Details emerge about prosecutorial misconduct in Sen. Stevens case
Withholding Exculpatory Evidence
The exculpatory evidence which was withheld by Federal Prosecutors in the Sen. Stevens prosecution included notes made from a government interview with key prosecution witness Allen. In that interview Allen said he had no recollection of a conversation but at trial he testified in great detail about the conversation.
This conversation involved the value of construction work done on Sen. Steven’s home. These notes could have provided valuable cross-examination information for the defense and could have been useful in the defendant’s closing argument..
The notes were never provided to the defense. Two members of the Justice Department’s trial team had been present at that interview with Allen.
Witness coercion – Subordination of Perjury
Moreover, one of Stevens’ trial lawyers, Brendan V. Sullivan Jr., who is not related to the trial judge, complained that the government bent Allen to its will by promising not to indict other members of his family and by allowing him to sell his interest in VECO for millions of dollars. Allen pleaded guilty to bribery charges in Alaska but remains free from custody.
“They knew it was false testimony,” Sullivan said at a hearing last week. “They knew it was false.”
Obstruction of Justice
After the trail an FBI agent acted as a whistle-blower and alleged that prosecution team member Marsh attempted to persuade his fellow lawyers not to turn over FBI material to the defense
The Government lawyers were also accused of failing to turn over a copy of a check to the defense, and repeated failure to comply with court order to turn over summaries of witness interviews compiled by FBI agents.
Five prosecution lawyers and their supervisor are all under investigation.