The Stevens Debacle

I understand Attorney General Holder's frustration with the prosecutors who argued the government's case against former senator Ted Stevens (Republican-AK). But to drop all of the charges after a conviction has been made? What the fuck!? Stevens hadn't been sentenced. If Holder was trying to send a message to his team then perhaps he could have left things where they are, with Stevens convicted but doing no prison or probation time. But dropping all charges makes Stevens look innocent. And he isn't.

Update: Scott Horton weighs in:

Attorney General Eric Holder has decided that the Justice Department should abandon the corruption conviction secured against former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens. The bombshell decision has nothing to do with the merits of the case against Stevens–it stems from a recognition that the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section behaved unethically in the conduct of the case — withholding vital evidence from the defense, among other things. Holder is himself a former Public Integrity prosecutor. He made the right call in the Stevens case.

Danny Noonan expands:

[The judge] presiding over the Stevens case asked a devastating question during the trial: “Does the Public Integrity Section have any integrity?” Until recenly that answer was readily apparent: Under the Bush administration it did not. Holder, a former Public Integrity prosecutor, has sent a loud message that he wants to make a change for the better. The next step is for Holder's Justice Department to investigate prosecutorial misconduct in several other high profile cases, including those involving former Alabama governor Don Siegelman and Dr. Cyril Wecht. Much more has to be done. As ever, the Bushies left a big mess to clean up.