Ted Stevens

From the NY Times:

The Justice Department moved on Wednesday to drop all charges against former Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, who lost his seat last year just days after being convicted on seven felony counts of ethics violations.

The case was one of the most high profile and bitterly fought in a string of corruption investigations into current and former members of Congress. But Justice Department lawyers told a federal court Wednesday that they had discovered a new instance of prosecutorial misconduct, on top of earlier disclosures that had raised questions about the way the case was handled, and asked that the convictions be voided.

The attorney general, Eric H. Holder Jr., said he would not seek a new trial.

What I've seen of Stevens was not impressive (and, at minimum, he showed some really bad judgment in this situation), but he got a raw deal here.  It's safe to assume that he'd still be in the Senate if he hadn't been convicted.  We're lucky that he was prosecuted by a Republican administration and had the convictions voided by a Democratic one, or we'd never hear the end of this one.