By Frank James
More fallout today from the Justice Department's mishandling of prosecutions of Alaskan lawmakers.
Attorney General Eric Holder asked a judge to release two former state lawmakers in Alaska from prison because of missteps by his department's prosecutors.
As NPR Justice correspondent Ari Shapiro reports:
This is another black eye for the Justice Department's criminal division.
Attorney General Holder said the Department's mission is to do justice, not just win cases.
Although prosecutors won this case, they did it by breaking the rules.
Two State Representatives from Alaska were convicted on bribery and extortion charges.
The corruption investigation that eventually swept up then-Senator Ted Stevens.
The Justice Department admitted wrongdoing in the Stevens trial.
That conviction was thrown out a few months ago.
Now it looks like these two convictions of state representatives are on the same path.
Victor Kohring and Peter Kott have both spent more than a year in prison already.
Holder instructed the Justice Department to review the entire public corruption investigation in Alaska to make sure there aren't other problems.
categories: Crime
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