FBI Whistleblower on Sen. Ted Stevens Case

Here is an example of someone the United States can be proud of: an unnamed whistleblower from the FBI who reported unethical and possibly, criminal actions by fellow FBI employees...

In The Washington Post today, I believe it's section B12 (but not sure!), there is an article by a reporter, about an agent with the FBI who came forward to report the withholding of evidence from a case they were prosecuting, and improper contact with witnesses, as well as attempts to keep certain witnesses out of the area.

The FBI whistleblower is remaining anonymous and I do not blame them. But they were witness to things they realized, according to the letter released by the Judge, that were wrong. This is what the whistleblower had to say:

"I have learned of serious violations of policy, rules, and procedures as well as possible criminal violations," the letter said." (from the Post).

The FBI was trying to prosecute someone else for criminal charges--a Senator Ted Stevens, who may have well been guilty, but who never had a fair chance to defend himself, because of the improprieties and violations of rules and procedure by members of the Department of Justice.

Ted Stevens lost re-election and was charged with offenses his own lawyers could not fight against fairly, because, according to the FBI whistleblower, Stevens never received discovery he should have received. He was given altered copies of documents, refused some of the evidence, and evidence wasn't entered properly into a computer file so it could all be seen and sorted through. Additionally, the FBI whistleblower said other FBI agents got close to witnesses and befriended them, to side with them. It is even alleged a key witness was purposefully kept out of a hearing, through a strategy developed by these FBI agents...they tried to have this witness out of the area so they could not be present for the hearing.

All of these things, could have gone unnoticed. The case was over. It was done, and Stevens lost. He was charged and convicted of everything. But there were some people who knew he never really had a chance. It was only because ONE of them was courageous and conscientious enough to come forward, that this is being examined. According to the law, if it is true evidence was withheld, and rules of procedure violated, the case must be either THROWN OUT or there must be an order for New Trial.

This whistleblower didn't have to step up. There was a missed miscarriage of justice that no one ever would have discovered, and maybe it wasn't a big deal to most people who thought Stevens got what he deserved. But at least ONE person decided to do the right thing, and went forward with information that will not only help to right was wrong, but will give Stevens a fair opportunity. Not only that, it does something much, much, greater. It establishes the importance of compliance with the rules. If no stands up and speaks out, when there are violations, it doesn't just harm one person. It allows many people to go on, thinking it doesn't matter, and it allows corruption to continue in a way that will be harmful to others.

I, for one, am thankful for people like this, because this FBI person knew that while Stevens was the "bad guy", he still deserved due process and that without it, there can be no real or true justice.