The government screw ups in the ex-Sen. Ted Stevens case may be the magic tonic the Justice Department needed. Why? Because it gives the Obama Justice Department the green light to make broad, sweeping changes without fear of looking like it’s only trying to undo the Bush Justice Department’s actions for the sake of undoing them, or for political reasons. Clearly the Stevens case was a wake up call for the deparment and it appears Atty. Gen. Eric Holder plans to respond.
By Nedra Pickler
Associated Press
WASHINGTON – US Attorney General Eric Holder yesterday warned federal prosecutors of increased scrutiny in the wake of mistakes in the corruption case against former senator Ted Stevens of Alaska.
Holder told assistant US attorneys for the District of Columbia that they must respond to negative perceptions of federal prosecutors by doing “the right thing.”
“Your job as assistant US attorneys is not to convict people,” Holder said. “Your job is not to win cases. Your job is to do justice. Your job is in every case, every decision that you make, to do the right thing. Anybody who asks you to do something other than that is to be ignored. Any policy that is at tension with that is to be questioned and brought to my attention. And I mean that.”
Holder spoke at the swearing-in ceremony for 11 assistant US attorneys for the District of Columbia, an office he used to lead. His participation in the ceremony was not publicly announced by the Justice Department. An Associated Press reporter attended the open standing-room only ceremony in the federal courthouse’s ceremonial courtroom.
