Looks as if feds never had a case

Unbelievable! My blood boils. The Justice Department has now dismissed the charges against Sen. Stevens. Let's review:

Take the longest-serving Republican in history, put him on trial, withhold key evidence, manufacture some that suits the prosecution. Get a conviction one week before election. Watch the good senator lose by a handful of votes.

Five months later ... according to the Justice Department, whoops, sorry we screwed up. Apparently, we lied and withheld key evidence and made up some other stuff. We are not even going to retry the senator because our evidence is no longer sufficient for conviction. And of course to top it all off, the newly minted Sen. Begich response to this revelation is ... "the decision ... is reasonable."

"Reasonable" would be a new election right now. "Reasonable" would be a civil suit by Stevens against the Justice Department for damages. "Reasonable" would be a suit by the State of Alaska for damages incurred for loss of an exceptional senator.

So now I guess not even the powerful can expect a fair trial in this country.

-- Jeff Wilson

Anchorage

Trial was purely about politics

It is a surprise to me that the current U.S. AG dismissed all the charges against Sen. Stevens for prosecutorial misconduct. Oh, wait ... That's right; the true purpose for this entire circus has already been played out (Mark's in and Ted's out.) Hey, Justice Department, how about finally sending Allen & Smith to where they belong?

I expect to see no apologies from any of the media or his fellow politicians for what has happened, so it's up to us. Sorry for all you've gone through Ted. It was not deserved, and you were just a target for political reasons.

-- Brian Webb

Anchorage

Technicalities saved Stevens

Ted Stevens: Another convict off on a technicality.

-- Ryan Olson

Anchorage

Defense dodged the real question

Outrageous. The dropping of charges on technicalities against Ted Stevens is a slap in the face of justice and the extensive efforts of law enforcement to hold this man responsible for his misdeeds. Equally outrageous is the conduct of the federal prosecutors who screwed up the case.

Noteworthy during this entire travesty, Uncle Ted and his attorneys continue to defend his "innocence" while leaving aside comment on whether or not it is proper for a sitting U.S. senator (any of them) to receive thousands of dollars of gifts -- never mind the technicality of the Senate reporting requirements.

We must move our government away from pay for access to the legislative process. While we're at it, locally we must rename our international airport for our fine city rather than a convicted felon.

-- Gary Roeder

Anchorage

Begich, in honor, should resign

Now that it has been shown that Ted Stevens didn't receive a fair trial and Mark Begich was the benefactor of a dishonest justice system and a corrupt media, do the right thing and resign.

-- Mark Smith

Anchorage

'Hulk' really a law unto himself

I'm sure Stevens will be laughing all the way to the bank -- he got away with it! This just shows that some of the people we vote into office can walk on water and know that they are above the law.

-- Peat Galaktionoff

Unalaska

System worked the way it should

In a time when people and partisan media are in such a rush to judgment, this is an excellent lesson of how important it is to let the legal system run its course.

Thank goodness they didn't listen to all of the "Chicken Littles" and change the name of the airport.

Congrats, Senator!

-- Mike Bloechl

Anchorage

Begich is still better for the job

The news of the dismissal of former Sen. Stevens' indictment did nothing to raise a doubt in my mind about the absentee vote I proudly cast for Sen. Mark Begich. As an American living abroad, I have never been prouder of my vote than when it helped Begich defeat Stevens.

Here in Chile I helped to coordinate the Americans Abroad for Obama campaign specifically to promote more absentee voting. When faced with skeptical expats who didn't see the point of all the efforts, especially knowing the reality of the electoral system, our team went the extra mile to make sure they were convinced that their vote makes a difference. I became a true believer when I watched the 40,000 absentee votes roll into Alaska and the close margin of victory proving that democracy was alive and well in the Far North. My vote favoring Begich wasn't based on a disillusion with Stevens' conviction, but rather a vote supporting the progressive agenda the senator laid out in his campaign: education, global warming, sustainable fisheries, fair trade, etc.

Regardless of whether this corruption case cost Stevens the election, Alaska absentee voters should be congratulated for electing a senator who is more than capable of leading our state and confronting the global issues affecting us all.

-- Adrien Lopez