Series Of Fools

I'm still shaking my head at this whole Sen. Ted Stevens story this morning. It seems like a cruel joke, but unless this is one hell of a prank by Eric Holder, the practical upshot is that former Senator Toobs is a free man.

According to Justice Department officials, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has decided to drop the case against Stevens rather than continue to defend the conviction in the face of persistent problems stemming from the actions of prosecutors.

The judge in the Stevens case has repeatedly delayed sentencing and criticized trial prosecutors for what he's called prosecutorial misconduct. At one point, prosecutors were held in contempt. Things got so bad that the Justice Department finally replaced the trial team, including top-ranking officials in the office of public integrity. That's the department's section charged with prosecuting public corruption cases.

With more ugly hearings expected, Holder is said to have decided late Tuesday to pull the plug. Stevens' lawyers are expected to be informed Wednesday morning that the department will dismiss the indictment against the former senator.

Holder's decision is said to be based on Stevens age — the senator is 84 — and because Stevens is no longer in the Senate. Perhaps most importantly, Justice Department officials say Holder wants to send a message to prosecutors throughout the department that actions he regards as misconduct will not be tolerated.

On one hand, the Mukasey/Bush prosecution of Stevens was riddled with multiple incidents of prosecutorial misconduct. On the other hand, Stevens was still easily convicted and clearly guilty in what amounted to an open and shut case against him.

So, Stevens walks. Either way, he lost the election. Holder has followed the law, and done so ethically. Perhaps this was the outcome all along: Stevens is out of politics, is 84, and lost his seat to a Democrat...still a steep price.

But for a man so dedicated to rule of law and doing the right thing as required by that law, he still has no intention of prosecuting Bush officials for breaking the Geneva Conventions, something clearly mandated by the law itself. Spain continues to do Holder's work for him.

Holder's gesture of integrity and probity rings terribly hollow as a result.