We all remember what happened to Ted Stevens, then the longest serving Republican in the US Senate. He was convicted for failing to declare the value of his gifts. He was a poster boy for pork. This all cost him a re-election bid which was decided by a few hundred votes.
In the newest twist, the Justice Department, with none other than the secretary, Eric Holder, announces that they are tossing-out this case.
What happened? Well, they made a stunning admission that they didn’t hand over to the other side evidence that is helpful to them. They are supposed to do this.
While this mistake is seriously aphauling, let’s not forget that this happened not under Obama’s Justice Department, but Bush’s. And we have to give Mr. Holder credit for acting with integrity to admit this mistake.
Having said all of this, it is worth asking what happens to the future of Mr. Stevens, at least in politics. Senior Legal Analyst Jeff Toobin says what happened to him was just unfortunate. His political career appears to be over regardless of the remedies offered. Let’s not forget, the conviction was handed-down less than a week before the election so the timing couldn’t be worse for him. But then again, prior to the conviction, opinion polls said he was going to lose by a wider margin than after. In fact, some polls even showed him slightly ahead with prospective voters thinking the case against him was flawed. Something to think about…
My Politics and More 
Good post, and a good reminder as to who made the mistakes that led the Justice Department’s decision to drop the case, which is now on appeal. There has been too much insinuation that Stevens was a political target.
Here is a good summary of the Justice Department’s actions this week: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102589818
http://thecentersquare.wordpress.com/
It’s also worth noting that his GOP colleagues in the Senate (lead by no less than Mitch McConnell and GOP-hopeful John McCain) vowed to keep him from being seated. Even Sarah Palin, the governor of the state he represented said he should just step down.