On October 28, 2008, Sen. Ted Stevens's lead defense counsel, the distinguished Brendan Sullivan, took the highly unusual action of personally writing a 16 page letter to U.S. Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey, to "Request an Investigation of Misconduct" by federal prosecutors. This misconduct was later confirmed by an FBI whistle-blower, Special Agent Chad Joy. It took two months for his detailed "heavily redacted" summary of prosecutorial misconduct to be made public.
It is important to understand the absolute obligation of every federal prosecutor "is to seek justice" according to the Rules of the American Bar Association. Alaska Rules of Professional Conduct for attorneys says this: "A prosecutor has the responsibility of a minister of justice and not simply as an advocate." But, criminal defense counsel's "sole obligation" is to her/his client.
In Gov. Sarah Palin's Ethics White Paper, published on January 17, 2007, former State Rep. Ethan Berkowitz and I state: "It must be 'mandatory' in every criminal prosecution that prosecutors seek 'justice' and not 'just' a guilty verdict." According to Joy, Stevens's lead prosecutor Public Integrity Deputy Brenda Morris grossly abused her oath of office under our U.S. Constitution.
If Joy's allegations are true, prosecutor Brenda Morris' actions on behalf of the federal government and each American citizen were corrupt. If true, Morris, with the assistance of Bill Allen and his attorney Bob Bundy, abused and dishonored Stevens's most basic constitutional rights. This was originally noted by Judge Sullivan defining courtroom conduct by Brendan Sullivan in his October 28, 2008 letter and ultimately by Joy in his report.
Prosecutor Morris, as the lead in the prosecution, was responsible for the conduct of "her" prosecutors, investigating law enforcement agents and relationships with informants like Allen and his legal counsel Bundy. Joy accuses Morris of these actions, her most basic obligations:
1. Allegations, claims and contentions were misleading and/or false
2. At a minimum was not candid and lied to the court
3. Ignored basic fairness to Stevens, his attorneys and our Constitution
4. Acted in bad faith, ignoring basic fairness and "justice"
5. At a minimum was not candid and lied to defense counsel
Joy's January 14, 2009 "less redacted" detailed statement defines his intimate and critical role in the investigation into Alaska public corruption. Here are some of his statements:
"The primary case agent was Mary Beth Kepner."
"My role was to be the Supervising and Administrative Agent on Title III [wire tap] electronic surveillance and to co-manage the case."
"As the co-case agent on POLAR PEN for the past five years, I have witnessed or learned of serious violations of policy, rules, and procedures as well as possible criminal violations."
"I attempted to rectify the problems by addressing them directly with SA Kepner."
"My efforts were unsuccessful."
I have known personally and professionally the men and women of the FBI for decades. FBI Special Agents do not discuss FBI cases and FBI procedures with spouses and/or friends, let alone informants like Allen and his legal counsel. FBI Special Agents, like trusted professionals in our intelligence and military, compartmentalize and hold close their work for our nation. The described conduct of the primary case agent by Joy reveals an immature and almost child-like incompetence; she grossly mishandled Allen and his counsel, as well as other sources. The primary case agent's arrogance was repeatedly defined.
Kepner believed she was untouchable - like Morris -- in her intentional abuse of FBI and DOJ policies, rules and procedures ignoring Stevens's most basic constitutional rights, while becoming extremely close to Allen, her informant. Like Morris, the primary case agent lowered herself and the prosecution of Stevens to the level of "informant felon" Allen as he was protected by his defense counsel.
FBI Special Agent Chad Joy defines multiple criminal conspiracies centering in DOJ's Public Integrity Section which led the prosecution team. Deputy Brenda Morris was the lead prosecutor of Sen. Ted Stevens. If any of the allegations are true, prosecutor Morris, like FBI Special Agent Mary Beth Kepner as the primary case agent, is totally unfit to serve in "our" Department of Justice. It is hard for me to imagine such totally incompetent conduct in the sensitive public corruption prosecution of Stevens. This prosecutor and agent are totally unfit for public service.
This column is the second in a series. Read the first column here.