Case Against Ted Stevens to be Dismissed?

Former Republican Sen. Ted Stevens, who lost a very close election in November, might end up having the charges against him dropped due to prosecutorial miscarriage. The judge in the case has already admonished the prosecution for not sharing documents with the defense and redacting certain passages from witness transcripts. But as the WSJ points out, the prosecutor in this case, William Welch, was recently profiled in his hometown newspaper as a Democrat and career justice official vying for the Boston U.S. Attorney position. He was found in contempt the day that story appeared.

One excuse heard at Justice is that prosecutors didn't expect Mr. Stevens to get such a quick trial after his July indictment, and were rushed. That raises the more relevant question -- why was the Senator indicted so close to an election?

It will be interesting to see what happens, but a betting man would take the side of Sen. Stevens. Unfortunately, just like Arthur Andersen, which previous prosecutor Matthew Friedrich helped take down in part of the Enron prosecution, it's already too late for Sen. Stevens to get his job back.