WASHINGTON — A draft by the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility concluded that two prosecutors and an FBI agent in the Sen. Ted Stevens case engaged in misconduct,the Associated Press reported.
AP, citing ” a lawyer familiar with the matter,” said the report found that prosecutors Joseph Bottini and James Goeke and FBI agent Mary Beth Kepner had engaged in misconduct.
The probe involving the prosecutors stemmed from allegations that they failed to share evidence that could have helped the defense. The allegations prompted Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. to move for the 2008 public corruption conviction against Stevens to be vacated.
Steven died in a plan crash in August. Allegations about Kepner surfaced after an FBI whistle-blower said she had inappropriate relations with a key government witness, AP reported. Bottini’s lawyer, Ken Wainstein, a former U.S. Attorney, declined to comment, AP reported.
Meanwhile, AP reported that the same source said that an attorney, Henry Schuelke, who is running a separate investigation into the matter for the presiding Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, has not yet decided whether to recommend criminal prosecution against the prosecution team.
The AP report contradicts a report by NPR, which said Schuelke would not recommend criminal charges.
