The Department of Justice reportedly filed papers today asking the court to set aside Ted Stevens’ conviction on the grounds of prosecutorial misconduct — DOJ withheld potentially helpful evidence from the defense. DOJ now says that it will not seek to try Stevens again. Regardless of your views about Ted Stevens, there is no denying that this case was a travesty, and a pretty scary object lesson about over-zealous prosecutors. It’s good to see the Obama Justice Department has done the right thing here by moving to set aside the conviction and dismiss the charges. But let’s remember that this is a case where the Justice Department first ruined a man and then said, “Oh, never mind” after it got caught. And let’s not write this off as just an isolated case, or the product of a lawless Bush Administration department. There have been federal and state prosecutors and other government inquisitors before who have sought to make careers out of destroying people’s lives. Most of them couldn’t even claim the ideological sincerity of Robespierre. They were just megalomaniacs, with no moral center and no compass except their own narrow self-interest. They rose on currents of fear, apathy, and ignorance, and, in most cases, were brought down by their own ambition and hubris. Even in disgrace, seldom have they been called to account. Will this time be different?
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