Reporting from Washington — The Justice Department is dropping all charges against former Sen. Ted Stevens, the 85-year-old Alaska Republican convicted of lying on Senate financial disclosure forms to conceal hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts and home renovations from a businessman, Atty. Gen. Eric Holder said today.
The case was criticized by the federal trial judge for prosecutorial missteps. Holder has concluded that the conduct in the former senator's trial warrants not only dropping the charges against Stevens, but also a full review of the Justice Department's handling of the case.
"After careful review, I have concluded that certain information should have been provided to the defense for use at trial," Holder said in a statement issued today.
"In light of this conclusion, and in consideration of the totality of the circumstances of this particular case," the attorney general said, "I have determined that it is in the interest of justice to dismiss the indictment and not proceed with a new trial."
The department's Office of Professional Responsibility will conduct a review of the Stevens prosecution, which could result in disciplinary or possibly even criminal proceedings -- although that is considered extremely unlikely.
"This does not mean or imply that any determination has been made about the conduct of those attorneys who handled the investigation and trial of this case," Holder said today. "The Department of Justice must always ensure that any case in which it is involved is handled fairly and consistent with its commitment to justice."
Holder worked closely with the trial judge in the case, Emmet Sullivan, when both sat on the District of Columbia bench years ago. He is said to have great espect for the judge who held Justice attorneys in the Stevens case in contempt of court.
Stevens' attorney, Brendan V. Sullivan Jr., who was headed to a meeting at the Justice Department in Washington this morning, called reports of the department's decision "fully justified."
Sullivan, a senior partner at Williams & Connolly, has represented numerous high-profile clients, including Lt. Col. Oliver North, of Iran-Contra fame, and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros.
National Public Radio first reported the Justice Department's decision to drop the charges against Stevens this morning.
