Our View: Stevens case

You were kidding, weren't you counselor?

At least some of the attorneys whose misconduct resulted in the overturning of the 2008 convictions of Sen. Stevens wanted a 500-page report about that misconduct sealed for keeps. Federal Judge Emmitt Sullivan not only said no, he ordered the report be made public on March 15.

That's the right call.

The investigation into the prosecutors conduct has raised serious questions about why there have been no charges against them, why any of them remain on the federal payroll and just what were the details of what they did or failed to do.

This isn't about a finger-pointing exercise or conspiracies about forces out to "get" Stevens.

This is about public trust.

During the FBI raids and political scandal trials of a few years ago, Alaskans had strong reason to believe that a very serious boil had been lanced, mostly by the FBI and Justice Department's Office of Public Integrity. So it was.

But as the Stevens case and other cases unraveled, the lance turned out to be tainted and public integrity took a beating from some of the very people we pay to enforce it.

The notion that Alaskans and the rest of the public aren't entitled to a full explanation of what happened and why there haven't been more serious consequences for prosecutors' misconduct is absurd.

Judge Sullivan recognizes that. What's surprising is that some of those entrusted with upholding the law apparently still don't.

BOTTOM LINE: In this case, public integrity requires public disclosure.