The prosecution of an Iowa state Senator on corruption charges has triggered a filing seeking dismissal of the indictment on the ground of prosecutorial misconduct. The trial is set to begin on October 29 on an indictment (here) charging a single violation of the Hobbs Act for extortion under color of official right related to an alleged demand for payment for home security systems in what the state Senator called a business deal that went sour. The defense motion (available below) argues that
the government has withheld exculpatory evidence, has provided deliberately false and misleading answers to discovery, has made false and misleading representations to the Court, has manipulated the Grand Jury process and stood silent in the face of testimony that the AUSA knew constituted perjury and did nothing to correct the record. In isolation, any one of these outrageous acts would warrant dismissal. Collectively, these actions mandate dismissal and additional sanctions to curb blatant prosecutorial abuse.
A copy of the correspondence between defense counsel and the prosecutors is also available below as exhibits to the motion to dismiss. In addition to seeking dismissal of the indictment, the defense asks for the postponement of the trial. (ph)
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