FBI agent alleges misconduct in Stevens case

An FBI special agent who worked on the probe that
resulted in the conviction of Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) has filed a complaint
in federal court alleging misconduct against an unknown number of law
enforcement officials and prosecutors in the case.

In an eight-page complaint that is heavily redacted, the
whistleblower claims that federal agents mishandled sources in the case,
including Bill Allen, the oil company executive who was the prosecution’s star
witness against Stevens.

{mosads}The complaint also alleges that prosecutors withheld
evidence from the defense and improperly tried to remove a witness from the
reach of Stevens’s defense team.

The court redacted much of the document to protect the
identities of FBI sources and techniques.

A spokesman for Stevens did not return a call for
comment.

The available text indicates that the whistleblower, who
worked as an FBI special agent since 2003, believes that at least one federal
official working on the investigation mismanaged sources by becoming too close
to them and accepting from them things of value, including artwork and
house-hunting help.

A jury convicted Stevens in late October on seven count
of failing to report gifts such as extensive renovations to a mountain cabin he
owned.

The complaint alleges that a law enforcement official
involved in the investigation mishandled six sources “by becoming too close to
each of them.”

The target or targets of the complaint met with sources
on multiple occasions over lunch and dinner and on the golf course and shared
sensitive details about the investigation. The target also accepted help
finding real estate and a large, original drawing of a dog.

The complaint charges that the official in question met
with Allen in a hotel room and disclosed sensitive details about the federal
investigation as well as an ongoing investigation of Allen by the Anchorage
police department.

The document also alleges a range of prosecutorial
misconduct, such as failing to provide the defense with evidence it was
entitled to receive, including documents from Allen’s bank account.

In addition, it accuses the Department of Justice’s (DoJ) public
integrity section of having “inappropriately created [a] scheme to relocate [a]
prosecution witness that was also subpoenaed by defense during trial.”

The complaint alleges that, after prosecutors interviewed
Robert Williams, the manager of the renovations to Stevens’s cabin, they
decided not to use him at trial and instead sent him back to Alaska “even
though Williams was also under a defense subpoena.”

Defense lawyers raised a similar charge in September and
prosecutors said they sent Williams home because he appeared very ill and
needed medical attention.

Prosecutors also allegedly withheld a document from
defense that included “exculpatory information.”

The complaint charges the DoJ’s public integrity section
with failing to forward 30 boxes of paper evidence obtained from defense
counsel to the FBI for proper cataloguing.

It is unclear whether defense lawyers will be able to win
a new trial for Stevens, who awaits sentencing. The senior GOP senator faces
five years in prison for each of the seven counts but has consistently proclaimed
his innocence.

Stevens lost his reelection race to Anchorage mayor Mark
Begich (D) in November.