Investigation of Brenda Morris in the Ted Stevens Case Comes Up in Her New Probe in Alabama, and Don Young Throttles Down on the Legal Fees

Anchorage—

Brenda Morris was the lead prosecutor against then-U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens in the 2008 trial that brought jury verdicts of guilty before being thrown out the next year in the wake of disclosures of prosecutorial misconduct. Two investigations are ongoing into the prosecutorial failures in that case, and she moved from Washington, D.C. to Georgia while remaining a federal prosecutor working on public corruption cases.

Various media outlets, including www.talkingpointsmemo.com, have reported that Morris is now working on a controversial probe into alleged corruption in connection with the Alabama Legislature’s consideration of a bill that would move toward legalizing electronic bingo. Other prosecutors working on that bingo investigation include some who helped prosecute former Alabama Democratic Governor Don Siegelman in a case that also has been dogged by allegations of prosecutorial misconduct. (Unlike Ted Stevens, however, Don Siegelman is a convicted felon as his case has not been dismissed and his convictions not reversed.) You can learn more about the questions concerning Morris and the Alabama bingo investigation at http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/04/are_siegelman_and_stevens_prosecutors_teaming_up_o.php and http://www.wtvy.com/home/headlines/90094737.html on the Internet. (Hat tip: Mark Regan.)

Another person who 18 months ago looked like he would be soon sitting across the courtroom from Brenda Morris apparently continues to breathe easy. According to the Anchorage Daily News, the re-election campaign of U.S. Rep. Don Young (R.-Alaska) has reported no new spending on legal fees for the second quarter in a row. Between early 2007 and late 2008, the man who has served as the 49th State’s sole Congressman since 1973 reported spending $1.2 million from his campaign fund on legal fees. The money for attorneys went to help fend off prosecution in connection with the long-running federal probe into Alaska public corruption as well as Young’s role in the “Coconut Grove” earmark that aided a campaign contributor in Florida.

The Daily News story is at http://community.adn.com/adn/node/151203 on the Internet.