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They were corrupt AND incompetent

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42 comments

They were corrupt AND incompetent

POSTED: Wednesday, April 1, 2009, 10:04 PM

Once in a while -- not every day, but not infrequently -- there's a major story that doesn't fit into the tidy little political boxes that we like to stuff things into. Nothing fits that description better than the surprising decision by the Obama administration Justice Department that it will drop its prosecution of Alaska GOP Sen. Ted Stevens-- even though a jury convicted Stevens, who's been mounting an aggressive appeal -- last fall. So a Democratic administration is coming in and seeking to reverse the felony conviction of a Republican senator carried out by a Republican administration. No wonder the usual suspects seem so muted or confused.

The easiest conclusions aren't necessarily the most logical. I caught a snippet of Chris Matthews on MSNBC's "Hardball" earlier tonight and he was going on about what a travesty of justice that was committed in convicting Stephens, which on one level is clearly true. The alleged prosecutorial misconduct in the case -- such as keeping information from Stevens' defense team -- was a perversion of legal ethics, which is why Attorney General Eric Holder did what he did. But you could also make a strong case that the Justice Department screw-ups actually denied justice to the American people. There in fact seemed to be a strong prima facie case that Stevens' home was fixed up by a government contractor -- a jury of Stevens' peers believed that -- but the inept and possibly unethical prosecutors pulled a Dennis Green and let him off the hook.

Josh Marshall makes the case -- at least as I interpret it -- that a bad process inadvertently led to a weirdly just outcome, that the misdeeds of Stevens merited losing his Senate seat but maybe not sending an 85-year-old guy to jail:

Stevens is 85 years old. He was tried and convicted. He lost his senate seat and ended his 40+ career in disgrace. Whatever the prosecutors did wrong -- and it seems like they did a lot wrong, which we'll get to in a minute -- that doesn't erase the fact that Stevens got a freebie home renovation from a wealthy contributor whose interests Stevens repeatedly and habitually service in Washington.

In this case, though, the prosecutorial misconduct appears to be of a non-trivial sort. So given his age, the disgrace he's already suffered and the fact that future prosecution may be fatally undermined by the earlier prosecutorial wrongdoing, setting this whole effort aside makes sense.

I think the end conclusion here is that the Justice Department wasn't just wrongfully politicized under the Bush White House, but it was poorly run as well, a crime in its own right. And so when it decided in the eighth year of a two-term administration to prosecute an icon of its own political party, the folks hired by Alberto Gonzales and friends weren't actually up to the task of getting it right. Hopefully. this is just the beginning of an aggressive and not overtly partisan effort to undo some of the injustices of Bush-style "justice." In the arena of public corruption, there's no doubt that the next up should be Don Siegelman, the former Democratic governor of Alabama who for all intents and purposes was a political prisoner in the United States of America.

You know, with Hurricane Katrina and the war in Iraq, there was a lot of debate over whether the Bush administration was corrupt or inept, but it's increasingly and sadly clear that you can easily be both at the same time.

Will Bunch @ 10:04 PM Permalink | 42 comments

42 comments

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Comments (42)

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 11:53 AM, 04/02/2009

In other words, we don't want the public to really know what goes on in the leftist-politicized Justice Department. Let's keep a low profile so there is no public outcry. Regroup, and attack again later when off the radar.

— Mr. Smith

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 12:06 PM, 04/02/2009

James TL - I think the whole desire to blame the Bushies on this is insane. While I'm sure main Justice (Gonzalez) had a closer eye on this case then most others I seriously doubt they were involved in reviews all the Jenks and Brady material in the case file - besides if they wanted to watch Stevens back they would have turned over the Brady material - the judge and now Holder seem to believe that material was substantial enough to at least cause reasonable doubt amongst the jury (although I too believe him to be guilty also). This whole politicizing of Justice to me is a joke because I know for a fact that the people actually trying the cases day to day are prosecutors first and foremost. I imagine Morris is such a prosecutor who made a decision that she believed was correct but that an appeal court found questionable.

— bird11

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 12:19 PM, 04/02/2009

Bird11; The only reason I would blame Bush's team is because it was on their watch. I was surprised when Republicans took Stevens to task because he is a republican. It's actually rather refeshing to see non-partisan occurances like this. I'd say the same about Holder and Obama deciding not to prosecute him because they are Democrats and Stevens isn't. This case doesn't need to be pursued.

— James TL

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 12:19 PM, 04/02/2009

I'm wondering if they didn't sabotage the process on purpose - a backhanded get out of jail free card - who made the prosecutorial decisions and why - Stevens a known big oil lackey - in the end gets away with it - I'm sure his pension will be enjoyed and big oil will find someone else to buy.

— JourneyHome

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 12:32 PM, 04/02/2009

Haven't heard anything about Obama getting rid of any republican (or democrat) prosecutors at least so far. I would have to be extremely critical of that if it happens.

— James TL

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 12:42 PM, 04/02/2009

James TL replacing U.S. Attorneys are part of usual process - would you be surprised to find that I believe 42 of 93 U.S. Attorney positions are vacant as we speak???? And all 42 have left since Obama's election. And guess what?? That is perfectly NORMAL!! U.S. Attorneys serve at the pleasure of the President - Clinton replaced nearly 100% of U.S. Attorneys immediately after taking office in 1992 - Bush actually took his time over his first few months and accepted resignations over a period of time (BTW the norm is for the U.S. Attorney in each district to tender their resignation upon election of a new President and especially the elction of a new President from a different party.)

— bird11

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 1:25 PM, 04/02/2009

I hope that Holder's DOJ looks at all questionable prosecutions over the last 8 years. Especially any case involving US AG Mary Beth Buchanan in Pittsburgh. Since she is known to have targeted Only Dems. Her case against Wecht had no serious allegations and is seriously corrupt - especially when her office sent FBI agents to intimidate Jurors. And now she requests a new trial (if there is one) be in Erie? Why - cause her bad publicity in Pittsburgh - too many people there think she is a crazy zealot.

— pal

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 1:36 PM, 04/02/2009

Didn't know about the vacancies. I hope Obama appoints the best people available to those posts. Still don't think it's right to dismiss a prosecutor because they don't agree with a president's policies. I don't know if that issue has been resolved. I would be surprised if he doesn't appoint all democrats though. I don't think that is right either but I bet that's what usually happens. Why not appoint the best candidates though if you want the job done right? You probably would agree with that. Thanks for the info.

— James TL

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 1:55 PM, 04/02/2009

Holder is No Gonzalez - thankfully. Everything you hear an read about him is that he will be looking to hire the best attorneys. Apparently he hired Republicans in DOJ before that had top credentials - unlike Ashcroft and Gonzalez - who hired based on religious affiliations with Regent and Liberty Univerisities.

— pal

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 1:58 PM, 04/02/2009

"as if little things like "facts" and "reality" mean anything to the marginalized minority in the Hate Americans First crowd" ... E. Pleb - these same words were applied to you and your party only 4 months ago. Don't you think it's time to rise above the fray and actually discuss issues? "Republicans should never be allowed to govern again". I'm sorry - I can certainly say the same thing after the disastrous corrupt administrations of Carter and Clinton, but does that really get us anywhere? Does it make you feel better to type that? Does your throbbing BDS vein pulse a little slower after you've typed your partisan rhetoric?

— IggleFan68

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 2:50 PM, 04/02/2009

James TL from what I hear one of the people Obama is considering retaining is the U.S. Attorney from Maryland (sorry forget his name) a Bush appointee. Highly respected. Some always retained but most go by the wayside. And FYI despite what I am saying and despite my belief that they do work at the pleasure of the President - I still have some discomfort over firings in'06.

— bird11

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 2:50 PM, 04/02/2009

— bird11

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Will Bunch, a senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily News, blogs about his obsessions, including national and local politics and world affairs, the media, pop music, the Philadelphia Phillies, soccer and other sports, not necessarily in that order.

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