Enrolled HJR 15: Denouncing the decision to reverse the suspensions of the federal prosecutors who intentionally withheld evidence of innocence from the defense of Senator Ted Stevens; and honoring the service of Senator Ted Stevens.
00Enrolled HJR 15 01 Denouncing the decision to reverse the suspensions of the federal prosecutors who 02 intentionally withheld evidence of innocence from the defense of Senator Ted Stevens; and 03 honoring the service of Senator Ted Stevens. 04 _______________ 05 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 WHEREAS Theodore Fulton "Ted" Stevens, Sr., honorably served Alaska as a 07 United States senator from December 24, 1968, until January 3, 2009; and 08 WHEREAS Senator Stevens served longer than any Republican senator in United 09 States history; and 10 WHEREAS Senator Stevens was instrumental in crafting key federal legislation that 11 has greatly benefited Alaska, including, but not limited to, the Alaska Native Claims 12 Settlement Act, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act, and the Magnuson-Stevens 13 Fishery Conservation and Management Act; and 14 WHEREAS Senator Stevens was President pro tempore of the United States Senate 15 from 2003 to 2007 and was President pro tempore emeritus of the United States Senate from 16 to 2009; and
01 WHEREAS Senator Stevens served in the Alaska House of Representatives from 02 to 1968, serving as House Majority Leader during his second term; and 03 WHEREAS Senator Stevens was indicted on July 29, 2008, for allegedly failing to 04 disclose as a gift the value of renovations to his cabin in Girdwood, Alaska; and 05 WHEREAS Senator Stevens pled not guilty to the charges before District Court 06 Judge Emmet G. Sullivan in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on 07 July 31, 2008; and 08 WHEREAS evidence presented at trial showed that Senator Stevens paid all bills for 09 work presented to him, and that he actually paid more than the renovations were worth; and 10 WHEREAS, after a trial, United States Attorney General Eric Holder asked that the 11 verdict of the jury be set aside after it was discovered that federal prosecutors unlawfully 12 withheld critical, exonerating evidence from the defense; and 13 WHEREAS, on April 7, 2009, United States District Judge Sullivan granted the 14 motion filed by the United States to set aside the verdict and dismiss the indictment; the 15 dismissal order includes the statement: "There was never a judgment of conviction in this 16 case. The jury's verdict is being set aside and has no legal effect."; and 17 WHEREAS Judge Sullivan appointed a special counsel to investigate the prosecutors, 18 and the special counsel's 2011 report on the case stated: "The investigation and prosecution of 19 United States Senator Ted Stevens were permeated by the systematic concealment of 20 significant exculpatory evidence which would have independently corroborated Senator 21 Stevens's defense and his testimony, and seriously damaged the testimony and credibility of 22 the government's key witness."; and 23 WHEREAS, on May 23, 2012, United States Associate Deputy Attorney General 24 Scott N. Schools issued a final decision approving the disciplinary action proposed by Kevin 25 Ohlson, chief of the Professional Misconduct Review Unit, that federal prosecutor Joseph 26 Bottini be suspended for 45 days and federal prosecutor James Goeke be suspended for 15 27 days; and 28 WHEREAS, on January 2, 2015, the United States Merit Systems Protection Board 29 upheld a 2013 ruling by an administrative judge finding that the United States Department of 30 Justice violated its own rules when it suspended prosecutors Joseph Bottini and James Goeke; 31 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports the full and fair
01 exoneration of Senator Ted Stevens; and be it 02 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature denounces the decision to 03 reverse the suspensions of the federal prosecutors who intentionally withheld evidence from 04 the defense of Senator Ted Stevens; and be it 05 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests that 06 the Alaska Bar Association and any other appropriate bar associations determine whether any 07 of the prosecutors involved in the Stevens case violated the Alaska Rules of Professional 08 Conduct and any other applicable codes of professional conduct; and be it 09 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature recognizes and honors the 10 long and distinguished leadership of Senator Ted Stevens on many issues that the state still 11 faces today, including access to federal land for oil, gas, and mineral development, the role of 12 Alaska in the nation's defense, and the need for adequate federal services for Alaskans and 13 others, and the legislature recognizes that Senator Ted Stevens's record and papers provide 14 insight and guidance into how the state can address those issues; and be it 15 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature honors the importance of 16 Senator Ted Stevens's service and legacy as a vital part of the history of Alaska. 17 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of 18 the United States; the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and 19 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr., Attorney General of the 20 United States; the Honorable Susan Tsui Grundmann, Chair of the U.S. Merit Systems 21 Protection Board; Loretta Lynch, nominee for Attorney General of the United States; Geoffry 22 B. Wildridge, President of the Alaska Bar Association; and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski 23 and the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. 24 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.