistan, I'm a believer. Here I am peacefully reading my Koran and missiles from the United States hit my neighbor. You've got a militant. Come hell or high water I'm going to get you one way or the other. Yes, even learn to fly -- and kill myself to destroy your World Trade Towers.

Now the Secretary of State says our mission is to make sure Al Qaeda can't train in Afghanistan and become a threat to the security of the United States. Remember, on 9/11 the then Secretary of State reported that Al Qaeda was in forty-five countries, including the United States, but not in Iraq. The headlines blare that an Afghan immigrant, planning to blow up New York, has now been captured. Actually, the "Afghan immigrant" is a United States citizen who trained in Pakistan. The Secretary's mission could be spread to forty-five countries, including the United States.

Five years ago, I went with Ted Stevens, Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, and Senator John Warner, Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, into Pakistan. At the time, a Gallup poll showed 82% of Pakistanis looked upon Osama bin Laden as a freedom fighter. Our own President and the United States was less than 10% popular. We've spent eight years in Afghanistan, and what do we have to show for it?

The superpower has been brought to its knees and we've energized terrorism. A year ago, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, said:

"... in a counterinsurgency, if you're not winning, you're losing."

And we weren't winning. Again in March, Admiral Mullen said we're losing. Now, the Commander on the ground, General McChrystal, said we're not winning. We're losing.

But we've created a hell of a lot of terrorism. Insurgency used to be in isolated areas. Now the generals tell us insurgency has spread to all sections of Afghanistan. Afghanistan has never attacked the United States or been a threat to our security. In fact, Afghanistan was our ally in Charlie Wilson's War, the only war we've won since World War II. Saudi Arabians who trained in Afghanistan attacked the United States.

In the Muslim world, more important than freedom and democracy is tribe and religion. We are not going to teach warlords to like democracy and grow wheat instead of poppies. Apparently, McChrystal now wants 120 thousand U. S. troops to stop killing civilians. Six hundred thousand troops didn't win in Vietnam, a country of 16 million. Afghanistan, tribal as it is, with 31 million, will not be secured with 120 thousand or 600 thousand troops. The army works in three shifts. A hundred and twenty thousand troops means thirty thousand for Kandahar and thirty thousand for Kabul, with sixty thousand for the rest of the country. You've already run out of troops.

America's GIs have been brave. I hate to use President Obama's term, but the generals are being 'stupid'. After eight years of war, we're losing -- only to have turned Afghanistan and Pakistan into terroristic turmoil. My friend, Senator Kit Bond, complains that President Obama has time to go to Copenhagen for the Olympics, but not time to listen to his generals. That's our trouble. Listening to the generals is the one thing Commander in Chief George W. Bush was doing for eight years. Now the generals say we have a better chance of winning by not only stopping the killing of civilians but deploying troops who have already been to Afghanistan. That's the crowd that knows the mission is futile. Out!

Read more commentary by Senator Hollings at www.citizensforacompetitiveamerica.com.

Other Politicians Who Should Join Reality TV Shows Now That Tom DeLay Did (SLIDESHOW, POLL)

2009-08-18T17:16:35Z

Since Tom DeLay has agreed to do the cha-cha on Season 9 of "Dancing with the Stars," we think a few of his compatriots should follow suit. Here are our suggestions, please feel free to suggest your own in the comments section!

Shannyn Moore: Manufactured Protesters Are Killing Democracy

2009-08-07T16:19:25Z

With all the "tea bagging", "birthers", and corporately organized protests, I'm tempted to merely mock them. Their fake outrage is dangerous. It is ironic they use their first amendment speech to disrupt the same rights of other Americans. They have changed the course of events, and not in a good way.

The "Brooks Brothers Riot" of the 2000 Bush-Gore recount in Miami-Dade is a perfect example. The polling headquarters was flooded with "plants" demanding the vote count be stopped. Republicans always want to stop the vote count; it's a part of their strategy. When there is a large turnout, or when all the votes are counted, that usually bodes well for Democrats. At least ten of the Brooks Brothers Fake Rioters were staffers from Washington DC. Full name roll here.

Number 8 is Duane Gibson. He has some close Alaskan ties, and is admitted to the Alaska Bar. Duane Gibson was a former top aide to Sen. Ted Stevens and was also a top aide to Rep. Don Young. When he left Don Young's office in the summer of 2002, Gibson was senior counsel. He joined Jack Abramoff at the lobbying firm of Greenberg Traurig.

According to this website:

Gibson was named in grand jury subpoenas of documents relating to "agents and associates" of Abramoff. [Records Expose Young-Abramoff Ties, Anchorage Daily News, 4/20/2008]

Gibson received public money via Ted's earmarks for the Alaska Fisheries Marketing Board, which awarded grants totaling $293,000 to the Alaska-based dog-treat company Arctic Paws, owned by Duane Gibson and his brother, Brett. [Stevens Stops Backing Controversial Board, Roll Call, 5/9/2007]

In 2005, Gibson sponsored a "coffee break" as part of the pro-mining convention and is a registered lobbyist for the Pebble Mine. He is listed as a guest at two "Kenai River Classic" fundraisers as part of the Livingston Group.

Mr. Gibson has a right to make a living, just like everyone else. I don't agree with his political position, and that's fine. His participation in the disingenuous "protest" that helped bring us George W. Bush, is a vulgar display of anti-patriotism. The faux mob wasn't there to make sure their votes were counted; they were liars, manipulating the democratic process.

The astro-turfing of protests is dangerous. Locally, we had bus loads of Wasilla, gay-fearing X-ians flood Anchorage Assembly meetings to protest a LGBT protection ordinance in a town they don't reside. Fox News sponsored the Tea Bagger Tax Protests. Corporate lobbying-run groups like Freedom Works and Americans for Prosperity are creating the illusion of grass roots protests at the health care town hall meetings. The "Tea Party" movement flies in the face of what the true patriots in Boston stood for. Where were these citizens when the previous administration was spending trillions of citizen tax dollars on an illegal war? Or when billions of dollars-cash on pallets delivered on C-130s to Iraq disappeared -- a fraud now thought to be bigger than Madoff's ponzi scheme? Where were they when the loop holes for corporations slid through?

Monday, the Alaska legislature will meet in Anchorage for a special session prompted by the resignation of the governor. The schedule includes over-riding the veto of the federal stimulus funds for weatherization and energy assistance. $28.6 million dollars are at stake for Alaskans -- the same Alaskans Palin awarded $740 million in "energy assistance" not even a year ago.

Once again, there is a "Tea Party, Decaffeinated -- say no to stimulus" planned.

Their flier reads:

"The purpose of this rally is to insist Alaska's legislature sustain the governor's veto of the federal stimulus energy funds. This action will reduce Alaska's responsibility for the national debt and assert Alaska's right to reject intrusion by the Federal government into State and Local affairs"

Newsflash, Teabaggers. The governor quit. It won't lessen our responsibility for national debt; California could spend it, and we'll still pay it back! For every dollar Alaskans submit in taxes, we get back $1.83 from the federal coffers. Stop pretending like you didn't vote all those years for Ted Stevens and Don Young because they stood up for reducing federal funds spent in Alaska! BTW, you wear seat belts, have car seats, wait until 21 to legally drink, and have speed limits set by federal guide lines...what's wrong with putting some weatherization around your door? Really? Oh, that's right, the president is black. I guess warmer homes and jobs aren't really needed in Alaska.

The flier goes on:

"Bring your signs, flags, and friends."

How about this, bring your signs and your friends, but leave the flag out of it. I'm sick to death of the xenophobic, fear-based, blather wrapping itself in the flag and carrying a cross. Jesus wasn't a Republican. I know, shocking. His works included "healing the sick" and "feeding the poor." I'm sure you would have hated his health care plan, it was free. Socialist! Jesus wasn't an American. There are brave soldiers buried in Arlington under the Muslim Crescent. Their blood for your hate speech. That's rich.

The rallying cry of the astro-turfed crowd is simply "No!" Many citizens show up because of their ideology, and I support their right. The posers, like Mr. Gibson almost a decade ago, have abused and eroded our civil discourse into mob scenes.

There is a group of pro-weatherization, energy stimulus money folks showing up the morning of the special session at the Egan Center. If you are inclined to show up as a body of support, please do. Please email your state representatives and ask them to cast their vote to make Alaska better, warmer and employed.

You should know who is behind the faux outrage. Follow the money. Here is just one example.

Here's an update from MoveOn:

All across the country, right-wing extremists are disrupting congressional town-hall meetings with venomous attacks on President Obama's plans for health care and clean energy.

Friday night in Tampa, Florida, a town hall meeting erupted into violence, with the police being called to break up fist fights and shoving matches.

A Texas Democrat was shouted down by right-wing hecklers, many of whom admitted they didn't even live in his district.

One North Carolina representative announced he wouldn't be holding any town-hall meetings after his office began receiving death threats.

And in Maryland, protesters hung a Democratic congressman in effigy to oppose health-care reform.

WORKING ON THIS.

John Terzano: When Will Prosecutors Begin to Be Held Accountable for Their Misconduct?

2009-07-28T10:04:08Z

One of the most troubling trends that foster prosecutorial misconduct is the failure of state bar and disciplinary agencies to take action against prosecutors who violate their ethical obligations.

Earlier this year, Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice (DOJ) took swift and almost unprecedented action after uncovering egregious prosecutorial misconduct in the case against Alaska Senator Ted Stevens. Holder promptly dismissed all charges against the Senator, and federal judge Emmet Sullivan ordered an independent, criminal investigation of the prosecutors responsible for intentionally failing to turn over important, exculpatory evidence to the defense. The DOJ has also promised an investigation through the Office of Professional Responsibility. The question now is whether these particular prosecutors will ever be held accountable.

To prevent prosecutorial misconduct and these egregious abuses of power, it is critically important to appropriately investigate and discipline prosecutors who violate their legal and ethical obligations. Far too often, even in egregious and high-profile cases, like Stevens' case, prosecutors are not held accountable for their misconduct. Without the threat of meaningful professional discipline, prosecutors cannot be held accountable for their actions and are likely to continue to abuse their power to secure convictions. We have yet to see whether the two separate investigations launched against the federal prosecutors in Stevens' case will be followed by appropriate disciplinary action.

The prosecutorial misconduct involved in Senator Stevens' case is especially egregious. The case was marred by prosecutorial misconduct from the outset. Judge Sullivan repeatedly criticized prosecutors for failing to follow orders to provide evidence to the defense. In addition, prosecutorial misconduct at trial led Judge Sullivan to hold three of the prosecutors in contempt, and at one point also instructed the jury to disregard some evidence provided by the prosecution. After replacing the original trial team, new prosecutors discovered even more evidence that should have been turned over to the defense. Even more troubling, lead prosecutor Brenda Morris has a history of prosecutorial misconduct. In 2005, Morris' unlawful prosecution of an Austin, Texas area defense attorney resulted in a civil suit and a $1.34 million dollar settlement from the federal government. The investigation of Morris' conduct in that case yielded no apparent sanctions and she remained employed by the DOJ and was eventually given a lead role in the Stevens prosecution. The DOJ's failure to appropriately respond to Morris' previous misconduct as well as her actions and those of the other prosecutors in the Steven's case, demonstrates that a culture has developed within the DOJ's Public Integrity Unit in which prosecutorial abuses of power occur.

Three months after Eric Holder dismissed the case against Senator Stevens, the country continues to wait and see whether the most well-funded, highly respected, and highly trained prosecutorial agency in the country, the DOJ, will hold its own accountable. There is an opportunity here to begin to show that even DOJ prosecutors are not above the law.

Prosecutors are the most powerful actors in our criminal justice system. Failure to respond to abuses of power is an enormous threat to public safety and to the integrity of our criminal justice system. Effective and meaningful prosecutorial accountability in this country can start, and should start, with discipline of the prosecutors who violated their duties and betrayed public trust in the prosecution of Senator Stevens.

John F. Terzano is President of The Justice Project, a nonpartisan organization that works to increase fairness and accuracy in the criminal justice system.

Shannyn Moore: It's Not Sarah's Fault...Just Ask Her

2009-07-20T06:25:45Z

When it comes to taking responsibility for her failures, Sarah Palin is completely unaccountable. Her finger is always pointed at the most convenient scapegoat. Last fall, I said she was George W. Bush with lipstick; nothing is ever her fault. With her resignation, she has set a new bar for blame.

A 10 Month Accounting of Blame...

Troopergate was her brother-in-law's fault.

Walt Monegan was a rogue commissioner.

Neglecting a vetting of Palin's appointed replacement of Commissioner Monegan wasn't her fault, she didn't know Chuck Kopp had a sexual harassment charge. His 14 day employment was rewarded with a $10,000 severance package.

Her public press conference, pro-Pebble Mine stance during a contentious election was the fault of a "Governor's hat" wardrobe malfunction and possibly Tim Griffin.

The legislative investigation wasn't her doing. It was a "Democratic driven, partisan witch hunt" voted on by 10 Republicans and 4 Democrats after Sarah Palin challenged them with Bush-like bravado "Bring it on!"

When her church was burned, Palin blamed it on the attention she was receiving from people who didn't like her.

The Branchflower Report's "guilty of abuse of power" findings weren't her fault; she filed her own ethics complaint and would release those favorable findings the day before the election.

When an Anchorage based right wing radio host disagreed with her policies, in an email she blamed it on, "...some evil stuff going on with him."

Her criticisms when her witch hunting, governor-anointing pastor, Pastor Muthee, was exposed, were the fault of people who hate Jesus.

Her failed interviews were Katie Couric's and Charlie Gibson's fault. She called them "Gotcha questions."

The interview complete with compliments about the porno "Nailin' Pailin'" with "Sarkozy" poser shock jocks was the fault of McCain Campaign staffers.

Her exorbitant wardrobe was the RNC's fault.

Her charging the state per diem to sleep in her own bed and flying her family around the country at state expense were nothing more than petty ethics complaints from whiny constituents.

Her daughter's problems are Levi's fault.

Her VP political loss was John McCain's fault.

Her image problems are Tina Fey's fault.

Turkeygate was the cameraman's fault.

Her policy on aerial wolf hunting was Ashley Judd's and other Outsiders' fault. Palin's "faith based policy" on gassing wolf pups in their den must have been the fault of wolves gone wild.

Alaskans damn near starved in Western Alaska last winter because they didn't have enough cookies or Jesus.

The resignation of Attorney General Talis Colberg had nothing to do with the advice he gave Todd Palin and aides to ignore subpoenas. She blamed it on the "harsh political environment"created by lawmakers.

Palin thought Ted Stevens should "step aside" when convicted last fall. When Eric Holder overturned Steven's conviction, Palin thought Begich should resign.

When 6 million gallons of stored oil sat at the base of an erupting Mt. Redoubt, it was Homeland Security's issue, not her fault.

The empty Juneau Senate seat wasn't on her; it was the Senate Democrats' fault.

When Palin blew off a meeting with lawmakers in Juneau to have a press conference with Wayne Anthony Ross, the legislative leadership called a heated press conference of their own. Palin blamed them for not having the meeting "telephonically"...then it got messy.

Her failed appointment of a "if you can't rape your wife, who can you rape?" secessionist, gun toting attorney general, Wayne Anthony Ross, was the fault of the Alaska bloggers.

The failure of Palin's bills last session were the fault of partisan legislators.

In March, the governor said she wasn't "rejecting" the stimulus money, she just wasn't "accepting" it. It was Obama's fault for the national debt.

The inability to follow through with multiple speaking engagements had nothing to do with Palin's commitment phobia,. It was a misunderstanding with scheduling.

When a legislative aid made copies of an article Palin didn't like, she went to his office and blamed him for letting his boss know she wouldn't be in town for the last days of the session. Really.

After making a speech, Palin was accused of lifting words from Newt Gingrich and Craig Shirley in 2005. Palin's attorney said it wasn't her fault, she said Newt's name twice.

The ethics complaints against the governor were "unscrupulous" and Obama driven.

No one believes the governor's "word salad" as an explanation for her resignation, but that's the fault of an Alaskan blogger -- me.

She blamed the ethics complaints for costing Alaska "millions of dollars", except they weren't. It was less than $300,000 and of that, $187,000 was from her own politically motivated complaint, filed on herself to distract an interested public from the damning Branchflower report.

Sarah didn't want the travel costs of a "lame duck governor" to be billed to the state, and blamed her resignation on it in part...but she flew, on state dime, the equivalent of Miami to LA in the seven days since resigning.

She has half a million dollars in personal legal bills and must resign, blaming ethics complainers for her expense...but those legal bills will be paid in full, courtesy of her massive legal defense fund.

Levi says she's out for the money...but his opinion doesn't matter. She blames his opinion on having a movie deal in the works.

It's Rahm Emmanuel and President Obama's fault that Sarah Palin has constituents who think she sucks at her job.

Under the Palin Administration, the Department of Health & Social Services has been so poorly managed the federal government has forbidden the state to sign up new people until they get their act together. So, I guess that would be the fault of people who are both poor and sick and old.

The Constitutional crisis created by Palin's resignation isn't her fault, the legislature should have seen this coming years ago.

It's not Sarah's fault she's married to a man who was part of a secessionist political party, the Alaska Independence Party. No, it's the fault of "gotcha" voter registration.

No, Governor Palin, your losses are your fault.

Sell crazy somewhere else, we're all full here.

Michael Shaw: Reading The Pictures: Palin Proud To Be Trash

2009-07-05T16:02:35Z

This photo was circulated by Getty after Palin was tabbed for Veep by McCain and appeared, at least, in a cheeseball LAT election slideshow on Palin's fashion sense.

If you haven't seen it before, however, it's because the image, like Palin herself, is radioactive.

Although taken back in '04 (see caption below), the statement is significant today for revealing an attitude (along with the adorable love 'ya/just shot 'ya) that, upon her resignation from elected office, now morphs into a full-blown strategy. Palin has created a scenario, at least in her mind, in which she's defeated the press and can freely Facebook and speak obliquely with and to her equally angry and alienated true constituency.

Simply, she's positioned herself to reconnect, with the same invective, to the haters and fanatics she was inciting during the campaign.

For more visual politics, visit BAGnewsNotes.com (and follow us on Twitter).

(image: Robert A. Baker/Getty Images. Sarah Palin models purchased 'Proud to be Valley Trash' t-shirt as the result of State Senator Ben Stevens (son of Ted Stevens) comments that people living in the Mat-Su Borough are 'just Valley trash' July 21, 2004 in Wasilla, Alaska. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain announced Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate at a campaign rally August 29, 2008 in Dayton, Ohio.)

Giles Slade: Silly Sarah and the Govinator: A Study in Contrast

2009-07-04T11:58:01Z

Over Christmas of 1988 my wife and I drove our junker north along the beautiful, winding coastal road from L.A. to the Esalen Institute in Big Sur to attend a workshop while also trying to make a baby. If you're a wuss like me, North is a good way to drive Highway 1, since you don't have to look down the sheer cliff-face to the rocky whitecaps below.

At sunset the view will take your breath away, and -- on a good day, I often tell the kids -- you can see Japan.

Christmas Day we went to Monterey to visit the Aquarium, eat some sushi and find a mindless diversion. Monterey was really sleepy back then. The only thing playing in town was Twins, a silly B-movie in which Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito are the unlikely results of a genetic experiment. Arnold, of course, plays the high-minded, high-achieving ubermensch which scientists hoped to create, while DeVito plays his unforeseen twin, a completely irresponsible, fun-loving lowlife, source of the film's comic tension. A real maverick.

Danny DeVito is a personal icon, and Matilda -- a wonderful movie he starred in and directed in 1996 -- is one of my all-time favorites. But my heart sank when I learned the only choice was a Schwarzenegger film. An inveterate snob, I'd rather watch a cut-and-paste documentary about extreme weather events on the CBC -- yawn -- than one of the Governor's thrillers. Still, despite my misgivings, it was a good date. My wife liked it. It made us talk about what our unborn kids -- every one a love child -- would be like.

When we left the theater, there was a ticket on our car, and my heart sank. But it simply said: "Visit us often but don't park here again. Merry Christmas. Monterey PD." Nice. Classy.

My mood soared and, over dinner, I was heard to say (1) that Arnold was not a dummy; and (2) he had actually made a very shrewd decision four years earlier when he turned down the role of "Kyle Reese," deciding instead to play the "Terminator" itself. Bogie's career, after all, depended on his early portrayals of really bad guys whose careers ended in extremely memorable death scenes.

Since that time, my appreciation of Arnold's shrewdness has increased. His performance in the current economic crisis contradicts what his image (a body builder whose accent is as exaggerated as Bruno's) used to suggest. Early on, Arnold must have realized the value of playing to stereotypes, and of using them instead of fighting them. "I'm Jherman! I'm a superman! Vatch me play the robot." This is not stupid. He may even have a sense of humor.

(You heard it here first.)

Arnold continues to make the right moves in complex environments. The Terminator has morphed into the Govinator and he's now trying to force California to adopt vital budget reform using his own upcoming retirement as a lever. Because he doesn't have to run for office again, Arnold has no need to apologize to anyone. He can dig in his heels and try to do something genuine about the state's serially dysfunctional economy. He's using his status as a gubernatorial lame duck to behave in a way that's anything but lame. Nice. Classy.

Which brings me to Sarah Palin. Like Danny Devito in Twins, she was and remains totally unpredictable. But...

The first thing someone with political aspirations should realize is that you need to give the appearance of responsibility. The easiest way to do this is by actually finishing your term-of-office. To decline to serve after being elected is -- what adjective should I use -- irresponsible...disrespectful...ungrateful...capricious...flakey? To me this crucial and very weird decision by an ambitious woman (who looks remarkably like Tina Fey) makes it a safe bet that she is withdrawing from public life (whether she actually wants to or not).

By gosh, there must be a durn good reason for Silly Sarah to cut and run so abruptly. The thin excuse that she doesn't want to take advantage of her lame duck status is cheesy at best. And y'know, I really do hate explanations by politicians that insult your intelligence. After eight years of George, the simple-minded rationalizations Republicans often settle for just make me angry. For me, this is also the most noticeable difference between the national leaders Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and Barack Obama. The first says any old BS, knowing no one believes it but no one has the power to contest it. Objective truth has now become irrelevant in Iran (and possibly in Alaska, too). For Iranians the whole world is exactly whatever Ahmedinejad says it is until he too decides he's had enough and its time to leave. For Iranians, of course, this cannot be soon enough.

On the other hand, Obama doesn't talk until he either knows what he's talking about or is free to give it to you straight up. This is the main contrast between political BS and political substance, and these are the terms of my comparison between the Barracuda and the Terminator.

On Friday, the Internet was full of rumors about how an FBI investigation into kickbacks that Todd Palin took from construction and oil companies might result in extortion charges against the adults in Alaska's gubernatorial family. (Question: Would the feds be able to figure out who they are?). Then, on Sunday, we were warned that if you repeat this accusation, Palin's attorney, Thomas Van Fein, will file a suit against you for defamation. Van Fein specifically (I am so proud) threatened HuffingtonPost.com among others. Since then at least one blogger has responded irately to Mr. Van Fein's attempt at intimidation, here:

Well, the Internet sources concerning Todd and Sarah's alleged embezzlement deals were still on the "think progress" and "bradblog" sites yesterday. The old, 2008 Village Voice piece entitled The Book of Sarah that first suggested potential irregularities in the way Mayor Palin awarded a contract for a municipal sports facility to Spenard Builders Supply, can also be found here.

Of course, it is possible -- even likely -- that the Governor is no more corrupt than the average, indebted American politician and has simply awakened to what the rest of the nation already knew: "Caribou Barbie"* can do a small town, but her simple "you betcha" appeal is not an act. She is not playing dumb or using a stereotype to guarantee her appeal. She really doesn't have the moral or intellectual equipment for higher office. If this is true, then she's getting out while the getting is good.

Ms Palin can now supplement her generous book contract from HarperCollins with large speaker fees. She can also raise money for the Good Old Party and, in this way, help to raise it (or at least some portion of it) from the dead (GOP Zombies?). At the same time, she will end the wave of ethics investigations (15 of them) which have allegedly cost the Palins $500,000 in legal fees. This is only slightly less ($35K) than the value of their Wasilla home. (Imagine taking a job that cost you your house? It would give me pause.) Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell has hinted that a major reason Sarah quit was the actual price of staying in office via the dozen or so ethics charges she has had to face and beat.** The Alaskan Governor is paid a paltry $125,000. No sense sticking around if you don't clear a profit.

Best of all, by withdrawing and elevating Parnell to incumbent governor, Silly Sarah has probably determined the outcome of the 2010 Alaskan gubernatorial election. Of course, once ensconced in his old running mate's office, Mr. Parnell will be too busy catching up on Sarah's unfinished paperwork and getting his next campaign ready to pursue investigations of his old boss. And -- doubly sweet -- this move also prevents Sarah's old rival, Senator Lisa Murkowski, from becoming Governor any time soon.

As Governor, Murkowski, an unusually professional politician in the rough-and-tumble street-fight Alaskans call the state Republican party, might find Palin's gubernatorial dealings worthy of much more official scrutiny which, in turn, might require more expensive legal representation by Thomas Van Fein. But wait! Alaska doesn't need another investigation and/or scandal now after those of Senator Ted Stevens and representatives Bev Masek, Vic Kohring and Pete Kott. Best then to hand off to Parnell, and to do so selflessly for the party, for the team, for Alaska, and for the first family.

Yeah. Nice. Classy.

Sarah's resignation confirms what her values actually are by defining what is most important to her. Like Danny DeVito in Twins, Governor Palin is going to keep as much of her newfound money as she can. Okay. In America, earning and keeping money doesn't make you a bad person. Remember, however, that Hillary Clinton didn't quit over a little thing like scratch. Hils burned through borrowed cash like there was no tomorrow, knowing from first-hand experience that power in America never comes cheap. (This, incidentally, is the great and undemocratic weakness of our system: the indebtedness of our politicians makes them vulnerable to being bought. Joe Biden has been saying this since he first came to office, and this uncommon honesty is the reason I like Joe Biden.) Well, Hils spent like a sailor to get power, and it was a strategy that worked. If Sarah, however, chokes, coughing up a mere $1/2 million, could she ever face the financial risk of a national campaign for presidency?

No. It's just way too rich for her blood. But that's okay too.

In sum, there are only three things for certain today: (1) that the Barracuda has an expensive and litigious lawyer who's eager to bill her for more work now that the ethics charges against her have dried up; (2) that she does not match the Terminator in terms of political substance, integrity or personal finances; and (3) that all my boys turned out (one of them is only four) to be like Danny DeVito, irresponsible, fun-loving mavericks. Of course, I love them deeply and don't have a problem as long they never run for office.

Silly Sarah's departure also bothers me not a whit. I feel exactly as Cary Grant did in Bringing Up Baby when he says to a very flighty Katherine Hepburn:

"Let's play a game.
I'll close my eyes and count to ten, and when I open them...
YOU WILL BE GONE!"

Of course, at the end of the film they marry.

Mavericks, ha!

*I have unconscionably stolen the phrase "Caribou Barbie" from Maureen Dowd's deliciously witty piece "Sarah's Folly" in June 5th's New York Times.

**Lt. Gov. Parnell's remarks about Governor Palin's legal fees can also be found in the July 5th New York Times as "Legal Fees Swayed Palin, Official Says."

Gary Cohan: The Republican Summer Olympics of 2009

2009-06-29T18:54:32Z

Showcasing and broadcasting "traditional family values" has become a core public relations strategy of the Grand Old Party's "Contract with America." Republicans perpetually fight to post and preach the Old Testament's Ten Commandments in every public venue that the law allows. Ironically, their private embraces are often in complete contradistinction with their own oft-trumpeted, Biblically-mandated "moral" guidelines for the rest of us.

Sure, the Democrats have former U.S. President, serial adulterer and cigar-wielding Lothario William Jefferson Clinton, former New Jersey Governor and once closeted "gay American" Jim McGreevey, former North Carolina U.S. Senator and adultering "maybe-baby Daddy" John Edwards and the ever-entertaining former straitlaced New York Governor and "hooker acolyte" Eliot Spitzer to keep the nation amused with their hetero- and homosexual peccadilloes. Yet none of these men so brazenly used the Bible as a political bludgeon to compete for their official roles.

The Republican Party's sanctimonious" "Big Tent" of superstars in the fields of hypocrisy and immorality refuses to be outdone by the rank amateurs holding elected office in those sinful Blue States. In terms of public-private duplicity, the GOP enjoys an unparalleled record. So this summer, individual Republican elected officials have come together -- in the style of a traveling USO show -- to entertain a financially beleaguered and emotionally embattled nation.

Although not officially sanctioned by the RNC, Republicans across the political spectrum have generously staged an off-year Summer Olympiad to demonstrate that their deepest and most personal visions for the "American Dream" are far more interesting than their "official" on-the-record moral-electoral preachings.

The following is a summary of the competitive events included in the Republican Summer Olympics of 2009 -- with their stellar roster of political athletes in the fields of moral turpitude, hypocrisy, deceit and corruption -- and a list of the medalists to date:

Synchronized Sinning:

• Gold: South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford (Parsimonious and sanctimonious anti-abortion and anti-gay-marriage crusader and "principled" Federal stimulus bailout money rejector who apparently is tone-deaf to the suffering of his jobless and impoverished constituents; Sanford abruptly disappears from and abdicates the responsibilities of the S.C. Governor's office -- and from his wife Jenny and four young sons on Father's Day weekend -- to surreptitiously hook up with his hot Argentinean mistress -- Maria Belen Shapur -- on the taxpayer's dime; worse, he leaves word with his confused staffers that he was "hiking the Appalachian trail" when, in fact, the only "trail" he left was a string of embarrassingly romantic and sexually explicit emails that have dashed any hopes of running for the Presidency in 2012)

• Silver: Nevada U.S. Senator John Ensign (born-again Christian, staunch monogamy advocate and most prominent member of the evangelical men's moral and sexual purity group -- the "Promise Keepers" -- who has famously castigated Democratic and Republican adulterers alike from his moral "high ground"; Ensign subsequently has an extramarital affair with a female staffer, doubles her salary, puts her son on the Republican National Senatorial Committee payroll and then charges the mistress' husband -- another Ensign staffer -- with extortion; a family affair indeed...)

• Bronze: Louisiana U.S. Senator David Vitter (abstinence-only sex education advocate, "intelligent design"/creationism school curriculum promoter, anti-abortion crusader, anti-gay marriage activist and Constitutional "Marriage Protection Amendment" co-sponsor whose profligate prostitute and brothel patronage including adult diaper-wearing-during-sex -- while still married to his ever-loyal wife Wendy -- has motivated his well-informed electorate to keep him in office to this day.)

• Coaches (and their areas of special expertise):

• Arizona U.S. Senator and public relations magician John McCain (Bottom-of-his-class at the U.S. Naval Academy, serial Navy aircraft crasher (5 planes), "Maverick" Bush-hugger and perennially-defeated U.S. Presidential candidate; for cheating on his disfigured and crippled first wife after her horrific car accident despite the fact that she supported him and the whole family during his infamous 5 ½-year stay at the "Hanoi Hilton"; McCain starts to feel better after extensive physical rehabilitation and runs off and marries a hot, 26-year-old, wealthy beer heiress named Cindy and divorces the old, beat-up first ball and chain.)

• Former House Speaker and moral charlatan Newt Gingrich (for personally delivering papers to surprise his cancer-stricken first wife with a divorce while she's in the hospital recovering from surgery for uterine cancer; Gingrich then fails to provide adequate child support payments for his two children for which his jilted wife and two kids have to rely on church handouts; Mrs. Newt #1 is forced to take him to court to care for his own spawn; Gingrich subsequently cheats on Mrs. Newt #2 with a woman 20 years his junior and marries the hapless young mistress to become the third victim in the tragic lineage of numbered Newt wives.)

• Former Florida Congressman Mark Foley (for the artful irony of espousing as sacrosanct strong child protection laws from sexual predators whilst texting sexually explicit messages to underage male Congressional pages.)

• Former Idaho U.S. Senator Larry Craig (for championing anti-gay "family values" and legislation while perfecting wide-stanced, toe-tapping routines in public restrooms to attract undercover male sex partners despite the repeated and continuing assertions by Craig that "I am not gay")

Spiritual Advisor: Former Evangelical Leader and Mega-Pastor Ted Haggard (Ultra-pious, anti-gay, moral purity preacher on Sundays; pays to be being sodomized on weekdays for three years by a hunky male prostitute while Haggard is high on crystal methamphetamine; confesses to "sexual immorality" and -- after intensive "rehabilitation" -- now claims to be a "heterosexual with issues")

Torture Triathlon (constructing illegal CIA prisons, condoning extraordinary rendition, engaging in disingenuous but repetitive denial):

• Gold: Former Vice President Dick Cheney (diabolical scheming)
• Silver: Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez (diabolical enabling)
• Bronze: Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (diabolical acquiescence)

Conservative Bloviator Pentathlon: (hate-mongering, fear-inciting, wedge-driving, patriotism-questioning and high-profile hypocrisy):

• Gold (tie): Conservative Talk Radio Super-Bloviator and de facto Republican Party Messiah Rush Limbaugh (former high school footballer and Southeast Missouri State University dropout who subsequently lost his college deferment for the Vietnam War draft and then was quickly deemed "ineligible for military service" -- by his own private physician -- because of a "pilonidal cyst" on his rear end; Limbaugh's OxyContin-fueled rants and uproarious Michael J. Fox Parkinsonism symptom imitations along with his broadcasting of the chart-topping ditty "Barack the Magic Negro" have won him astronomically high ratings with rednecks, Church Ladies and people with IQ's in single digits)

• Gold (tie): "Bomb-throwing" best-selling author, media mongrel, 9/11 widow-insulter, skeletal black cocktail dress-wearing and talk show circuit regular Ann Coulter (castigates Democrats who practice free speech and then hides behind the First Amendment for making vile and libelous statements about anyone who dares to voice a progressive or thoughtful opinion; supports government spying on Americans, torture as a "spectator sport," labels all terrorists as "Muslim," promotes the moral justification for the murder of abortion providers, blames "Gun-Free School Zone" laws as "the reason schools are consistently popular targets for mass murderers," unapologetically calls Bill Clinton a "rapist," Al Gore " a fag" and John Edwards "a faggot;" refers to Democrats as the "Spawn of Satan" and a "brain-damaged" voting bloc, espouses an environmental policy in which she interprets the Bible's teaching about man's respect for Mother Earth as to "be fruitful, multiply and rape the planet... it's yours," promotes an immigrant reform policy of "hire illegal immigrants to build the wall...it's cheap labor...and (then) throw out the illegals who are here;" and regards George W. Bush as "the man responsible for keeping Americans safe from another terrorist attack on American soil for nearly seven years and who now will go down in history as one of America's greatest presidents".)

• Silver: Fox "News" political commentator and bellicose blowhard Bill O'Reilly (for creating an on-air atmosphere of hatred and intolerance that is widely believed to have contributed to the murder of late-term abortion provider Dr. George Tiller and for providing a female Fox News producer a verbal "how-to" manual on phone sex topics such as vibrators, threesomes, masturbation, and Caribbean sexual fantasies, including the unexpected carnal pleasures of shower loofah mitts)

• Bronze: Conservative political commentator, herbal/homeopathic medicine scholar and father to Rockstar Energy Drink's CEO Russell Weiner, Michael Alan Weiner aka "Michael Savage" (for his on-air and in-print "conservative" railings against autistic Americans, homosexuals, Islam, Roman Catholics, Mexican immigrants, feminists, sex education and the homeless have earned him broadcasting's "Anti-Mother Teresa Award" for spewing vitriol, intolerance and general nastiness; now officially banned from entering the United Kingdom for "fostering extremism and hatred")

• Coach: Fox "News" commentator and radio personality Sean Hannity (fanatical George W. Bush apologist, ardent Iraq war-justification supporter, free-speech hypocrite, Constitutional Church-State separation denier, and self-proclaimed "Great American" who, despite his $20 million yearly contract, agrees with Phil Gramm's condescending comment on Americans' reaction to the faltering economy that we are a nation of "whiners;" "pals around" with his racist, Neo-Nazi "soul mate of hate" and extremist nutbag Hal Turner and provides Mr. Turner with free airtime -- and a "secret" call-in number to Hannity's show with his true identity thinly disguised as "Hal from North Bergen" -- to spew Third-Reich-inspired invective)

Influence Fencing:

• Gold: Former California Congressman and homophobic criminal Randy "Duke" Cunningham (for commenting on the routine medical rectal examination for prostate cancer as "just not natural, unless maybe you're Barney Frank;" for suggesting that the Democratic House leadership (and formerly, Vietnam War protesters) should be "lined up and shot;" for referring to gay soldiers as "homos" on the floor of the House of Representatives; for accepting at least $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors who bought his home and his yacht and provided him with a Rolls Royce, Persian rugs, jewelry, antiques and prostitutes; convicted in 2006 of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, and tax evasion for which he is now serving a 100 month prison sentence)

• Silver: Former Ohio Congressman and xenophobic "Freedom Fries" inventor Bob Ney (for using his Congressional influence as Chairman of the House Administration Committee -- colloquially known as "The Mayor of Capitol Hill" -- to grant political favors to the infamous Jack Abramoff lobbying team in exchange for gifts, including a free trip to the Super Bowl, Northern Marianas Islands, golfing in Scotland, the use of luxury boxes at sporting events, concerts and expensive meals; took multiple bribes as "campaign contributions" to support Indian gaming; sentenced to 30 months in prison and to 200 hours of community service)

• Bronze: Former Alaska U.S. Senator Ted Stevens (developed a novel bartering system for home repairs and remodeling, trading influence in awarding oil-field service contracts in exchange for massive increases in personal home equity)

Coaches:

• Republican super-lobbyist and super-criminal Jack Abramoff: (central character in the greatest number of high-profile Republican political scandals than anyone in American political history; involved in defrauding multiple American Indian tribes of tens of millions of dollars, corruption including bribery and influence-purchasing of more than 15 public officials; illegal international schemes involving the nations of Scotland, Russia, Malaysia, Sudan and the offshore U.S. Commonwealths of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands; widely regarded as the most successful and influential lobbyist to the Bush Administration; indicted or convicted of conspiracy, mail/wire/bank fraud, tax evasion and bribery; currently "naming names" and cooperating with over 100 FBI investigators in a plea deal which will keep him incarcerated at a Federal prison camp near FBI headquarters as inmate # 27593-112 until December 2011.)

• Former Republican House Majority Leader Tom "The Hammer" Delay (Conservative "Christian values" arbiter, anti-environmentalist, Clinton-impeachment advocate/leader, Terry Schiavo feeding tube interloper, partisan Texas gerrymanderer, profligate acceptor of "gifts" from the aforementioned super-criminal lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the winner of the dubious distinction of being the first Congressional leader ever to be criminally indicted on felony charges -- on conspiracy, money laundering and conspiracy to violate election law)

In the June 28, 2009 issue of the New York Times, Op-Ed columnist Charles M. Blow cogently outlined and graphed Republican/conservative double standards in a think piece entitled "The Prurient Trap." He highlights "the appalling hypocrisy of ... social conservative(s) saying one thing while doing another." Mr. Blow aptly notes that Republican strategists and voters routinely use "sexual morality as a weapon and now it's shooting them in the foot." According to statistical analyses, social conservatives tend to buy more Internet porn, get divorced at higher rates and have the highest teenage birth rates.

It will require highly-skilled political pole vaulting to break free of the giant pile of manure dumped on this great nation by the very people claiming the closest proximity to God. Thank the good (nondenominational) Lord that the majority of the American people were finally awakened in the 2008 elections to this dark legacy of vile criminal deceptions and cheating by "social conservatives."

Now we can enjoy a real President (and not merely a Neocon-controlled, Manchurian-candidate frat boy) as our national torch-bearer with an athletic intellect, finely-honed political skills and a muscular mandate from the electorate to take America back from the illegitimate theocracy that we have become and to re-institute true Democratic principles as outlined in our Constitution. Let the heavy lifting begin.

Brendan DeMelle: Paul Minor's Attorneys Ask Attorney General To Intervene

2009-06-26T06:13:33Z

Attorneys for Paul Minor wrote to Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday asking the Justice Department to conduct "an immediate full review" of Minor's case to determine if the government prosecutors who targeted Minor disclosed all of the evidence in their possession prior to Minor's 2005 and 2007 trials. The government has "an absolute duty... to disclose all exculpatory or favorable information prior to trial," according to the letter [PDF], which lays out multiple ways in which the government likely failed to meet the disclosure requirements mandated by law and upheld by the Supreme Court and an extensive case history.

The request for a review of Minor's case follows on the heels of similar reviews by the Obama DOJ of botched cases of Republicans prosecuted during the Bush years. The DOJ dismissed the case of former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens due to improper prosecutorial conduct in April and immediately released him from prison. Earlier this month, the DOJ also released from prison former Alaska Republican state legislators Victor Kohring and Peter Kott while their cases are under review.

While the DOJ acted quickly to release Stevens and the other Republicans, Minor and his co-defendants, Mississippi state judges Wes Teel and John Whitfield (all Democrats), remain in federal prison while the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals deliberates their cases. Minor's attorneys have previously argued to Attorney General Holder that the strength of the arguments raised in his appeal alone requires the government to release him on bail pending the court's review, but Holder has not yet acted.

There is a common thread between the prosecutions of Senator Stevens, the Alaska state legislators, and Paul Minor, which Minor's attorneys argue is more than enough to warrant a swift review of Minor's case.

William Welch, head of the U.S. Justice Department's Public Integrity Section (PIN), was one of the prosecutors of record on the government's side in both of Paul Minor's trials and his appeal currently before the Fifth Circuit. As the head of the Public Integrity Section, Welch also had senior management responsibility for all of the DOJ prosecutors involved in Minor's trial and appeal.

Welch was also involved in the Alaska trials, and he was recently stripped of his management responsibilities while investigators probe whether he and other senior Justice Department officials were involved in decisions to withhold materials that might have proved favorable to various defense teams, including lawyers defending Senator Stevens and the other Alaska Republicans whom the DOJ released from prison.

According to the letter, "a troubling pattern and practice has emerged in Public Integrity Section prosecutions managed by William Welch that has allowed ground level prosecutors to engage in the blatantly improper, unethical and unconstitutional trial tactic of withholding exculpatory evidence from defendants. Under the circumstances, this troubling prosecutorial abuse is at least as likely - if not even more likely - to have occurred in Mr. Minor's case than in the Bush-era improper prosecutions of Republicans Stevens, Kott and Kohring."

The letter notes that the same issue of nondisclosure of exculpatory evidence that led to the dismissal of Senator Stevens' case is also present in Paul Minor's case. Additionally, issues of political prosecution and misrepresentation of the law are evident as well.

Not only was Minor wrongfully targeted for political reasons, prosecutors also misrepresented the legal standard of proof required to convict him. While courts in other parts of the country have required the Justice Department to prove a specific quid pro quo "this for that" agreement in order to convict defendants under the very same bribery statute, the prosecutors in Minor's case disingenuously asserted to the court that the law had NEVER required Justice Department prosecutors to provide such quid pro quo proof to convict defendants such as Paul Minor.

The letter charges that such misconduct violates the prosecutors' duty to be "servants of the law," to be "impartial" and to not engage in such deceptive trial tactics "calculated to secure a wrongful conviction."

Justice should be blind to party affiliation, but during the Bush administration, partisan operatives undermined that principle for political gain. Attorney General Holder must restore that ethic within the DOJ.

This new evidence of prosecutorial misconduct in Minor's case - coupled with the likelihood that his prosecution was politically motivated - should compel Attorney General Holder to review Minor's case and immediately release him from prison. Until the matter is resolved - either by the Fifth Circuit ruling on his appeal, or, as in the case of Senator Stevens, by outright dismissal by the Justice Department, Minor deserves his freedom.

Brendan DeMelle: Elusive Justice Overdue in the Case of Political Prisoner Paul Minor

2009-06-18T04:16:38Z

It is time for the Obama Justice Department to reverse one of the most egregiously political persecutions of the Bush era -- Paul Minor's bogus conviction on trumped up charges of public corruption "bribery" despite a total lack of evidence that his role as the top funder of Democratic candidates in Mississippi netted him anything other than misery and a harsh prison sentence.

Attorney General Eric Holder stated recently that "elections have consequences." That premise should apply not just to President Obama's pick for the Supreme Court and appointment of new U.S. Attorneys, as Holder mentioned. It should compel a swift review of the unjust prosecutions of prominent Democrats targeted by the Bush Justice Department.

Paul Minor's case is Exhibit A.

Paul Minor's attorneys recently filed a straightforward, compelling brief with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals outlining the multiple errors the prosecution made in convicting Minor for bribery despite the government not being required to prove a quid pro quo. In such cases, crystal clear case law requires the presiding judge to instruct the jury that they can only convict a campaign fundraiser of bribing public officials if clear "this for that" evidence exists of a quid pro quo agreement leading to a specific official act by the recipient in exchange for the campaign contributions.

But under Bush, partisan DOJ prosecutors wrongfully prevailed upon a Reagan-appointed judge to withhold that crucial instruction and to allow Minor's conviction without any quid pro quo proof, much less explicit proof of a quid quo pro.

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is currently reviewing Minor's case, heard oral arguments from the government and Minor's legal team on April 1st and later requested further written clarification, which both sides submitted on June 4th. The clarification the Court requested involved whether the government even had jurisdiction to prosecute Minor using one of the federal bribery statutes under which he was convicted. Now that all the legal briefing has been completed for the court, the case is ripe for decision and the court could soon conclude that the government erred in convicting Minor.

The U.S. Attorney's office has repeatedly opposed Minor's release pending the outcome of his appeal, even though he undoubtedly qualifies for mandatory bail pending appeal under the federal bail statute.

Minor has endured a cruel and distressing ordeal since his 2007 conviction, spending the last two years locked up in prison while his wife of four decades battled terminal brain cancer and recently passed away in April. Minor's repeated requests to visit with his dying wife in her final days - and to attend her funeral service where he planned to deliver a eulogy honoring her memory and their 40 years of marriage - were all callously denied by the Bureau of Prisons, despite the black letter law requiring the release on bail pending appeal of anyone, as here, raising such "substantial questions" on appeal. Since it is highly unusual for an appeals court to seek further clarification after hearing oral arguments in a case, Minor obviously cleared the bar by a mile in presenting compelling arguments to the court regarding his botched prosecution.

The court should recognize the folly of the trial judge's improper jury instructions and subsequent misuse of the bribery statutes to convict and sentence Minor to 11 years in the Pensacola federal prison camp.

Nothing will bring his wife Sylvia back, but freeing Paul Minor now and reviewing his case is the least that Attorney General Eric Holder can do - as the Obama administration recently did in the cases of former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens and other botched Republican prosecutions. It is time to right the wrongs committed by the overzealous, partisan U.S. attorneys who brought shame and disgrace to the Justice Department under George W. Bush.

Justice Department Admits New Mistakes Under Bush

2009-06-04T18:29:37Z

WASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric Holder asked a court Thursday to release two imprisoned former Alaska state lawmakers after the Justice Department found prosecutors improperly handled evidence in their trials on corruption charges.

The move is the second embarrassing retreat for Justice Department prosecutors since the conviction of former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens was tossed out of court in April.

Ted Stevens Partying In D.C., Working On Memoir

2009-05-15T14:47:06Z

Oh how the world turns. While his prosecutors are now under investigation for misconduct, the curmudgeonly ex-senator Ted Stevens is back on the Washington party circuit - vindicated, shrimp cocktail style.

The famed former senator from Alaska, who narrowly lost reelection in November after he was convicted on corruption charges, showed up at a fancy book party Thursday night for Philadelphia radio talk show host Michael Smerconish.

John Terzano: Prosecutors Must Be Held Accountable

2009-04-13T11:02:38Z

Prosecutors have power. They have been given that power in part to effectively ensure public safety. Yet, everyday in courtrooms across the country, prosecutors are abusing their broad powers and engaging in misconduct that can and does lead to flawed verdicts and the conviction of innocent people. It is a severe problem -- it is a widespread problem. Our criminal justice system can and should do better.

Arguably the most powerful figures in the criminal justice system, prosecutors are heavily involved in the investigation of crimes; they are solely responsible for what charges, plea bargains, and sentences a criminal defendant will face; and they have complete control over what evidence will be disclosed to the defense during discovery. The responsibility of a prosecutor is not to simply seek convictions, but to seek justice. This means that, in addition to convicting the guilty, the prosecutor has a duty to protect the innocent and guard the rights of the accused. Yet within our criminal justice system there is a lack of transparency and accountability which has allowed prosecutorial abuse of power and misconduct to become common place.

It is a problem at both the state and federal levels. We are all aware of the recent headlines around the Ted Stevens case, where Attorney General Eric Holder dismissed an indictment against the former Alaskan senator, citing prosecutorial misconduct as the primary reason. Just last week, Federal District Court Judge Emmett Sullivan ordered a special investigation of six federal prosecutors within the Department of Justice for their acts of misconduct in the case, including the mishandling of witnesses and suppression of important evidence. In North Carolina in June of 2007, another high profile case of prosecutorial misconduct ended in the disbarment of Durham County District Attorney Michael Nifong for suppressing evidence and making inflammatory public statements related to the prosecution of three innocent Duke Lacrosse players for rape.

While these high profile cases provide egregious examples of prosecutorial misconduct, they are not isolated incidents. There are numerous prosecutors that have committed similar abuses of power and acts of misconduct that have not been held accountable in a similar fashion and continue to practice law as prosecutors. Unlike the examples cited above, the vast majority of misconduct cases go unnoticed -- prosecutors are rarely held accountable when they make egregious errors or abuse their power. Jurisdictions around the country have failed to effectively investigate or sanction prosecutors. This lack of accountability has led to widespread abuse of prosecutorial power, and a flawed and inaccurate criminal justice system.

The most common type of prosecutorial misconduct is the suppression of exculpatory evidence from the defense. Other forms include courtroom misconduct, mishandling of physical evidence, threatening or badgering witnesses, using false or misleading evidence, and improper behavior during grand jury proceedings.

Today, The Justice Project released Improving Prosecutorial Accountability: A Policy Review, which analyzes prosecutorial misconduct and presents comprehensive recommendations to improve the accountability of our nation's prosecutors. The policy review offers solutions to systemic problems that lead to prosecutorial misconduct. Among other recommendations, states are encouraged to require all prosecutors' offices to adopt and enforce clearly defined office manuals on the proper use of discretion, adopt open-file discovery in criminal cases, and establish prosecutorial review boards to investigate and sanction prosecutors who abuse their power. In addition, the policy review profiles cases of prosecutorial misconduct that led to wrongful convictions and the death sentences of innocent individuals, highlights jurisdictions that have taken steps to curtail prosecutorial misconduct, and includes a model policy.

It is time for states to take steps to ensure prosecutors are held accountable for their actions in all cases -- not simply the high profile ones. The Justice Project's recommendations, if implemented by the states, would significantly improve prosecutorial accountability, which would increase the fairness and accuracy of our criminal justice system.

John F. Terzano is President of The Justice Project, a nonpartisan organization that works to increase fairness and accuracy in the criminal justice system.

Jeff Danziger: Ted Stevens, Mitch McConnell

2009-04-12T17:30:15Z

Lionel: Stevens: Justice Was Served (Damn!)

2009-04-10T11:52:00Z

Former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens is irascible, choleric and was the longest serving Republican in the Senate. He rarely smiles and is the personification of the old fart and royal pain in the arse. He's 112 years old and pulls the wings off of butterflies. Mother Teresa would've slapped him and Will Rogers wouldn't have liked him. And those are his good points. Stevens was the walking poster boy for the necessity of term limits. Fine.

But what our government did to him in its corruption prosecution was worse than anything this curmudgeon ever did or was alleged to have done.

The New York Times reports that his case was dismissed after a series of unfathomable errors, negligence and, worse, the deliberate withholding of exculpatory evidence by Department of, get this, Justice prosecutors and officers of the court. Newly-minted A.G. Eric Holder asked that the charges be dismissed after more evidence of prosecutorial concealment was discovered.

Since 1963, the U. S. Supreme Court's holding in Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, mandates that prosecutors turn over all evidence which does or may exculpate a defendant in a criminal case. Prosecutors are after justice, after all, so if they encounter evidence which would tend to or may exonerate a criminal defendant, they absolutely must make that evidence available. To think, prior to 1963, there were no rules for such. Don't get too excited. After all, before the XIII Amendment, slavery was okey-dokey.

Stevens was indicted for failing to list on Senate disclosure forms roughly $250,000 worth of goods and services he received to improve his Alaska home. The Times article reports that during the five-week trial, prosecutors were repeatedly forced to acknowledge that they had failed to turn over information to defense lawyers as required.

"Again and again, both during and after the trial in this case, the government was caught making false representations and not meeting its discovery obligations," Judge Emmet Sullivan said yesterday. Days after Mr. Stevens was found guilty on seven felony counts last October, he barely lost re-election. I know, no one's crying, save Stevens, of course. But that's not the point.

His lawyer, the famed Brendan Sullivan (no relationship I hope to the judge), who, along with the help of the dreaded ACLU, was successful in getting Oliver North off the hook using that tried and true loophole called the Fifth Amendment, repeatedly accused the prosecutors of blindsiding him. That ain't kosher and it ain't cricket. (By the by, that referenced Commie group the ACLU also filed an amicus curiae brief in Rush Limbaugh's Florida case. Neither Rush nor his lawyers refused its assistance.)

Judge Sullivan has referred the case for a criminal investigation of the prosecutors. Hooray! For far too long, prosecutors have not been held accountable for deliberate acts of misconduct, and you can't get any worse than deliberately withholding evidence that corroborates a defense theory or exculpates. Granted, they're entitled to immunity when they act in good faith, but for far too long they've been given a pass.

And what I hope this case inspires is a concerted effort on the part of law enforcement agencies and justice departments to also go after prosecutors and cops who withhold evidence in murder, rape and other serious felony cases. How many times have you heard that jailhouse snitches were given sweetheart deals when the substance of their testimony was shaky, suspect or a downright pack of lies? Where the prosecutors and cops knew or should have known better.

Until we see these folks frogmarched into jail, we'll see more of this. And whether it's Ted Stevens or Ollie North, Rush Limbaugh or Ann Coulter -- OK, maybe not Coulter -- the law is the law and we should celebrate when the unscrupulous are caught and when justice is served. Even if that means that the guilty walk. And even if the guilty are folks you can't stand -- Ann Coulter, again, comes to mind. (Remember those alleged Florida voter law irregularities?)

God Bless America.

Bob Franken: Law and Odor

2009-04-09T08:09:08Z

It won't happen but it should. Democratic Senator Mark Begich of Alaska won't step aside, but he should. Chances are, former Senator Ted Stevens would clean his clock in a new special election, so don't look for Begich to do the right thing.

Stevens has become the latest symbol of how things worked at the Justice Department in the Bush administration. In fact, it's fair to say that during those eight shameful years it could more accurately be called the Miscarriage of Justice department.

The Stevens convictions for seven ethics violations clearly led to his defeat at the polls, after a 40-year career where he became one of the most powerful members of the Senate. He was unbeatable back home in Alaska, and he was steamrollered by thuggish prosecutors at Justice.

Convinced that they were all powerful, they didn't even really bother to properly conceal their contempt for rules based on a presumption of innocence (you remember that one, don't you?). Their violations of fundamental decency were so blatant that they violated rule number one, which is "Don't Get Caught." Their tactics were such a public embarrassment that the new attorney general decided that the case should be dropped. The judge has agreed and threw out the case. But obviously the irreparable damage to Stevens was done.

Now the A-G will have to work on restoring credibility to his government lawyers, whose job it is to convict the bad guys. The problem is that they need to play fair as they try and convince juries that their defendants really are bad guys. All too often they do not. In their zeal, they become convinced that legal technicalities and constitutional protections get in the way of their battles to preserve Good over Evil. In the process, they become the bad guys.

What is not clear is whether Attorney General Holder wants to simply get rid of this problem or really address it. The truth is that this extends far beyond the federal government. We need to rein in prosecutors at all levels. They can be unstoppable, what with a grand jury system that relies on a low standard of "probable cause" to indict anyone.

True, indictment is not conviction, but it is a legal action against an individual that has devastating consequences in and of itself. Prosecutors can and do abuse the system. Their reasons range from ambition to personal vendettas to misguided "law and order" beliefs. Can we forget the Duke University lacrosse team debacle? I hope not.

They even have their own propaganda, that long-running TV show Law and Order. It is very effective in the way it celebrates district attorneys as heroes, routinely hamstrung by devious defense lawyers and their obviously despicable criminal clients. It may be shown in color, but it portrays the whole system in simple-minded black and white.

The argument is frequently made that there have to be strong weapons to use in the fight against crime. No doubt about it. But the challenge of our system is to maintain public safety while, at the same time, preserving the protections that are at the very heart of this American experiment.

Anything less is dictatorship. What happened with Sen. Stevens can happen to any of us if we are not very careful. While we won't see a new election in Alaska, what is even more vital is action against these renegade Justice Department lawyers.

The judge has appointed a special prosecutor to investigate the prosecutors to see if they should face criminal charges of their own. At the very least, disbarment proceedings should be considered.

While we're at it, let's consider sanctions against the other attorneys at Justice who stand accused of knowingly distorting the laws about torture. Obviously no action should be taken until all their rights have been protected, something that didn't always seem to concern them

The message needs to be sent that the power of the United States is based on a need to recognize its tradition of limitations. Otherwise, what's the point?

Meanwhile, Alaska joins Illinois in having members of the U.S. Senate who got there in questionable ways. As for Democrats, who are so hell-bent on creating as big a majority as they possibly can, they should be embarrassed. Of course they won't be. In politics, power easily trumps embarrassment. It's not a concern.

But self-preservation is, and now that one of their own elected officials was unelected, they might want to pay attention to make sure that they too are not also dispatched in such a cavalier way. It can happen to them. And, oh yeah, to the rest of us.

Ted Stevens 2014? Former Senator Files For Candidacy

2009-04-09T07:51:04Z

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska has filed a statement of candidacy for the 2014 election, but an aide cautions against reading too much into the move.

Campaign treasurer Tim McKeever says the filing does not mean Stevens has decided to seek re-election. He says it simply was done to accept donations that came into the campaign after the November election.

Shannyn Moore: Alaska House Demands Canonization For "Uncle" Ted!

2009-04-09T00:04:17Z

The Alaska State House has passed a resolution asking the federal government to apologize to Ted Stevens. They also want him to be able to sue the Department of Justice.

The resolution is nonbinding - which is just political posturing. An apology? Wow, can I get one too? And in this time of record deficits should we really be giving Ted Stevens a bailout? REALLY?

Here's the resolution and, for what it's worth, my commentary following the bold Shannyn:

HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 10 (HR10):

Expressing support for Senator Ted Stevens and severe displeasure and indignation with the federal government's deplorable investigation and prosecution of the Senator.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:
WHEREAS United States Senator Ted Stevens' public service began with his military service during World War II; and

SHANNYN: the same veteran who has stated PTSD was invented by this generation.

HR10: WHEREAS Senator Stevens served the State of Alaska for over 50 years as a United States Attorney, member of the Alaska House of Representatives and United States Senator; and

SHANNYN: the same Senator who said to Bill Allen, "They're not going to shoot us; it's not Iraq, so what the hell. The worst that can happen to us is we wind up with a bunch of legal fees and might lose, and we might have to pay a little fine, might have to serve a little time in jail. I hope to Christ it never gets to that, and I don't think it will."

HR10: WHEREAS Senator Stevens was the longest serving Republican and seventh longest serving senator in the history of the United States; and

SHANNYN: Since when does NOT DYING deserve a federal apology?

HR1O: WHEREAS Alaska and its communities owe a debt of gratitude to Senator Stevens for his tireless efforts on behalf of the state; and

SHANNYN: How about Alaskan fishing communities? How about Kodiak? Talk about debt...

HR10: WHEREAS the United States Department of Justice has moved "to set aside the verdict and dismiss the indictment [against Senator Stevens] with prejudice"; and

SHANNYN: Because Attorney General Eric Holder believes in the Rule of Law from Guantanamo Bay to Girdwood, AK.

HR10: WHEREAS the prosecutors in the case withheld information that should have been provided to the defense during the trial; and

SHANNYN: Agreed that this is a reason to dismiss the trail, re-try the case, and prosecute those who committed crimes against Justice. NOT a reason for an apology or right to sue.

HR10: WHEREAS the Department of Justice's prosecution team was found in contempt of court for willfully failing to abide by the laws and procedures of the federal court; and

SHANNYN: AGAIN, any federal or state official in ANY case who cheats to win should be prosecuted. This isn't baseball...but if steroids can keep you out of the Hall of Fame, cheating justice should put you in the Hall of Shame...otherwise known as jail.

HR10: WHEREAS, under 5 U.S.C. 1502(a)(1) (Hatch Act), a federal "employee may not use his official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election"; and

SHANNYN: OH, REALLY? I think under this pretense, the federal government should apologize for the Florida Fiasco in the 2000 election, and the Ohio Shenanigans in the 2004 election! The LIST GOES ON...

HR10: WHEREAS questions have arisen as to whether provisions of the Hatch Act have been violated; and

SHANNYN: We should investigate ALL cases of alleged Hatch Act violations. The sacrament of democracy is our right to vote and have it count (just once).

HR10: WHEREAS the dismissal of these charges does not restore Senator Stevens' reputation and legacy or compensate Senator Stevens for his legal expenses and loss of future income; and

SHANNYN: Ted Stevens should be grateful Attorney General Holder is not re-trying him and go away quietly...maybe pray the airport keeps his name. Count your lucky stars Uncle Ted.

HR10: WHEREAS the federal government cannot be sued without its permission, except as
15 provided under 28 U.S.C. 1348 (Federal Tort Claims Act);

SHANNYN: Too bad you can't sue for expensive lies measured in human lives about Yellow Cake Uranium and the outing of a CIA agent or the illegal wiretapping of American citizens...since those don't count...well, suck it up Uncle Ted. Can you say, "Welcome to Walmart?"

HR10: BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska House of Representatives demands that the federal government grant Senator Stevens permission to sue the United States Department of Justice for redress; and be it

SHANNYN: THIS IS THE SAME LEGISLATIVE BODY THAT IS TRYING TO BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY!!! IT'S AS IF MISTAKES ARE NEVER MADE BY PROSECUTORS WHETHER NEFARIOUS OR THROUGH NEGLECT! How can they possibly talk out of both sides of their asses?

HR10: FURTHER RESOLVED that federal employees involved with Senator Stevens' prosecution be investigated for violations of the Hatch Act and, if found guilty, be subject to penalty under the Act; and be it

SHANNYN: Obama's Attorney General, Eric Holder, is already investigating the prosecution....oooh, snap!

HR10: FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Government should issue a formal apology to Senator Stevens and the People of Alaska for this heinous miscarriage of justice.

SHANNYN: I think Mr. Stevens should wait as least as long as the interned Japanese during WWII did for their apology. Their crimes were being immigrants...his crimes? Well, we'll never know...at least not until Ben Stevens' looming indictment and trial.

HR10: COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of the United States; the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr., Attorney General of the United States; and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Mark Begich, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.

SHANNYN: I think the Alaska Republicans that sponsored this resolution forgot a couple WHEREAS's and FURTHER RESOLVED's...

Here's what I would add...THE SHANNYN AMENDMENT:

WHEREAS Senator Stevens voted to suspend that which he enjoyed and ultimately set him free-habeas corpus; and

WHEREAS The US Supreme Court reinstated in 2008 that which Ted Stevens thought not important and voted to suspend-habeas corpus; and

WHEREAS Ted Stevens is on record receiving gifts he did not report; and

WHEREAS Ted Stevens was recorded stating, "They're not going to shoot us; it's not Iraq, so what the hell. The worst that can happen to us is we wind up with a bunch of legal fees and might lose, and we might have to pay a little fine, might have to serve a little time in jail. I hope to Christ it never gets to that, and I don't think it will."; and

WHEREAS The above statement is at a minimum unbecoming and unethical of a United States Senator and at most outright illegal; and

WHEREAS Republican Representative Mike Chenault is sponsoring a bill to bring back the Death Penalty in Alaska; and

WHEREAS The government is capable of making mistakes and of egregious outright prosecutorial misconduct; and

WHEREAS Ted Stevens' case was thrown out due to prosecutorial misconduct and he is FREE; and

WHEREAS The Death Penalty would make moot the point of throwing a wrongful conviction out due to defendant's DEATH; be it

FURTHER RESOLVED Senator Stevens apologize to All Americans for suspending that which he was granted-habeas corpus; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED Republican Representative Mike Chenault apologize for potentially putting Alaskans at risk to wrongful deaths from potential death penalty prosecutions due to the possibility of misconduct on behalf of the prosecution; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED Republican Representative Mike Chenault immediately withdraw his death penalty bill from consideration; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED Ted Stevens apologize to Alaskans for his incriminating statements and unethical behavior; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED Ted Stevens NOT sue the Federal Government lest they retry him!

I have stated before that this case was botched and should have been thrown out. The complicit lionization of Stevens by the Alaska State House, however, is a farce.

This bipartisan resolution passed with only one NO vote. The only NO vote? Spenard Democrat Mike Doogan-the man I chased into the bathroom of the state capitol last week after he outed my friend Mudflats. Apparently, he's trying to make up and get in my good graces again.

JUSTICE has not been served to either Stevens or to the people of Alaska.

Governor Sarah Palin and State Party Chair Randy Ruedrich are calling for a new US Senate election?

Fine...Bring it on...Right after a new trial.

Mike Papantonio: Justice Department Turns the Table on Political Prosecutions

2009-04-08T09:06:36Z

Republican Senator Ted Stevens never should have been prosecuted in 2008. My bet is that most experienced prosecutors who reviewed the facts of that case would have reached the same conclusion. Stevens was a political target, plain and simple. Worse yet, the Federal Judge listening to the facts of that case was just as culpable of abusing democracy as the prosecutorial henchmen who targeted Stevens. Judge Emmett Sullivan did not go far enough when he held several rabidly overzealous Justice Department lawyers in contempt for their prosecutorial misconduct against Stevens. Sullivan should have ordered an acquittal of Stevens and sought indictments against those prosecutors for obstruction of justice. Last week, Eric Holder, the new Obama-appointed Attorney General, took his first step toward cleaning house in the Justice Department. He directed the Justice Department to dismiss their case against Stevens and acknowledged that prosecutors had abused their power by withholding evidence in that case. Traditional media has done a pitiful job covering the many political prosecution stories that occurred during the John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales years. You might remember Ashcroft was appointed to the position of Attorney General by the GOP after Ashcroft had actually lost an election against a dead candidate in a Missouri senatorial race. That gives you a glimpse into the caliber of his qualifications.

But two areas where the qualifications of Ashcroft and Gonzales flourished was their ability to attract like-minded political operatives to the Justice Department and then turn them loose on political targets.

Between 2001 and 2006, the Bush Justice Department targeted 375 political candidates and elected public officials. If those politicos were Democrats, they were 7 times as likely to be targeted by the Attorney General's pack of prosecutor wolves.

Political prosecutorial misconduct typically undermines democracy and that alone makes for a sad story. But the tragedy that always develops in the lives of people who become political targets is usually wretched.

For example, a man by the name of Paul Minor was regarded as one of the most effective Democratic fund raisers in Mississippi. Today, he sits in a federal prison even after a jury initially determined that there was not enough evidence to conclude that he had ever committed a crime. The first jury was hung, but with a Herculean effort by politically motivated prosecutors, the government got a conviction on their second try. The limitless power and resources devoted to political prosecutions can be daunting. My prediction is that the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals will reverse this conviction, but in the meantime, Paul will have sat in prison for several years. Also, it is doubtful that his wife of 41 years will spend her last days with Paul. She is now in her final stages of terminal brain cancer. To shed light on just how capricious politically motivated prosecutors can be, Paul made a request to spend a few days with his wife before her imminent death. The Washington prosecutors involved in the case denied him even that right. No matter though, Paul's life is ruined the same way Ted Stevens' life was ruined when politics mixes with unchecked prosecutorial power. Seedy politics won and democracy lost.

Holder Discusses Stevens Case Debacle For First Time

2009-04-07T17:36:09Z

For the first time since the Department of Justice dismissed corruption charges against former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, Attorney General Eric Holder is taking questions on the topic.

In an exclusive sit-down with CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric airing tonight, the attorney general brushed off claims that his department "dragged its feet" in dealing with the case, but said that Justice officials involved in the botched prosecution won't be fired if a review turns up no wrongdoing.

A key excerpt below:

KATIE COURIC: He suggested that the department has dragged its feet, looking into the misconduct.

ERIC HOLDER: No, I don't think anybody can say that, given the fact that, in this limited time that I've been-- attorney general, I looked at the case, decided that mistakes had been made. And made the determination that the case had to be dismissed, looking at the totality of the circumstances. I've only been-- attorney general for a little over eight weeks now. I don't think that anybody can say that this department has dragged its feet.

KATIE COURIC: You're reportedly close to the lead prosecutor, Brenda Morris, who's under investigation for failing, among other things, to disclose crucial information to defense lawyers in this case. Another target of the investigation is, apparently, William Welch, who's head of the office, ironically, of public integrity. Will you fire either one of them? Will they stay on during the course of these investigations?

ERIC HOLDER: Unless there's some basis for me to decide if they have something wrong-- they'll remain in place.

The Alaska Republican Party and Gov. Sarah Palin have both called on Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK) to resign, providing an opportunity for Stevens to, at the very least, run in a special election for his old seat.

In a recent editorial, the New York Times praised Holder's handling of the Stevens case, describing it as a decisive break from the partisanship of the Bush era:

Mr. Holder, whose department is continuing to investigate the Stevens prosecution, now needs to determine whether the prosecutors’ conduct was so egregious that they should face their own ethics charges.

He should not stop with this case. Don Siegelman, the former governor of Alabama, and Paul Minor, a prominent Mississippi trial lawyer, have charged that Justice Department prosecutors engaged in unethical behavior in cases that led to their convictions. Both men claim that they were singled out for prosecution because of their affiliation with the Democratic Party.

Given the flagrant partisanship of the Bush Justice Department, it is especially reassuring to see Mr. Holder ignore party lines to do the right thing by Mr. Stevens. It has been far too long since the attorney general seemed interested in enforcing ethics and nonpartisanship in a department that has been shockingly lacking in both.

Part two of Couric's interview airs Wednesday night on the "CBS Evening News." Topics include Mexico, gun control, Guantanamo Bay, and Dick Cheney's recent comments.

Lanny Davis: Putting Justice Back Into the U.S. Department of Justice

2009-04-07T16:21:17Z

This is what I wrote in this space on Jan. 9.

-----

"Sen. Ted Stevens: An Innocent Man

"Just the headline of this piece alone, I'll bet, shocks a number of people.

"Most people assume, or have concluded, that Sen. Ted Stevens is guilty. After all, didn't a D.C. grand jury indict Mr. Stevens on seven felony counts? Haven't the U.S. government and its federal prosecutors concluded that Mr. Stevens failed to disclose taking more than $250,000 worth of gifts on his Senate financial disclosure forms? ...

"But just suppose all these media stories began with the following paragraph:

"_'Sen. Ted Stevens, who must be presumed to be an innocent man until he is proven guilty by the U.S. government beyond a reasonable doubt, today was indicted on charges of filing false statements in Senate financial disclosure forms. As is normal, the grand jury voted the indictment based on one-sided evidence presented by prosecutors, without Sen. Stevens or his attorneys having an opportunity to be present, to cross-examine witnesses, or to present contrary evidence that could have created a reasonable doubt regarding his guilt.'

"Most media people and government prosecutors would probably say such a lead would be naive and ridiculous. What they couldn't say is that a single word of the above paragraph is untrue."

-----

Finally, thanks to Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., justice has been done.

Last week, Mr. Holder decided to seek dismissal of the conviction of Mr. Stevens because of prosecutor misconduct by senior Justice Department officials, as well as possibly one or more FBI agents who worked on the case.

When are we going to learn?

When is the media going to turn sufficient attention on corrupt or unethical prosecutors and law enforcement officers, at all levels of government -- at least as much the sensational headlines that almost always result from the "indictment" of public officials.

There are only a small minority of such corrupt prosecutors and law enforcement officers -- the rotten apples, so to speak. But one is one too many, since even the decision to indict can permanently ruin a reputation.

What about the issue of prosecutor-called press conferences to announce indictments? I never understood why the canons of ethics much less just Justice Department policy permits them. The indictment is damning enough -- why not require prosecutors to do nothing more than publish the indictment and be silent?

Then there are the multiple examples of leaks of grand jury testimony or FBI interviews or other evidence, sometimes pre-indictment -- which are violations of criminal law and which clearly prejudice the jury pool or are used for other improper purposes.

We all should re-watch the move "Absence of Malice." In the movie the prosecutor deliberately leaks investigative files to put pressure on a businessman, played by Paul Newman, who he believes is connected with the mob. The reporter, played by Sally Field, reports the leaked story on page one -- and the businessman's life is virtually ruined. But he is a totally innocent man.

So in revenge, he brilliantly sets up the reporter and the prosecutor with a phony story that is also leaked, as he expects, and results in a false story that is easily disproved. The outcome: the reporter is forced to resign and her journalistic career is ruined and the rogue prosecutor is fired for unethical behavior by a senior Justice Department official, played by Wilford Brimley.

Oh, such a happy ending. If only it could happen in real life.

In the Stevens case, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan already had held in contempt-of-court William Welch, head of the DOJ's Public Integrity Section (belying the name of the section he heads), Patricia Stemler, and chief trial prosecutor, Brenda Morris, for prosecutor misconduct involving violations of the so-called "Brady" rule. This rule, known to everyone in the law enforcement system, is based on the 1963 Supreme Court case, Brady vs. Maryland, that held that the government must turn over to the defense any evidence that might help the defendant. Due process rights guaranteed by the Constitution require this, the Brady Court held.

Now we know from senior advisers to Mr. Holder that FBI interview notes that would have undermined the testimony of one of the key prosecution witnesses were withheld from Mr. Stevens' defense counsel. And we also know that the decision to ship out of town another key prosecution witness occurred not because he was "ill," as prosecutors misleadingly told the court and defense counsel, but rather, because he had performed badly in a mock, dress-rehearsal cross-examination by prosecutors, who decided they would rather not have him testify.

So Mr. Holder did the right thing when he decided to seek dismissal of Mr. Stevens' conviction and not to retry him.

But now Mr. Stevens has a right to ask, "Where do I go to get my good name back?" Or, no doubt, he could also rightly ask, since he was convicted eight days before the November 2008 elections: "Where do I go to get my Senate seat back?"

FBI agent Mary Beth Kepner, the lead agent in the investigation, and the senior Justice Department officials (Mr. Welch, Ms. Stemler and Ms. Morris) are of course entitled to the presumption of innocence on the misconduct charges to which they are subject. And without the leaks and innuendo in the press to which Mr. Stevens was subjected.

But the DOJ's Office of Professional Responsibility should continue its investigation of these individuals. If they are found to have violated the law, they should be indicted, stand trial, and if convicted, in my opinion, go to jail. Violations of the law by people whose public job is to enforce the law should be held to particularly harsh penalties.

One of my heroes as a public prosecutor is the former U.S. Attorney Joseph DiGenova, a Republican and also one of the few independent counsels who looked into a matter and decided there was no evidence and decided not to proceed. On the Stevens case, Mr. DiGenova said, "The power to prosecute is the power to destroy....The significance [of this] misconduct is monumental."

As for our new attorney general, he deserves all our thanks in reminding all Americans -- and we needed reminding after the last years of the prior administration's Justice Department -- that principle must guide DOJ policy, not politics.

Mr. Holder offered five simple words in asking to dismiss Mr. Stevens' conviction: "In the interest of justice."

That says it all. Thank you, Eric Holder. I only hope from this point on everyone in the law enforcement system of the United States remember those five words as their singular mission.

This article also appears at http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/06/davis-putting-justice-back-into-the-us-department-/ and
http://pundits.thehill.com/2009/04/06/justice-returns-to-the-justice-department/

---------

Lanny Davis, a Washington lawyer and former special counsel to President Clinton, served as a member of the President Bush's Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board from 2006 to 2007. He is the author of "Scandal: How 'Gotcha' Politics Is Destroying America." This article appeared in The Washington Times on Monday, April 6, 2009.

Judge Opens Case Against Ted Stevens Prosecutors

2009-04-07T12:40:41Z

WASHINGTON — A seething federal judge dismissed the corruption conviction of former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens on Tuesday and took the rare and serious step of ordering a criminal investigation into prosecutors who poisoned the case.

"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.

Judge Not Giving Up Ted Stevens Case Yet

2009-04-06T08:10:14Z

The judge who presided over former Sen. Ted Stevens' trial last fall issued two orders Sunday 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.