CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Federal prosecutors are rejecting allegations that they committed misconduct against imprisoned kosher meatpacking executive Sholom Rubashkin.
The U.S. Attorney's Office denied that it improperly interfered in the sale of the Agriprocessors plant in Postville or presented false testimony at sentencing.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Deegan wrote Thursday that Rubashkin was trying to rewrite history.
Rubashkin contends prosecutors threatened buyers they would seize the plant if Rubashkin's father had a role in its operations. He says that drove down the sale price and increased the loss stemming from his fraud, resulting in a 27-year sentence.
Several criminal justice heavyweights recently backed Rubashkin's claims and called on prosecutors "to rectify the injustice," including four former United States attorneys general and two former FBI directors.
Deegan asked a judge to deny any relief.
