WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department has decided to drop all charges against former Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens amid accusations of prosecutorial misconduct, NPR reported on Wednesday, citing Justice officials.
Stevens, a Republican who served longer than any other U.S. senator before losing a November re-election race, was convicted in October of seven counts of lying on a Senate disclosure form to conceal $250,000 in gifts and home renovations from an oil industry executive and other friends. Allegations of prosecutorial misconduct have delayed his sentencing.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder reviewed the case himself and decided not to continue to defend the conviction in the face of questions about prosecutors'' actions, NPR reported on its website.
Holder also was influenced by the age of Stevens, 85, and the fact that he is no longer in the Senate, NPR reported.
NPR said Justice Department officials intend to withdraw their opposition to a defense motion for a new trial and dismiss the indictment. Those actions would essentially void Stevens' conviction.
The thing is Stevens was probably crooked but now will get off. There were certainly many signs that he had been involved in some shady financial dealings.
So, somebody should go to jail. Maybe the prosecutors should take his place.
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