AG doesn't file response in Stevens case

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey has appealed a judge's order for answers about how an FBI agent's whistleblower complaint was handled.

The Anchorage (Alaska) Daily News reported Sunday that the deadline for Mukasey to respond was 5 p.m. EST Saturday, but a Justice Department official said the response was not filed because the department is appealing the order.

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan said last week he wanted to know the department treated FBI Agent Chad Joy's complaint of wrongdoing in the handling of the corruption case against former Alaska Republican Sen. Ted Stevens.

He alleged that Justice Department attorneys intentionally withheld information that Stevens' lawyers were entitled to and that one of the agents on the case accepted gifts from a witness.