Judge may 'sanction' government in Stevens case Sen. Ted Stevens's lawyers have a chance to weaken the case against him as a federal judge will consider sanctioning sanctioning government prosecutors over their handling of a key witness. Judge Emmet G. Sullivan of the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia said Monday he was "disturbed" that the government allowed Rocky Williams to return to Alaska without the court's permission and without consulting defense attorneys, who also subpoenaed the witness to testify in the case. Sullivan said arranging Williams's travel back to Alaska raised the appearance of impropriety. "I’m going to sanction if appropriate — I’m just not going to drop that issue," Sullivan said, without specifying the sanctions he had in mind. The case hinges on whether Stevens (R-Alaska) concealed gifts and home renovations from Veco Corp., a now-defunct oil-services company. Williams, a former Veco employee, oversaw the extensive home renovations at the senator's Alaska home. Williams, who left Washington to deal with an unspecified health issue, later told defense attorneys that he did not spend as much time at Stevens's home as has been alleged in court. "I’m concerned that a subpoenaed witness ... was advised to leave the District of Columbia, and assisted in leaving the District of Columbia by the government for reasons not fully explored by defense counsel and the court," Sullivan said....