The late Sen. Ted Stevens’ (R-AK) lawyers, Brendan Sullivan and Ron Cary, issued a statement on his passing that honored his life, offered condolences to his family and, of course, took a few swipes at the Department of Justice for its prosecution of Stevens that was thrown out in wake of evidence of prosecutorial misconduct.
Stevens was charged with accepting and not reporting gifts and convicted shortly before he lost reelection in 2008. But after the election, an FBI whistleblower came forward to charge that prosecutors had deliberately withheld exculpatory evidence, the judge charged the prosecutors with contempt and Attorney General Eric Holder ultimately dismissed the charges and refused to refile the case.
The statement was provided by the law firm of Williams & Connolly, which represented Stevens throughout his legal travails, in response to a request for comment from TPMDC.
We are deeply saddened by the news that Senator Stevens has died.
Senator Stevens was a member of what Tom Brokaw called America’s “greatest generation.” He volunteered for the Army during World War II and flew combat missions with the Flying Tigers.
Senator Stevens loved our country, the State of Alaska, the U.S. Senate, and above all else his family. He had many friends on both sides of the aisle. He always did what he thought was in the best interests of the public.
Senator Stevens did not deserve the treatment he received late in his career from some members of the Department of Justice. The presiding judge, Emmet G. Sullivan, stated that “[i]n nearly 25 years on the bench, I’ve never seen anything approaching the mishandling and misconduct that I’ve seen in this case.” The verdict against him was based on fabricated evidence. The Attorney General asked that Judge Sullivan dismiss the charges when he learned of some of the government’s misconduct. In granting the Attorney General’s request, Judge Sullivan emphasized that the government’s interest in a criminal prosecution “is not that it shall win its case, but that justice shall be done.”
Senator Stevens was innocent, and insisted on fighting the charges. Even after the case against him was dismissed, he remained profoundly affected by the government’s misconduct and its implications for others. His fervent hope was that meaningful change would be brought to the criminal justice system so that others would not be mistreated as he was by the very officials whose duty it is to represent the United States justly and fairly.
Senator Stevens was an American hero. We were honored to represent him, and we were
honored to call him our friend.We send our condolences to his family and his many friends in Alaska and throughout the world.
