Curiouser and curiouser.
On Monday, National Public Radio reported that the lawyer selected by a federal judge to look into the botched Stevens prosecution, Henry Schuelke III, would not recommend criminal charges against the prosecutors. Now, the Associated Press is reporting that may not be the case.
According to an AP story filed late Tuesday, the Justice Department’s internal watchdog, the Office of Professional Responsibility, has found that two of the prosecutors and an FBI agent committed misconduct.
A draft of OPR’s report says that Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Bottini and James Goeke, and FBI agent Mary Beth Kepner committed misconduct for failing to turn over evidence to Stevens defense, the AP said. The findings are not yet final, and the report clears several other attorneys — including lead prosecutor Brenda K. Morris and former Public Integrity Section chief William Welch — of misconduct allegations.
From here the AP and NPR diverge. Monday’s NPR report said Schuelke had decided against criminal charges and planned to release a report saying as much. But according to the AP story, Schuelke has not yet made a final decision on whether charges are warranted nor has he decided whether to issue a public, written report.
The AP also confirmed that no report has been given to the judge in the case, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan.
The questions about the failure to make complete discovery of records by the prosecution to the Stevens defense was because the Senator demanded a speedy trial so that he could pose as an innocent through the 2008 general election. He had been indicted around the 1st of August.
As a former U.S. Attorney, he must have known that it would be nearly impossible to find a judge and a courtroom available before the election. When both were found, the speedy trial he demanded proceeded.
Ted was no doubt guilty of a multitude of sins, but no jury in Alaska would have rendered a legitimate verdict. Half of all the people in the state believed he was Robin Hood.
Therefore his indictment was confined to his lying on gift disclosure forms for seven consecutive years. A jury found him guilty on all seven counts, despite his bringing in Colin Powell as a character witness to sway African American jurors.
Both the prosecution and defense could not have prepared properly for such a complex case in such a short time. There was a mountain of evidence in the case. Audio tapes, videotapes, telephone taps, bank records, construction records, corporate correspondence, endless interrogations and reports. The prosecution simply missed turning over the entirety of the evidence about Ted.
An FBI informant who was deeply involved in the corruption prior to his being turned by the Agency in 2003 wrote a fictionalized book, in an effort at self-aggrandizement and exoneration of his reputation. In the book, he mildly reflected on a bumbling special agent who had been assigned to the case.
That agent was so thin-skinned he lashed out at his colleagues with outrageous allegations of misconduct. The prosecutors had dismissed a witness, for instance, because he was quite obviously terminally ill and could have not given valid testimony because of his confusion, a result of his condition. So he was sent home to Alaska. Agent Chad Joy claimed this as one example of unethical behavior by the prosecution. In fact, the man, Rocky Williams, would have been of no use to the prosecution nor the defense.
These false allegations were so hurtful that one of the prosecutors who had been mistreated committed suicide. Two others and an Agent in charge are now facing disciplinary proceedings as if they had done something wrong.
I look forward to their eventual exoneration.
Erik Holder should be ashamed of himself. He’s let the worst of the Bush Administration criminals off the hook, people such as Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Alberto Gonzales, Brad Schlozman, Monica Goodling, all of whom lied to the FBI or congressional committees.
Now he’s attacking career prosecutors and investigators from the DOJ who have given every ounce of their energy toward bringing corrupt officials to justice.
It’s a disgrace.