Ted Stevens needs to go

But not because of this scam case by federal prosecutors. Everything they say is suspect. The case should be dismissed, but then we are probably forced to keep Stevens around.

A federal judge angrily rebuked the Justice Department on Monday for mishandling a witness against Sen. Ted Stevens, a dispute that delayed and initially threatened to derail the case against the Alaska senator.

The dustup didn't yield the mistrial or dismissal that the Republican senator was hoping for but, with Stevens running for re-election during his corruption trial, it reinforces his story line that he is the victim of overzealous prosecutors.

Stevens is charged with lying on Senate financial disclosure forms about more than $250,000 in free home renovations and other gifts he received from VECO Corp., a powerful Alaska oil pipeline contractor.

The witness dispute began this weekend when Robert Williams, the VECO employee who supervised the renovation project, called defense attorneys and said prosecutors had ignored important facts in the case.

Williams said the government's estimates for how much time he spent at the senator's house — and how much that time was worth — were overblown, according to court documents.

"That's just ..." defense attorney Robert Cary said in court Monday.

"Problematic," U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan said.

"It shocks us," Cary replied.

The value of the renovation is key because Stevens paid $160,000 and says he assumed it covered everything. Prosecutors say the job was so expensive, Stevens must have known his $160,000 wouldn't cover the tab.

Sullivan was livid that prosecutors sent Williams, who was under subpoena to testify in the case, back to Alaska without telling anyone. That raised suspicion among defense attorneys that prosecutors were trying to hide information that could help them.

Williams had been suffering from health problems and prosecutors said they decided they could bring the case without him.

Sullivan was not satisfied.

"Why wasn't I consulted? I'm peeved now. It's a federal subpoena to appear in my court," Sullivan said, his voice rising. "I think the government is treading in some shallow water here. What should the sanction be for that?"

Prosecutor Nicholas Marsh said the government was trying to consider Williams' medical problems, but he struggled to explain why prosecutors didn't tell anyone.

"Certainly looking back on it, we understand where the court's coming from," Marsh said.

That's what we call bullshit by prosecutors looking to pad their resumes with a high profile conviction.