WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The judge who excoriated prosecutors during former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens' corruption trial agreed Wednesday to hear a Justice Department request to "set aside the verdict and dismiss the indictment" against the Alaskan.
Former Sen. Ted Stevens, 85, of Alaska lost his re-election bid in November.
Stevens expressed gratitude for the prosecutors' decision to dismiss the charges.
U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan set a hearing for Tuesday after the agency filed its motion. Stevens, 85, was convicted in October, and Sullivan has changed the sentencing date several times amid charges by an FBI agent of prosecutorial misconduct.
Attorney General Eric Holder said he decided to drop the case after reviewing the actions of prosecutors. The
Department of Justice's Office of Professional Responsibility will review prosecutors' conduct in the trial, Holder said.
Sullivan criticized the initial team of prosecutors for making errors and then found them guilty of contempt during the trial. A second set of attorneys was assigned to prosecute the case.
In December, an unnamed FBI whistle-blower alleged prosecutors had withheld some evidence from the defense team and said someone with the government had had an inappropriate relationship with Bill Allen, an oil industry executive and close friend of Stevens'. Allen, who owned Veco Corp., was the government's key witness.
Obama DOJ and AG Holder wants Ted Stevens' guilty verdict set aside
Originally Posted by Simon Cashmere
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