I Can't Believe....

That Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) got federal charges dropped. Actually, it was the Justice Department who botched the trial and mishandled evidence.

Senator Ted Stevens is one of the greediest, most corrupt members ever to serve in public office. He has spent almost half the last century raiding the U.S. Treasury on behalf of his state, and I was happy to see him go to jail.

Now it looks like he may get off.

'Just Us' at the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section

The mangling of the Justice Department's abortive prosecution of Alaska Senator Ted Stevens dealt a blow to the agency's once proud anti-corruption unit. On April 1, Attorney General Eric Holder sought to turn the page, dismissing the indictment against Mr. Stevens and ordering an internal inquiry into possible prosecutorial misconduct. A week later, Mr. Holder tried to boost morale at the Public Integrity Section, saying to the staff, "I'm here to tell you personally that I've got your back," according to the New York Times.

Perhaps too much "back." Some current and former prosecutors are surprised by the Attorney General's decision to keep the head of public integrity, William Welch, and his deputy, Brenda Morris, "in place" for now. Justice has also kept on Rita Glavin, the number two at the criminal division, which oversees the public integrity unit. Her boss in the Bush Administration, Matthew Friedrich, unveiled the Stevens indictment last July.

Justice won't comment on personnel matters and Mr. Holder may have decided to await the outcome of two separate investigations into the handling of the Stevens prosecution. But with their futures in limbo and the unit's credibility in tatters, Mr. Welch and Ms. Morris are signing off on corruption cases, large and small. Some prosecutors say the first step to rehabilitate the anti-corruption office at Justice would seem obvious: Reassign Mr. Welch and Ms. Morris to other jobs within the Department. As members of the Senior Executive Service, they would keep their rank and, naturally, are considered innocent of wrongdoing until proven otherwise. Yet they're not entitled or required to stay put in their current posts.

-- Matthew Kaminski