A former Alaska lawmaker asked a federal judge on Tuesday to throw out his corruption conviction because the same prosecutors in former Sen. Ted Stevens‘ case withheld evidence from his lawyer, The Associated Press reports.

Peter Kott, who was convicted in 2007 of taking bribes to ram through legislation favorable to the oil industry, said after a court hearing that the prosecutors “obviously didn’t play fair.”

Kott, who served seven terms in Juneau, was found guilty of conspiracy, bribery and extortion. He was sentenced to six years in prison but was released in June, after prosecutors acknowledged they failed to turn over material favorable to his defense.

Kott and former state Rep. Victor Korhring, who was also found guilty of accepting bribes, are free pending the completion of a Justice Department review of their cases.

Prosecutors admitted evidence was improperly withheld but said no harm came of it.

“This was a case that had overwhelming evidence,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney James Trusty, according to The AP.

Kott’s lawyer, Sheryl Gordon McCloud,  said the court should overturn the convictions, arguing that prosecutors acted in bad faith.

Kott was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Bottini and James Goeke, as well as Former Public Integrity Section lawyers Nicholas Marsh and Edward Sullivan.

A court-appointed counsel and the department’s Office of Professional Responsibility are investigating the prosecutors’ handling of evidence in the Stevens case, which was dismissed at Attorney General Erich Holder’s request.

Judge John Sedwick is reviewing the Kott case. He could let the convictions stand, dismiss them and order a new trial, or dismiss them with prejudice. Sedwick did not say when he would rule.

George Terwilliger III

Former Deputy Attorney General George Terwilliger III, currently a partner at White & Case LLP in Washington, D.C., filed a motion today in Anchorage’s federal court requesting he be allowed to represent Bill Allen, the former Veco Corp. executive who pleaded guilty to bribing Alaska lawmakers and has been cooperating in the government’s public corruption investigation, reports the Alaska Dispatch.

Terwilliger was Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia from 1978-81, after which he became the U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont.  Terwilliger also led the Bush legal team in the florida recount in 2000.  We reported on Terwilliger a while back, when he got charges dismissed against a prominent Democratic donor in California.

In 2007, Allen pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges, and decided to cooperate in exchange for a lower prison sentence, a guarantee his three adult children would not be prosecuted in relation to the probe, and that he be allowed to sell Veco.

But Allen’s role as the government’s key witness was “tainted,” to say the least, by misconduct in the Ted Stevens case.  Allen’s interviews had been witheld from Stevens’ lawyers, and lawyers for former state Reps. Kohring and Kott.

Today, federal prosecutors are supposed to file an update with U.S. District Judge John Sedwick deciding whether they still need Allen’s help in their corruption investigation, otherwise Allen will be scheduled for sentencing.

Robert Bundy

Former U.S. Attorney for Alaska Robert Bundy, now a partner at Dorsey & Whitney LLP, has been representing Allen since 2006, and will continue to do so.

Former Public Integrity Section prosecutors Nicholas Marsh and Edward Sullivan, who are under investigation for their handling of the Ted Stevens case and other Alaska public corruption probes, have  been placed in one of the Justice Department’s lesser-known quarters, the Office of International Affairs (OIA), according to two people familiar with the move.

As The Washington Post first reported here, the prosecutors were given notice of their reassignment on June 4, the same day Justice urged a federal appeals court to release from prison two Alaska legislators convicted of bribery and extortion. In a motion filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, Justice lawyers asked the panel to remand the cases of former Alaska state representatives Victor Kohring and Peter Kott for further proceedings. As in the case of former Alaska Sen. Stevens, the department lawyers told the court they had discovered documents that should have been disclosed to defense counsel prior to trial.

Attorney General Eric Holder has instructed the Criminal Division to review the cases Marsh and Sullivan prosecuted in Alaska. The move dialed up the heat on the two prosecutors, who were already under criminal investigation by a court-appointed counsel and by the department’s Office of Professional Responsiblity for their handling of evdience in the Stevens case.

Also under investigation by the court and OPR are William Welch II, chief of the Public Integrity Section; his deputy chief, Brenda Morris; and Alaska-based assistant U.S. attorneys Joseph Bottini and James Goeke. Bottini and Goeke worked with Marsh and Sullivan in the Alaska cases. Morris joined the team just prior the Stevens case.

The transfer to OIA means Sullivan and Marsh are unlikely to appear in court on behalf of the U.S. any time soon. Here’s the DOJ description of the office’s functions:

The Office of International Affairs provides advice and assistance on international criminal matters to the Attorney General and other senior Department of Justice officials, the Criminal Division and the Department’s other legal divisions, the U.S. Attorneys offices, and state and local prosecutors. OIA coordinates the extradition or other legal rendition of international fugitives and all international evidence gathering. In concert with the State Department, OIA engages in the negotiation of new treaties, conventions, and other agreements on international criminal matters. OIA attorneys also participate on a number of committees established under the auspices of the United Nations and other international organizations that are directed at resolving a variety of international law enforcement problems, such as narcotics trafficking, organized crime, cyber-crime, corruption, terrorism, and money laundering.

The Justice Department moved the two prosecutors involved with the corruption probe of two Alaska lawmakers out of the DOJ Office of Public Integrity, The Washington Post reported over the weekend.

Prosecutors Nicholas Marsh and Edward Sullivan were quietly notified of their removal Thursday, when the Justice Department urged the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to release former Alaska state representatives Victor Kohring and Peter Kott and remand their cases to the district court, according to The Post.

Kott, a former House speaker, and Kohring, of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s hometown of Wasilla, were convicted on corruption charges in 2007. The District Court sentenced Kott to a 72-month prison term in December 2007. It sentenced Kohring to a 42-month term in May 2008.

Lawyers inside and outside of the Justice Department have complained that William Welch II or principal deputy Brenda Morris – who oversaw the Alaska cases and the bungled case of former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) – have not been removed, The Post said.

DOJ sources told The Post that they are worried that lower-level prosecutors are being sacrificed by new Obama DOJ appointees who use more rigorous standards on evidence-sharing procedures than were in place during the Bush administration.

The Justice Department urged the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals today to release former Alaska state representatives Victor Kohring and Peter Kott and remand their cases to the district court, saying Justice Department lawyers withheld favorable evidence from the defense. Read the Anchorage Daily News story here.

Kott, a former House speaker, and Kohring, of Sarah Palin’s hometown of Wasilla, were convicted on corruption charges in 2007. The District Court sentenced Kott to a 72-month prison term in December 2007. It sentenced Kohring to a 42-month term in May 2008.

Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement:

“After a careful review of these cases, I have determined that it appears that the Department did not provide information that should have been disclosed to the defense. Department of Justice prosecutors work hard every day and perform a great service for the American people. But the Department’s mission is to do justice, not just win cases, and when we make mistakes, it is our duty to admit and correct those mistakes. We are committed to doing that.�

Sound familiar?

The U.S. District Court in D.C. threw out the guilty verdict of former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) because DOJ prosecutors didn’t turn over documents requested by the defense.

Following the Stevens fiasco, Justice Department officials pledged to provide more training to DOJ lawyers on their obligations, and launched a working group to review how DOJ prosecutors handle evidence.

“The Criminal Division must ensure that defendants receive all appropriate discovery materials, and today’s action demonstrates that commitment to this responsibility,â€� Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny Breuer said in today’s statement. “We will continue regular discovery training for all Criminal Division prosecutors to make certain that they perform their duties in adherence to the highest ethical standards.”

The DOJ filing on Kohring is here. The Kott filing is here.