U.S. Senate

Federal judge orders release of report into alleged prosecutorial misconduct in case involving late senator

A federal district judge ruled that the government had to release a 500-page report about alleged prosecutorial misconduct in the case against the late Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska for failing to list improper gifts in Senate ethics forms. Stevens was convicted of the charges and lost his seat in the senate, but the conviction was vacated when it was discovered that the prosecution withheld evidence from the defense. -db From Politico, February 8, 2012,

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Effort to end anonymous holds on pending laws blocked in Senate

A Republican senator successfully ended efforts in the U.S. Senate to pass a law eliminating “secret holds” that allow Senators to anonymously block legislation or nominations. -db Secrecy News May 17th, 2010 By Steven Aftergood A long-term, bipartisan effort to eliminate the Senate custom of using “secret holds” to anonymously block pending legislation or nominations was scuttled just as it was on the verge of approval last Thursday after Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) attempted to

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