http://www.cnn.com/2009/POL...e.dropped/index.html

quote WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former Republican Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska has been "cleared" by the Justice Department's request to dismiss his federal corruption convictions and drop all charges against him, his lawyer said Wednesday. Prosecutors accused Stevens of failing to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars of "freebies" from an oilfield services company on Senate ethics forms. But in December, an unnamed FBI whistle-blower accused prosecutors of withholding evidence from the defense, and the Justice Department asked a judge to dismiss the charges against Stevens on Wednesday. "His name is cleared," Stevens' lawyer, Brendan Sullivan, told reporters. "He is innocent of the charges, as if they'd never been brought." Stevens, 85, lost his bid for a seventh full term in November after his conviction on seven counts of lying on Senate ethics forms. Sullivan said the Justice Department was forced to request the dismissal because of "extraordinary evidence of government corruption." "Not only did the government fail to provide evidence to the defense that the law requires them to provide, but they created false testimony that they gave us and actually presented false testimony in the courtroom," he said. And one of Stevens' longtime friends, Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, said Wednesday that Stevens was "screwed by our own Justice Department." In a statement issued Wednesday morning, Stevens thanked the Justice Department and Attorney General Eric Holder for requesting that the charges be dropped. "I always knew that there would be a day when the cloud that surrounded me would be removed," Stevens said. "That day has finally come." ... And in a statement Wednesday, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said that Stevens "deserves to be very happy today. What a horrible thing he has endured. The blatant attempts by adversaries to destroy one's reputation, career and finances are an abuse of our well-guarded process and violate our God-given rights afforded in the Constitution. "It is a frightening thing to contemplate what we may be witnessing here -- the undermining of the political process through unscrupulous ploys and professional misconduct. Senator Stevens ... never gave up hope. It is unfortunate that, as a result of the questionable proceedings which led to Senator Stevens' conviction days before the election, Alaskans lost an esteemed statesman on Capitol Hill. His presence is missed." ... Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, also commented on the Justice Department's request, saying, "Ted Stevens is 85 years old. He's already been punished enough. I'm satisfied."

But hey, at least Harry Reid is happy that he's been "punished enough." Stevens was CLEARED of any wrongdoing. What's "punished enough" for an innocent man? Oh right - as long as he lost his re-election bid, that's what really matters.

This is YOUR government at work, America. I think we can look forward to many more near election day criminal trials in the future.

Dems: "Sorry about that Senate seat thing. Too late to restore that. April Fools! Not!"

This doesn't matter, the damage was done. They (the dems) got exactly what they wanted. Pricks. Unfortunately, this will continue to occur.

Jim

[This message has been edited by jimbolaya (edited 04-01-2009).]