Reaction to Stevens Conviction
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REACTION to Senator Stevens Conviction
October 28 2008
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Ted Stevens' conviction the crowning blow in bad year for GOP senators
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More than a year ago, The Ticket noted how everything seemed to be coming up roses for the Democrats as the landscape took shape for 2008 Senate races.
Now, with the election a week away, the party caught still another break with the conviction this afternoon of the longest-serving Republican in the Senate -- Ted Stevens of Alaska -- on all seven counts of failing to report an array of gifts. Most obviously, the jury's verdict is a huge blow to Stevens' bid for a seventh full Senate term. Is it a fatal one? We'd pause before writing off Stevens -- even with a felony conviction weighing him down -because of the status he long enjoyed among his constituents. And in a statement he issued, Stevens, right, made clear he'll depict himself as the target of unscrupulous and unethical federal prosecutors. "This verdict is the result of the unconscionable manner in which the Justice Department lawyers conducted this trial." But Anne Hays of the Anchorage-based Hays Research Group showed no hesitation to make a political prediction as word spread in her state of Stevens' conviction. "I think it sinks him," she told us as word spread of Stevens' conviction. His race against Democrat Mark Begich "had tightened up," she noted. "But I think this will break it out again" in Begich's favor. REACTION to Senator Stevens Conviction October 28 2008 page 2 of 29 pages
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More broadly, the verdict is yet another stain on a GOP brand ... ... that hardly needed it . Although it shouldn't directly hurt a specific Republican candidate, it adds to a general malaise that has enveloped the party -- and which many GOP officials fear will only get thicker with next week's election results.
If Hays is right and Stevens is now doomed politically, that gives the Democrats three rock-solid Senate pickups. In Virginia, Mark Warner is cruising to an easy victory for an open seat that a Republican had held (a new Washington Post poll shows him holding onto a whopping 30-percentage-point lead). Similarly, in New Mexico, Tom Udall is far ahead in the race for an open GOP seat. The party also is counting on two more gains. In Colorado -- in the contest to fill still another seat a Republican is giving up -- Mark Udall (Tom's cousin) appears headed for a win. And in New Hampshire, Jeanne Shaheen is favored to take out incumbent John Sununu (one new poll, though, shows the Republican still within shouting distance). Democrats will be grossly disappointed if they don't win all five of these races. And they've set their sights on more -- a victory by Al Franken over incumbent Norm Coleman in Minnesota, along with triumphs by Democratic challengers over incumbents Liddy Dole in North Carolina and Gordon Smith in Oregon. While hoping for a trifecta, the Democrats will gladly live with two out of these three. Here's what would really make it a big night for the party -- knocking off Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, above, in Kentucky. That seems unlikely, but the mere broaching of the prospect speaks to the political wind that might be blowing.
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An upset of McConnell truly would be history-making -- no leader of the Senate's GOP faction has been bounced from office since 1932, when Franklin Roosevelt's landslide took out with it James Watson of Indiana. By contrast, Democrats lost their Senate leader as recently as four years ago, when Tom Daschle of South Dakota was defeated by John Thune. Not every race has played out the way Democrats wanted. Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, once seen as vulnerable, seems headed for reelection. But that has been the rare exception in a season of discontent for candidates with an "R" beside their names. -- Don Frederick Photo credits: Associated Press (Stevens); AFP (McConnell) http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/10/ted-stevens-con.html TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/816965/35032849
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http://www.adn.com/news/politics/fbi/stevens/story/569304.html
Timeline: Life of Ted Stevens
Published: October 27th, 2008 01:31 PM Last Modified: October 27th, 2008 01:34 PM 1923: Born Nov. 18 in Indianapolis, the third of four children. Mid-1920s: Family moves to Chicago; father works as accountant. 1929-30: Father loses job after stock market crash; parents divorce; siblings return to Indianapolis to live with grandparents, father. 1938: Moves to Manhattan Beach, Calif., to live with aunt after father dies. 1942: Graduates from Redondo Union High School, Redondo Beach, Calif. Enrolls in Oregon State University; attends one semester. 1943: Enrolls in Montana State College for Army Air Corps cadet training. Joins U.S. Army Air Corps in Santa Ana, Calif., receives wings in 1944. 1944-46: Serves as transport pilot flying C-46s and C-47s in China-Burma-India theater during WW II; receives Distinguished Flying Cross. 1947: Graduates with B.A. in political science, UCLA. 1950: Graduates Harvard Law School, admitted to the bar in Washington, D.C. 1950: Hired by Washington D.C. law firm, legal adviser to Usibelli Coal Mine in Healy. 1952: Marries Ann Mary Cherrington in Denver, Colo. The union produces five children. Drives up Alaska Highway to practice law in Fairbanks. 1953: Appointed U.S. Attorney, Fairbanks. 1956: Moves to D.C. as legislative counsel for Interior Dept., works for Alaska statehood. 1957: Passes Alaska bar. 1960: Appointed chief counsel to Interior Sec'y Fred Seaton. 1961: Returns to Alaska after Kennedy election to practice law in Anchorage.
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1962: Runs for U.S. Senate; defeated by incumbent Democrat, Sen. Ernest Gruening. 1964: Elected to Alaska State House. Re-elected in 1966; 1968: Runs for U.S. Senate; loses primary to Anchorage banker Elmer Rasmuson (who loses in general election to Democrat Mike Gravel). 1968: Appointed to U.S. Senate by Alaska Gov. Walter Hickel on death of Sen. E.L. Bartlett. 1970: Elected to U.S. Senate in a special election to complete Bartlett's term. 1972: Re-elected to U.S. Senate with 77 percent of the vote. 1973: Helps win U.S. Senate approval of Trans-Alaska Pipeline Act by one-vote margin. 1978: Re-elected to U.S. Senate with 76 percent of the vote. Survives Learjet crash at Anchorage International Airport; five people die, including wife Ann. 1980: Marries Catherine Bittner Chandler. Union produces daughter Lily. 1984: Re-elected to U.S. Senate with 71 percent of the vote. 1990: Re-elected to U.S. Senate with 66 percent of the vote. 1996: Re-elected to U.S. Senate with 77 percent of the vote. 1997: Chairs Senate Appropriations Committee from 1997 to 2001 and 2003 to 2005; directs more than $3 billion in federal money to Alaska from 1995 to 2008. 1998: Receives first of 10 "Oinker Awards" for wasteful government spending, from Citizens Against Government Waste. 2000: Voted "Alaskan of the Century" by Alaskan of the Year Committee. Legislature renames state's largest airport the "Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport." 2002: Re-elected to U.S. Senate with 78 percent of the vote; becomes longest serving Republican senator. 2003: Appointed president pro tempore U.S. Senate, serves through 2007. 2007: FBI and IRS agents raid his Girdwood home on July 30. 2008: Files for re-election on Feb. 21 for eighth term in U.S. Senate. 2008: Indicted July 29, 2008,on seven federal criminal counts.
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2008: Convicted October 27, 2008,on seven federal criminal counts. Sources: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress; 2008 Almanac of American Politics; Who's Who is Alaskan Politics, Anchorage Daily News files http://www.adn.com/news/politics/fbi/stevens/story/569304.html
Jury finds Stevens guilty of lying about gifts
By ERIKA BOLSTAD and RICHARD MAUER Anchorage Daily News Published: October 27th, 2008 04:02 PM Last Modified: October 27th, 2008 04:03 PM WASHINGTON - A jury today found U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens guilty of all seven counts of lying on his financial disclosure forms. It is the highest-profile felony conviction in a sweeping four-year federal investigation into corruption in Alaska politics, and a rare conviction by a jury of a sitting U.S. senator. Jurors found Stevens, 84, guilty of willfully filing false financial-disclosure forms that hid such gifts as a $2,695 massage chair, a stained glass window, a sled dog and renovations that doubled the size of his Girdwood home. Those gifts, valued at as much as $250,000 over seven years, came mostly from his former friend Bill Allen, the star prosecution witness in Stevens' trial and the former owner of Veco Corp. The oil field-services company was one of Alaska's largest private employers before Allen, caught up in the federal corruption probe himself, was forced to sell it last year. Now, Alaska voters will decide whether Stevens, who's represented the state in the Senate since 1968 and before that served in the state legislature and as a former assistant U.S. attorney and Interior Department official, should continue to serve as their senator. That decision came quickly for they jurors, who deliberated for less than two full days. As the jury foreman read out the first guilty count this afternoon, the senator slumped slightly but was silent. When the second count was read, his lawyer Brendan Sullivan reached over and put his arm around Stevens. Sullivan shook his head in disappointment as the verdict was read. As the senator exited the packed courtroom, his wife, Catherine, kissed him on the cheek. "It's not over yet," he told her. She responded: "You got that right." REACTION to Senator Stevens Conviction October 28 2008 page 7 of 29 pages
REACTION to Senator Stevens Conviction Then he added, "Not over yet."
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Stevens' lawyers, whose firm is well known for not speaking to the news media, exited the courthouse with the senator, who sped off in a van without saying anything. Several hours after the verdict, Stevens issued a defiant statement maintaining his innocence. He accused prosecutors of misconduct and announced his intention to remain a U.S. Senate candidate on the Nov. 4 ballot. "I am obviously disappointed in the verdict but not surprised given the repeated instances of prosecutorial misconduct in this case," Stevens said. "I will fight this unjust verdict with every ounce of energy I have." For the first time in his career, Stevens faces a competitive re-election fight, against Democratic Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich. The Alaska Democratic Party called for Stevens to resign, but Begich was more measured. "This past year has been a difficult time for Alaskans, but our people are strong and resilient and I believe that we will be able to move forward together to address the critical challenges that face Alaska," Begich said in a statement. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential candidate, issued a statement keeping in line with the anti-corruption rhetoric that figures in her campaign trial stump speeches. "This is a sad day for Alaska and for Senator Stevens and his family," Palin said. "The verdict shines a light on the corrupting influence of the big oil service company that was allowed to control too much of our state. That control was part of the culture of corruption I was elected to fight. And that fight must always move forward regardless of party or seniority or even past service." Stevens, who was indicted in late July, sought an early trial date, gambling that he'd face voters as an innocent man. Even without the conviction, though, in order to re-elect Stevens, voters would have to overlook four weeks of testimony that exposed some of the senator's innermost financial and personal secrets. The guilty verdict will complicate not only his re-election bid but also the remainder of his term in the Senate. His colleagues have the option -- never exercised -- of voting to expel him before his term ends in January. Four U.S. senators have been convicted of crimes, historians note, but not one has received a presidential pardon. The rules of succession are complicated in Alaska, where courts haven't ruled on a referendum that prohibits the governor from appointing a senator if the office is vacant. That referendum was enacted after then-Gov. Frank Murkowski appointed his daughter, Lisa Murkowski, to the U.S. Senate seat he vacated.
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The corruption trial, which began Sept. 22, featured 24 government witnesses and 28 defense witnesses. Jurors began their deliberations Wednesday afternoon, but halted Friday morning when one of the juror's left town for her father's funeral. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan appointed an alternate juror Monday morning, and by 4 p.m., the panel had reached a verdict. Stevens took the stand in his own defense, a tactic that appeared to hurt him after prosecutors painted him as a disagreeable and mean-spirited man who considered himself above the law. "This has been a long and hard fought trial," said the head of the Justice Department's criminal division, Matthew Friedrich, in a press conference outside the courthouse after the trial. "The Department is proud of this team not only for this trial but for the investigation which led to it. "This investigation continues, as does our commitment to holding elected officials accountable when they violate our laws." The senator's defense rested on the theory that he and his wife had paid all the bills they'd received in connection with the renovations of their home in Girdwood. Catherine Stevens also took the stand, providing contradictory testimony that may have persuaded the jurors that their conflicting stories meant that they were lying or covering up a crime. The jurors had to weigh the husband and wife testimony against that of Allen, who pleaded guilty to bribing state lawmakers in Alaska in an unrelated case. Allen agreed to testify in Stevens' trial and two others in exchange for leniency in his own sentencing and the promise that prosecutors wouldn't charge his children in the corruption investigation. The jury also heard from a parade of tradesmen who had nothing to gain by their testimony. Almost daily for the first two weeks of the trial, the government introduced evidence showing that Veco employees -- particularly electricians and a plumber -- were on the job daily. Prosecutors also showed that the project's two supervisors were being paid by Veco and that the company provided much of the materials for the renovation and all the later additions and some repairs and furnishings. Stevens' lawyers never presented evidence in the case that Stevens or his wife ever paid Veco a penny for the work. The Justice Department has charged 11 people in connection with its corruption probe in Alaska, including five former and current state legislators in Alaska. Other than Stevens, five pleaded guilty, three were convicted by juries in Alaska and two await trial. Judge Sullivan has not yet set a date for sentencing and first must hear a series of post-trial motions, such as one from Stevens seeking a new trial. Each of the seven felony counts carries a sentence of up to five years in prison. Contact the reporters: [email protected] and [email protected]. http://www.adn.com/news/politics/fbi/stevens/story/569134.html REACTION to Senator Stevens Conviction October 28 2008 page 9 of 29 pages
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Reid: Stevens' Conviction 'personal Tragedy For Our Colleague'
By John Bresnahan
Oct 27, 2008 (The Politico) Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) just issued this statement on today's corruption conviction for Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska):
“This verdict is a personal tragedy for our colleague Ted Stevens, but it is an important reminder that no man is above the law. Senator Stevens must now respect the outcome of the judicial process and the dignity of the United States Senate.”
Stevens was found guilty of failing to report more than $250,000 in improper gifts he received between 1999 and 2006. Stevens has already indicated that he will appeal the conviction, but if he loses in the Nov. 4 elections, his defeat may help propel Reid and Senate Democrats to a 60seat, filibuster-proof majority. Reid has served with Stevens on the Senate Appropriations Committee, and he told his GOP colleague, the longest serving Republican in Senate history, that he appreciated his friendship.
"So I say to Senator Stevens, at this important occasion for you, of course, and our country, recognizing you, your service in this body, the longest serving Republican in the history of the Republic, I extend to you my appreciation and my friendship," Reid told Stevens during an April 12, 2007, celebrating Stevens' becoming the longest-serving Republican senator.
Copyright 2008 POLITICO http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/27/politics/politico/thecrypt/main4550860.shtml REACTION to Senator Stevens Conviction October 28 2008 page 10 of 29 pages
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http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hoB2kfl8Lk2SYE18XiScAbEKgFEQ
Alaska senate seat in play as Republican found guilty in corruption
5 hours ago WASHINGTON (AFP) — A US court on Monday found Ted Stevens of Alaska, a Republican senator for some 40 years, guilty of corruption one week before he is up for reelection in the narrowly-divided US Senate. Stevens, 84, was convicted on all seven counts of making false statements on mandatory financial disclosure forms he filed between 1999 and 2006, a court source told AFP. REACTION to Senator Stevens Conviction October 28 2008 page 11 of 29 pages
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The Alaska senate seat, long considered safely Republican, now seems vulnerable: Democrats are banking on big gains in the Senate in the November 4 election, where five or six Republican seats in the 100 strong-chamber are likely to change hands. The Democrats are hoping to hit the magic 60 seat-barrier needed to pass major legislation and break Republican filibuster legislation delaying tactics. They currently enjoy a 51-49 edge in the 100-seat Senate, with the help of two independents. In recent opinion polls Stevens, the longest-serving Republican in the US Senate, trailed his Democratic challenger, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, by less than one percentage point. Stevens was found guilty of accepting gifts from a company known as VECO, an Alaska-based firm which provides oil field support, between 1999 and 2006. He was convicted of receiving more than 250,000 dollars worth of gifts, mainly in material and labor that doubled the size of one of his homes. Two VECO executives pleaded guilty last year to bribing government officials, including an unnamed state senator. Stevens was unrepentant. "This verdict is the result of the unconscionable manner in which the Justice Department lawyers conducted this trial," the senator said in a statement, decrying alleged "repeated instances of prosecutorial misconduct." Said Stevens: "I will fight this unjust verdict with every ounce of energy I have. I am innocent." He called on Alaskans and his Senate colleagues to "stand with me as I pursue my rights," adding: "I remain a candidate for the United States Senate." Stevens, who has served in the US Senate since December 1968, is one of the body's most powerful Republicans, with seats on the Appropriations, Defense, and other committees. He has temporarily relinquished his committee vice chairmanships. The charges normally carry a sentence of several years in prison, but Stevens is likely to leniency due to his age. Judge Emmet Sullivan, who presided in the case, has set a February 26 hearing, the source said. The corruption trial began on September 22 and saw 24 government witnesses and 28 defense witnesses testify in court. Stevens testified in his own defense. Stevens and his team of lawyers made no statement as they left the courthouse. Stevens, who has all along claimed his innocence, has been a strong advocate of opening up Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. President George W. Bush declined to comment on the Stevens conviction. REACTION to Senator Stevens Conviction October 28 2008 page 12 of 29 pages
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A felony conviction does not automatically bar Stevens from serving in the senate. If he is re-elected he could be expelled only with a two-third vote of his colleagues, according to US Senate rules. Then the governor of Alaska -- Republican Sarah Palin, who also is her party's nominee for vice president -- would appoint a successor. In a statement, Palin said that the verdict "shines a light on the corrupting influence of the big oil service company that was allowed to control too much of our state. "That control was part of the culture of corruption I was elected to fight," Palin said. "And that fight must always move forward regardless of party or seniority or even past service." As Alaska governor "I will carefully monitor this situation and take any appropriate action as needed. In the meantime, I ask the people of Alaska to join me in respecting the workings of our judicial system. I'm confident Senator Stevens will do what is right for the people of Alaska," Palin said. Copyright © 2008 AFP. All rights reserved. http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hoB2kfl8Lk2SYE18XiScAbEKgFEQ
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/27/politics/politico/thecrypt/main4550811.shtml
Murkowski Stands By Stevens
By Glenn Thrush
Oct 27, 2008 (The Politico) Others may be offering lukewarm support to Ted Stevens – but Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski just issued a strong statement in support of her convicted colleague. “Given today’s verdict, it’s a sad day indeed for Sen. Stevens and his family as well as for Alaska,” Murkowski said. “Ted Stevens is an honorable, hard-working Alaskan who has served our state well for as long as we have been a state. It was clear that the prosecution blundered in several instances. Given these gaffes, which raised the ire of U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan on several occasions, Sen. Stevens has announced that he will appeal the verdict. I look forward to having justice served.” “Ted has asked for Alaskans and his Senate colleagues to stand with him as he pursues his legal
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rights. He stood with Alaskans for 40 years, and I plan to continue to stand with him.” http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/27/politics/politico/thecrypt/main4550811.shtml
Copyright 2008 POLITICO
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Stevens the Soothsayer
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), it turns out, was prescient. Here's what he said two years ago in a secretly recorded phone conversation with Bill Allen, his longtime friend (whom he now may wish he had never met): "The worst that can happen to us is we run up a bunch of legal fees, and might lose and we might have to pay a fine, might have to serve some time in jail. I hope to Christ it never gets to that.... I don't think we have done anything wrong." A federal jury thought otherwise, however, and Stevens -- the Senate's longest-serving Republican -- was convicted on seven charges of making false statements on Senate disclosure documents. Technically, Stevens accepted gifts from Allen and others and failed to report them. The word "gifts" is somewhat mild; Allen renovated Stevens' house, filled it with furniture and other comforts, gave him a new roof, fixed his boiler, and on and on and on. The verdict comes as Stevens prepares to face voters Tuesday in a bid for reelection. It was Stevens who pushed to have the trial before the election, not federal prosecutors -- or Stevens's Democratic opponent, Mark Begich, who must feel as if he received a "gift" today. Stevens was one of the lords of the Senate, a czar of earmarks who brought home federal largess to his state by the boatload and never apologized for it. He could be famously prickly and showed that side of his personality at his trial, when he shot back retorts at prosecutors as if he were in the midst of a floor debate. Asked about a chair that Allen had given him, Stevens responded: "He bought that chair as a gift, but I refused it as a gift. He put it there and said it was my chair. I told him I would not accept it as a gift. We have lots of things in our house that don't belong to us." One thing was missing from the charges, though: An alleged quid pro quo. Prosecutors didn't accuse Stevens of doing any specific favors for Allen or his oil services company, VECO Corp., in return for the gifts. They just accused Stevens of not reporting the gifts. What Stevens did was wrong, and now both he and his party will pay for it -- his conviction makes it more likely that Begich will win, which would increase the Democrats' chances of building a veto-proof, 60-vote majority in the Senate. Prosecutors were sloppy enough in presenting their case that Stevens likely has avenues for appeal, though of course any reversal would come too late to affect his political fortunes. Stevens's real crime was arrogance -- he assumed that rules made for mere mortals didn't apply to him. This is Washington: That's not an unfamiliar story.
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By Eugene Robinson | October 27, 2008; 5:41 PM ET
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2008/10/stevens_the_soothsayer.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
Alaska Senator Is Guilty Over His Failures to Disclose Gifts
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By NEIL A. LEWIS Published: October 27, 2008
WASHINGTON — Senator Ted Stevens, Alaska’s dominant political figure for more than four decades, was found guilty on Monday by a jury of violating federal ethics laws for failing to report tens of thousands of dollars in gifts and services he had received from friends.
Hyungwon Kang/Reuters
Senator Ted Stevens left court in Washington after the guilty verdict.
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The Lede: 'Guilty' Isn't Always Political Death (October 27, 2008) Times Topics: Ted Stevens U.S. v. Stevens: Indictment and Trial Exhibits
The jury of District of Columbia residents convicted Mr. Stevens, 84, on all seven felony counts he faced in connection with charges that he knowingly failed to list on Senate disclosure forms the receipt of some $250,000 in gifts and services used to renovate his home in Girdwood, Alaska. Mr. Stevens, a consistently grim-faced figure, frowned more deeply as the verdict was delivered by the jury foreman, a worker at a drug counseling center. Mr. Stevens’s wife and one of his daughters sat glumly behind him in the courtroom. In a statement issued after he had left the courthouse, Mr. Stevens was defiant, urging Alaskans to re-elect him to a seventh full term next week. He blamed what he called repeated misconduct by federal prosecutors for the verdict. “I will fight this unjust verdict with every ounce of energy I have,” he said. “I am innocent. This verdict is the result of the unconscionable manner in which the Justice Department lawyers conducted this trial,” he said. “I ask that Alaskans and my Senate colleagues stand with me as I pursue my rights. I remain a candidate for the United States Senate.” Nonetheless, the verdict is widely expected to write an end to Mr. Stevens’s long political career, which has moved in tandem with his state’s roughand-tumble journey from a remote territory to an economic powerhouse. Mr. Stevens was instrumental in promoting statehood for Alaska when he was a young Interior Department official in the Eisenhower administration and then went on to represent the state in the Senate for 40 years. Over that time, he used his steadily accumulated influence over federal spending,
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notably using his membership on the Appropriations Committee, to steer millions, perhaps billions, of dollars in federal money to his home state. The verdict comes a week before a second jury of sorts, the voters of Alaska, will decide whether to return him to the Senate or elect his Democratic opponent, Mayor Mark Begich of Anchorage. After Mr. Stevens’s indictment in July, he asked for a quick trial so he might clear his name before Election Day. If Mr. Stevens loses his seat, the trial’s implications could be felt on a broad political scale, helping Democrats in their drive to win enough seats in the Senate to give them a filibuster-proof majority of at least 60 votes. Within an hour of the verdict’s becoming public, Democrats in Senate races around the country immediately sought to make the conviction an issue for their opponents, demanding that those who had received money from Mr. Stevens, who was generous with contributions to his colleagues, return it. If Mr. Stevens wins and insists on keeping his seat, his fate will be in the hands of his Senate colleagues. A senator can be expelled only by a twothirds vote of the entire Senate, so a conviction does not automatically cost a lawmaker his seat. Since 1789, only 15 senators have been expelled, most for supporting the Confederacy during the Civil War, the Senate Web site states. In 1982, the Senate Ethics Committee recommended that Senator Harrison A. Williams, Democrat of New Jersey, be expelled because of his conviction on bribery, conspiracy and conflict of interest charges in the Abscam scandal, and in 1995 the committee recommended the expulsion of Senator Robert W. Packwood, Republican of Oregon, for sexual misconduct. Both men resigned before the full Senate could vote. Should Mr. Stevens be expelled or resign on his own, the Alaska governor, Sarah Palin, would most likely have to call a special election to fill the vacancy, according to state legal officials.
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Ms. Palin, the Republican nominee for vice president, issued a statement late Monday, saying she was “confident that Senator Stevens will do what’s right for the people of Alaska.” Governor Palin did not specify what that was. She did ask that the verdict be respected, saying that it “shines a light on the corrupting influence of the big oil service company that was allowed to control too much of our state. It was part of the culture of corruption I was elected to fight. And that fight must always move forward regardless of party or seniority or even past service.” The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, said: “This verdict is a personal tragedy for our colleague Ted Stevens, but it is an important reminder that no man is above the law. Senator Stevens must now respect the outcome of the judicial process and the dignity of the United States Senate.” The Republican leader, Senator Mitch McConnell, issued this statement after the verdict: “Senator Stevens was found guilty by a jury of his peers, and now must face the consequences of those actions. As a result of his conviction, Senator Stevens will be held accountable so the public trust can be restored.” Judge Emmet G. Sullivan of Federal District Court delayed setting a date for sentencing until after a Feb. 25 hearing on motions from Mr. Stevens’s lawyers. Under complicated guidelines that are no longer mandatory, Judge Sullivan has wide discretion in setting a sentence, although lawyers familiar with the subject said it was difficult to conceive of a situation in which Mr. Stevens would not be required to spend time in jail.
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In addition to his expected appeal, his supporters are also likely to explore the possibility of obtaining a pardon, or some form of executive clemency like a commutation of any sentence, from President Bush, a fellow Republican, before he leaves office. The verdict came after more than three weeks of testimony, the highlight of which was Mr. Stevens’s taking the calculated risk of testifying in his own defense. Government prosecutors used evidence and testimony to paint a picture of Alaska in which several of Mr. Stevens’s wealthy friends, keenly aware of his political status, were eager to shower him with gifts. The indictment charged that he had received some $250,000 in gifts and services from a longtime friend, Bill Allen, the owner of a huge oil services construction company, and gifts from other friends like a sled dog and an expensive massage chair. Mr. Allen, who was convicted for his role in a scheme to bribe Alaska state lawmakers to help his oil exploration projects, agreed to cooperate with the government and have his telephone conversations with Mr. Stevens recorded. At one time, the two men were friends, thrown together by politics and oil money. Mr. Allen, who was the prosecution’s chief witness, testified that Mr. Stevens knew he was receiving the goods and services free and even sent an emissary to ask that no bills be sent. Mr. Stevens’s defense was largely built on the notion that he had not asked for, and had no use for, many of the goods and services he received. In the case of the massage chair, he said it had not been a gift from
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Bob Persons, a friend and restaurant owner who had bought it from a Brookstone store and sent it to the Stevenses’ Washington home. It was a loan, Mr. Stevens testified, even though it had remained in his Washington home for more than seven years and he once wrote to Mr. Persons that he enjoyed using it and even fell asleep in it. Moreover, Mr. Stevens asserted that his wife of 28 years, Catherine, was assigned to oversee the remaking of the Alaska home from a simple Aframe cabin to a grander, two-story residence fitted with two decks, a new garage and amenities like a whirlpool, a steam room and an expensive gas grill. The verdict came relatively swiftly. The jury began deliberating last week. But it was obliged to start all over Monday morning when a juror was replaced by an alternate because of the death of a family member. In midafternoon, jurors sent a note saying they had finished their work. William Yardley contributed reporting from Seattle, and Carl Hulse from Washington.
More Articles in Washington »A version of this article appeared in print on October 28, 2008,
on page
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/washington/28stevens.html?_r=1&th=&oref=slogin&emc= th&pagewanted=all
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-stevens282008oct28,0,2189325.story
From the Los Angeles Times
Corruption conviction doesn't daunt Sen. Ted Stevens
Alaska's Republican senator vows to fight the verdict and stay in the race for reelection.
By Richard B. Schmitt October 28, 2008 Reporting from Washington — In a stunning verdict that imperils the tenure of the
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Senate's longest-serving Republican, a federal jury Monday found Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska guilty of concealing tens of thousands of dollars in gifts and improvements to his home. Stevens, 84, reacted pugnaciously, attacking the Justice Department and vowing to continue campaigning for reelection to his seventh term next Tuesday. "I am obviously disappointed in the verdict but not surprised given the repeated instances of prosecutorial misconduct in this case," he said in a prepared statement. "I will fight this unjust verdict with every ounce of energy I have." He asked Alaskans and his Senate colleagues to "stand with me as I pursue my rights." Stevens has managed to remain neck and neck with Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich since the trial began, despite being unable to campaign in person. But political analysts have said from the beginning that all bets would be off were Stevens to be convicted. The conviction boosts Democrats' hopes of reaching a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. Democrats control the Senate 51 to 49 with the help of two independents but need 60 seats to overcome Republican-led filibusters that have stymied Democratic initiatives. Senate rules do not bar convicted felons from serving, and it would take a twothirds vote to expel Stevens if he were reelected. The chamber has not expelled anyone in more than a century. If Stevens is forced to step down, a special election would be held to determine his replacement. Some Republicans already appeared to discount the chances that he would be returning to Washington. "Ted Stevens served his constituents for over 40 years, and I am disappointed to see his career end in disgrace," said Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, who heads the Senate Republicans' campaign committee. "Sen. Stevens had his day in court and the jury found he violated the public's trust -- as a result he is properly being held accountable. This is a reminder that no one is above the law." Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee, also appeared to distance herself from her home-state lawmaker, using the conviction as an opportunity to trumpet her own anti-corruption credentials.
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Palin, who has clashed with Washington's Republican congressional delegation in the past, said in a statement that the verdict "shines a light on the corrupting influence of the big oil service company that was allowed to control too much of our state. It was part of the culture of corruption that I was elected to fight. And that fight must always move forward, regardless of party or seniority or even past service." Palin concluded: "I'm confident Sen. Stevens will do what's right for the people of Alaska." The verdict was a swift and devastating fall from grace for Stevens, one of the most powerful men in Washington, who once stood third in line to the presidency. The four-week trial shone a light on Stevens' relationship with a millionaire oilman, Bill J. Allen, who once owned the state's onetime largest private employer and who with others plied Stevens with more than $250,000 in gifts and improvements to his Alaska home. Allen, who pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges last year, was the star witness for the prosecution against Stevens. Stevens took the stand in his own defense in an attempt to rebut the charges. He took the position that he did not consider the things he got from Allen, including a high-end gas barbecue grill and an elaborate outdoor lighting display, to be gifts, but rather unwanted indulgences. As for the home improvement bills, he said that his wife was in charge of that and that she paid every bill she ever received. But he came across as sour and argumentative on cross-examination, and the verdict indicates the jury did not find him to be a credible witness. "The last piece of proof that the jurors were left with was a pretty withering crossexamination of Sen. Stevens by the government," said Joshua Berman, a Washington lawyer who once worked in the Justice Department public integrity unit that prosecuted Stevens. The jury also heard telephone conversations, secretly recorded by the FBI, including one in which Stevens openly discussed the possibility that he and Allen "might have to serve a little time in jail." Stevens was convicted on seven counts of making false statements under federal law by failing to disclose the gifts and improvements on his annual Senate financial disclosure form. Each count carries a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison, although he
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is not expected to get anywhere near that term. Some experts said there was a chance he could get probation, given his age, years of public service and other factors. He remains free until sentencing, which is expected to occur early next year. The verdict was reached the same day that a reconstituted jury began deliberations anew after one of the 12 panelists was replaced over the weekend because of a family emergency. Stevens sought "to hide from the public, from his constituents, that he received hundreds of thousands of dollars in freebies," Matthew Friedrich, acting head of the Justice Department criminal division, said on the courthouse steps after the verdict. He said an investigation into political corruption in Alaska was continuing; among those still believed to be under investigation are Stevens' son, Ben, a former Alaska lawmaker. The prosecutors in the case also face an internal Justice Department investigation after being sanctioned by U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan for withholding documents from the defense. Stevens indicated in his statement Monday that prosecutorial misconduct would be part of his appeal. Democratic Party leaders in the state immediately called on the veteran senator to resign. "He knew what he was doing was wrong, but he did it anyway and lied to Alaskans about it," Alaska party chairwoman Patti Higgins said in a statement. Party leaders also said any decision by Stevens to appeal the verdict could "put himself and Alaska under a cloud of uncertainty for another 18 months," while the state's needs "will go unmet in Washington." State Republican Party officials said they would urge Stevens to stay the course and attempt to win reelection. "The majority of Alaskans are conservative, they have strong family values and very strong faith in their convictions," said Alaska GOP spokesman McHugh Pierre, "and if those voters want a like-minded person representing them in the U.S. Senate, they need to vote for Sen. Ted Stevens."
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Schmitt is a Times staff writer. [email protected] Times staff writers Kim Murphy contributed from Seattle and Richard Simon from Washington.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-stevens28-2008oct28,0,2189325.story
Stevens says, 'I am innocent' after corruption conviction
STORY HIGHLIGHTS NEW: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin calls verdict "a sad day" for home state Sen. Stevens expressionless as verdict is read Stevens guilty on all seven counts, could face up to 35 years in prison Judge replaces juror who left Washington after her father died last week
Watch how the trial unfolded » Watch Alaskans sound off on Stevens » Watch CNN's Kelli Arena explain the verdict » Watch the prosecutor talks about 'freebies' given to Sen. Stevens. » Last week, the judge dealt with another juror issue after the panel sent him a note Thursday accusing juror No. 9 of "violent outbursts" and other misconduct. They asked that she be dismissed, but Sullivan gave what he called a "pep talk" to the 12 and told them to resume their deliberations. WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens vowed to fight his Monday conviction on federal corruption charges, a verdict he attributed to "repeated instances of prosecutorial misconduct."
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Sen. Ted Stevens leaves federal court Monday as the jury deliberated in his corruption trial.
"I will fight this unjust verdict with every ounce of energy I have," the 84-year-old Stevens, the Senate's longest-serving Republican, said in a written statement after the jury came back Monday afternoon. "I am innocent." Stevens was convicted of seven counts of making false statements on Senate ethics forms to hide hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts and work on his Alaska home from an oilfield contractor at the center of a corruption investigation in the state. "This verdict is the result of the unconscionable manner in which the Justice Department Watch how the trial unfolded » lawyers conducted this trial," he said. The senator's lawyers twice sought to have the charges thrown out during the monthlong trial, accusing prosecutors of hiding evidence favorable to the defense. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan rejected those efforts, but blasted prosecutors for "hiding the ball." "I ask that Alaskans and my Senate colleagues stand with me as I pursue my rights," Stevens said. He vowed to get the trial's results overturned and added, "I remain a candidate for the United States Senate." Watch Alaskans sound off on Stevens » The verdict came days before he is to face voters in a neck-and-neck re-election bid against his Democratic challenger, Mark Begich. Stevens hopes to retain the seat he has held since 1968. A poll by Ivan Moore Research conducted October 17-19 found Begich slightly leading the race 46-45, within the poll's margin of error of plus-or-minus 4.4 percentage points. The longest-serving Republican senator in history, Stevens becomes the first senator to be convicted of a felony since 1981. Stevens faces a maximum sentence of up to to 35 years in prison -- five years for each of the seven counts Watch CNN's Kelli Arena explain the verdict » Legal experts note the judge has the discretion to give Stevens as little as no jail time and probation when he is sentenced. He sat expressionless as the seven verdicts were read out at the end of his trial, less than a day after the jury began deliberations from scratch because of a change in jurors. After the second guilty verdict was read, Stevens' lead defense attorney, Brendan Sullivan, patted his back, leaving his hand there.
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As Stevens left the defense area, he and his wife exchanged a kiss on the cheek. Stevens said: "It's not over yet." Stevens' defense team said they will move for a new trial. "This is a sad day for Alaska and a sad day for Sen. Stevens and his family," Alaska Gov. and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin said after the verdict. "The verdict shines a light on the corrupting influence of the big oil service company up there in Alaska that was allowed to control too much of our state. And that control was part of the culture of corruption that I was elected to fight, and that fight must always move forward regardless of party affiliation or seniority or even past service," she said. Stevens accepted "hundreds of thousands of dollars of freebies" from a major oil services company in his state, acting assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich said after the verdict. "This company was not a charity," he said, saying it solicited Stevens for help in Washington at the same time it was transforming Stevens' single-story A-frame Alaska house into a two-story structure with a deck, new gas grill and other accouterments. Judge Emmet Sullivan has scheduled a hearing on any pending motions for February 25. The charges against Stevens related to renovations on his family home in Girdwood, Alaska. The remodeling was done by his longtime friend, Bill Allen, and Allen's oil industry services company, VECO Corp. The prosecution accused Stevens of knowingly failing to declare hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gifts and work on his house in Alaska between 1999 and 2006. Members of the Senate are required to fill out forms each year stating what gifts they Watch the prosecutor talks about 'freebies' given to Sen. have received and from whom.
Stevens. »
Stevens' defense said Allen, the senator's friend, had quashed bills without the senator's knowledge. Allen testified that he had done so because he "liked Ted." The defense said Stevens had paid the bills he received, thinking they covered the full cost of renovating the house in Girdwood, Alaska. Allen, the government's star witness, earlier pleaded guilty to trying to bribe a number of Alaska state lawmakers, not including Stevens. He is awaiting sentencing. The jury began deliberations at noon Wednesday, but started anew Monday morning when an alternate replaced a juror who left town abruptly last week because of the death of her father. REACTION to Senator Stevens Conviction October 28 2008 page 28 of 29 pages
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The verdict comes after jurors spotted a discrepancy Monday between the government's indictment and a key piece of evidence. The judge declined to throw out the related charge against Stevens The indictment accuses Stevens of checking "No" in response to a question about whether Stevens or his family had "any reportable gift ... more than $260" in 2001. But the form introduced as evidence in court shows he checked "Yes." The jury sent out a note on the issue, prompting a debate between defense and prosecution attorneys about what instructions Sullivan should send the jury. Prosecutors said the error was simply a "typo" on the indictment, and that other charges and evidence covered Steven's alleged failure to disclose the home renovations at issue in the case. Stevens' defense said the judge should toss out the count that no longer matched the evidence. The juror who left last week was Juror No. 4, a paralegal in her 40s. She told a U.S. marshal that she had to leave the state for a family emergency after the jury was dismissed Thursday. Judge Sullivan dismissed the jury Friday morning after the woman left for California, hoping to resume with her on the panel as soon as possible.
Since then, court officials made several unsuccessful attempts to reach the woman. Defense attorneys for Stevens, who was in court Sunday, had asked the judge to put off deliberations another day as they awaited the return of the juror, arguing against inserting an alternate in the middle of the process. Last week, the judge dealt with another juror issue after the panel sent him a note Thursday accusing juror No. 9 of "violent outbursts" and other misconduct. They asked that she be dismissed, but Sullivan gave what he called a "pep talk" to the 12 and told them to resume their deliberations http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/27/stevens.jurors/index.html?eref=rss_latest
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« If crowds are a barometer, McCain's losing to Obama there too | Main | Michelle Obama tells Jay Leno that her husband's big ad buy isn't popular with everyone in his household »
Ted Stevens' conviction the crowning blow in bad year for GOP senators
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More than a year ago, The Ticket noted how everything seemed to be coming up roses for the Democrats as the landscape took shape for 2008 Senate races.
Now, with the election a week away, the party caught still another break with the conviction this afternoon of the longest-serving Republican in the Senate -- Ted Stevens of Alaska -- on all seven counts of failing to report an array of gifts. Most obviously, the jury's verdict is a huge blow to Stevens' bid for a seventh full Senate term. Is it a fatal one? We'd pause before writing off Stevens -- even with a felony conviction weighing him down -because of the status he long enjoyed among his constituents. And in a statement he issued, Stevens, right, made clear he'll depict himself as the target of unscrupulous and unethical federal prosecutors. "This verdict is the result of the unconscionable manner in which the Justice Department lawyers conducted this trial." But Anne Hays of the Anchorage-based Hays Research Group showed no hesitation to make a political prediction as word spread in her state of Stevens' conviction. "I think it sinks him," she told us as word spread of Stevens' conviction. His race against Democrat Mark Begich "had tightened up," she noted. "But I think this will break it out again" in Begich's favor. REACTION to Senator Stevens Conviction October 28 2008 page 2 of 29 pages
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More broadly, the verdict is yet another stain on a GOP brand ... ... that hardly needed it . Although it shouldn't directly hurt a specific Republican candidate, it adds to a general malaise that has enveloped the party -- and which many GOP officials fear will only get thicker with next week's election results.
If Hays is right and Stevens is now doomed politically, that gives the Democrats three rock-solid Senate pickups. In Virginia, Mark Warner is cruising to an easy victory for an open seat that a Republican had held (a new Washington Post poll shows him holding onto a whopping 30-percentage-point lead). Similarly, in New Mexico, Tom Udall is far ahead in the race for an open GOP seat. The party also is counting on two more gains. In Colorado -- in the contest to fill still another seat a Republican is giving up -- Mark Udall (Tom's cousin) appears headed for a win. And in New Hampshire, Jeanne Shaheen is favored to take out incumbent John Sununu (one new poll, though, shows the Republican still within shouting distance). Democrats will be grossly disappointed if they don't win all five of these races. And they've set their sights on more -- a victory by Al Franken over incumbent Norm Coleman in Minnesota, along with triumphs by Democratic challengers over incumbents Liddy Dole in North Carolina and Gordon Smith in Oregon. While hoping for a trifecta, the Democrats will gladly live with two out of these three. Here's what would really make it a big night for the party -- knocking off Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, above, in Kentucky. That seems unlikely, but the mere broaching of the prospect speaks to the political wind that might be blowing.
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An upset of McConnell truly would be history-making -- no leader of the Senate's GOP faction has been bounced from office since 1932, when Franklin Roosevelt's landslide took out with it James Watson of Indiana. By contrast, Democrats lost their Senate leader as recently as four years ago, when Tom Daschle of South Dakota was defeated by John Thune. Not every race has played out the way Democrats wanted. Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, once seen as vulnerable, seems headed for reelection. But that has been the rare exception in a season of discontent for candidates with an "R" beside their names. -- Don Frederick Photo credits: Associated Press (Stevens); AFP (McConnell) http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/10/ted-stevens-con.html TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/816965/35032849
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http://www.adn.com/news/politics/fbi/stevens/story/569304.html
Timeline: Life of Ted Stevens
Published: October 27th, 2008 01:31 PM Last Modified: October 27th, 2008 01:34 PM 1923: Born Nov. 18 in Indianapolis, the third of four children. Mid-1920s: Family moves to Chicago; father works as accountant. 1929-30: Father loses job after stock market crash; parents divorce; siblings return to Indianapolis to live with grandparents, father. 1938: Moves to Manhattan Beach, Calif., to live with aunt after father dies. 1942: Graduates from Redondo Union High School, Redondo Beach, Calif. Enrolls in Oregon State University; attends one semester. 1943: Enrolls in Montana State College for Army Air Corps cadet training. Joins U.S. Army Air Corps in Santa Ana, Calif., receives wings in 1944. 1944-46: Serves as transport pilot flying C-46s and C-47s in China-Burma-India theater during WW II; receives Distinguished Flying Cross. 1947: Graduates with B.A. in political science, UCLA. 1950: Graduates Harvard Law School, admitted to the bar in Washington, D.C. 1950: Hired by Washington D.C. law firm, legal adviser to Usibelli Coal Mine in Healy. 1952: Marries Ann Mary Cherrington in Denver, Colo. The union produces five children. Drives up Alaska Highway to practice law in Fairbanks. 1953: Appointed U.S. Attorney, Fairbanks. 1956: Moves to D.C. as legislative counsel for Interior Dept., works for Alaska statehood. 1957: Passes Alaska bar. 1960: Appointed chief counsel to Interior Sec'y Fred Seaton. 1961: Returns to Alaska after Kennedy election to practice law in Anchorage.
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1962: Runs for U.S. Senate; defeated by incumbent Democrat, Sen. Ernest Gruening. 1964: Elected to Alaska State House. Re-elected in 1966; 1968: Runs for U.S. Senate; loses primary to Anchorage banker Elmer Rasmuson (who loses in general election to Democrat Mike Gravel). 1968: Appointed to U.S. Senate by Alaska Gov. Walter Hickel on death of Sen. E.L. Bartlett. 1970: Elected to U.S. Senate in a special election to complete Bartlett's term. 1972: Re-elected to U.S. Senate with 77 percent of the vote. 1973: Helps win U.S. Senate approval of Trans-Alaska Pipeline Act by one-vote margin. 1978: Re-elected to U.S. Senate with 76 percent of the vote. Survives Learjet crash at Anchorage International Airport; five people die, including wife Ann. 1980: Marries Catherine Bittner Chandler. Union produces daughter Lily. 1984: Re-elected to U.S. Senate with 71 percent of the vote. 1990: Re-elected to U.S. Senate with 66 percent of the vote. 1996: Re-elected to U.S. Senate with 77 percent of the vote. 1997: Chairs Senate Appropriations Committee from 1997 to 2001 and 2003 to 2005; directs more than $3 billion in federal money to Alaska from 1995 to 2008. 1998: Receives first of 10 "Oinker Awards" for wasteful government spending, from Citizens Against Government Waste. 2000: Voted "Alaskan of the Century" by Alaskan of the Year Committee. Legislature renames state's largest airport the "Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport." 2002: Re-elected to U.S. Senate with 78 percent of the vote; becomes longest serving Republican senator. 2003: Appointed president pro tempore U.S. Senate, serves through 2007. 2007: FBI and IRS agents raid his Girdwood home on July 30. 2008: Files for re-election on Feb. 21 for eighth term in U.S. Senate. 2008: Indicted July 29, 2008,on seven federal criminal counts.
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2008: Convicted October 27, 2008,on seven federal criminal counts. Sources: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress; 2008 Almanac of American Politics; Who's Who is Alaskan Politics, Anchorage Daily News files http://www.adn.com/news/politics/fbi/stevens/story/569304.html
Jury finds Stevens guilty of lying about gifts
By ERIKA BOLSTAD and RICHARD MAUER Anchorage Daily News Published: October 27th, 2008 04:02 PM Last Modified: October 27th, 2008 04:03 PM WASHINGTON - A jury today found U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens guilty of all seven counts of lying on his financial disclosure forms. It is the highest-profile felony conviction in a sweeping four-year federal investigation into corruption in Alaska politics, and a rare conviction by a jury of a sitting U.S. senator. Jurors found Stevens, 84, guilty of willfully filing false financial-disclosure forms that hid such gifts as a $2,695 massage chair, a stained glass window, a sled dog and renovations that doubled the size of his Girdwood home. Those gifts, valued at as much as $250,000 over seven years, came mostly from his former friend Bill Allen, the star prosecution witness in Stevens' trial and the former owner of Veco Corp. The oil field-services company was one of Alaska's largest private employers before Allen, caught up in the federal corruption probe himself, was forced to sell it last year. Now, Alaska voters will decide whether Stevens, who's represented the state in the Senate since 1968 and before that served in the state legislature and as a former assistant U.S. attorney and Interior Department official, should continue to serve as their senator. That decision came quickly for they jurors, who deliberated for less than two full days. As the jury foreman read out the first guilty count this afternoon, the senator slumped slightly but was silent. When the second count was read, his lawyer Brendan Sullivan reached over and put his arm around Stevens. Sullivan shook his head in disappointment as the verdict was read. As the senator exited the packed courtroom, his wife, Catherine, kissed him on the cheek. "It's not over yet," he told her. She responded: "You got that right." REACTION to Senator Stevens Conviction October 28 2008 page 7 of 29 pages
REACTION to Senator Stevens Conviction Then he added, "Not over yet."
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Stevens' lawyers, whose firm is well known for not speaking to the news media, exited the courthouse with the senator, who sped off in a van without saying anything. Several hours after the verdict, Stevens issued a defiant statement maintaining his innocence. He accused prosecutors of misconduct and announced his intention to remain a U.S. Senate candidate on the Nov. 4 ballot. "I am obviously disappointed in the verdict but not surprised given the repeated instances of prosecutorial misconduct in this case," Stevens said. "I will fight this unjust verdict with every ounce of energy I have." For the first time in his career, Stevens faces a competitive re-election fight, against Democratic Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich. The Alaska Democratic Party called for Stevens to resign, but Begich was more measured. "This past year has been a difficult time for Alaskans, but our people are strong and resilient and I believe that we will be able to move forward together to address the critical challenges that face Alaska," Begich said in a statement. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential candidate, issued a statement keeping in line with the anti-corruption rhetoric that figures in her campaign trial stump speeches. "This is a sad day for Alaska and for Senator Stevens and his family," Palin said. "The verdict shines a light on the corrupting influence of the big oil service company that was allowed to control too much of our state. That control was part of the culture of corruption I was elected to fight. And that fight must always move forward regardless of party or seniority or even past service." Stevens, who was indicted in late July, sought an early trial date, gambling that he'd face voters as an innocent man. Even without the conviction, though, in order to re-elect Stevens, voters would have to overlook four weeks of testimony that exposed some of the senator's innermost financial and personal secrets. The guilty verdict will complicate not only his re-election bid but also the remainder of his term in the Senate. His colleagues have the option -- never exercised -- of voting to expel him before his term ends in January. Four U.S. senators have been convicted of crimes, historians note, but not one has received a presidential pardon. The rules of succession are complicated in Alaska, where courts haven't ruled on a referendum that prohibits the governor from appointing a senator if the office is vacant. That referendum was enacted after then-Gov. Frank Murkowski appointed his daughter, Lisa Murkowski, to the U.S. Senate seat he vacated.
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The corruption trial, which began Sept. 22, featured 24 government witnesses and 28 defense witnesses. Jurors began their deliberations Wednesday afternoon, but halted Friday morning when one of the juror's left town for her father's funeral. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan appointed an alternate juror Monday morning, and by 4 p.m., the panel had reached a verdict. Stevens took the stand in his own defense, a tactic that appeared to hurt him after prosecutors painted him as a disagreeable and mean-spirited man who considered himself above the law. "This has been a long and hard fought trial," said the head of the Justice Department's criminal division, Matthew Friedrich, in a press conference outside the courthouse after the trial. "The Department is proud of this team not only for this trial but for the investigation which led to it. "This investigation continues, as does our commitment to holding elected officials accountable when they violate our laws." The senator's defense rested on the theory that he and his wife had paid all the bills they'd received in connection with the renovations of their home in Girdwood. Catherine Stevens also took the stand, providing contradictory testimony that may have persuaded the jurors that their conflicting stories meant that they were lying or covering up a crime. The jurors had to weigh the husband and wife testimony against that of Allen, who pleaded guilty to bribing state lawmakers in Alaska in an unrelated case. Allen agreed to testify in Stevens' trial and two others in exchange for leniency in his own sentencing and the promise that prosecutors wouldn't charge his children in the corruption investigation. The jury also heard from a parade of tradesmen who had nothing to gain by their testimony. Almost daily for the first two weeks of the trial, the government introduced evidence showing that Veco employees -- particularly electricians and a plumber -- were on the job daily. Prosecutors also showed that the project's two supervisors were being paid by Veco and that the company provided much of the materials for the renovation and all the later additions and some repairs and furnishings. Stevens' lawyers never presented evidence in the case that Stevens or his wife ever paid Veco a penny for the work. The Justice Department has charged 11 people in connection with its corruption probe in Alaska, including five former and current state legislators in Alaska. Other than Stevens, five pleaded guilty, three were convicted by juries in Alaska and two await trial. Judge Sullivan has not yet set a date for sentencing and first must hear a series of post-trial motions, such as one from Stevens seeking a new trial. Each of the seven felony counts carries a sentence of up to five years in prison. Contact the reporters: [email protected] and [email protected]. http://www.adn.com/news/politics/fbi/stevens/story/569134.html REACTION to Senator Stevens Conviction October 28 2008 page 9 of 29 pages
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Reid: Stevens' Conviction 'personal Tragedy For Our Colleague'
By John Bresnahan
Oct 27, 2008 (The Politico) Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) just issued this statement on today's corruption conviction for Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska):
“This verdict is a personal tragedy for our colleague Ted Stevens, but it is an important reminder that no man is above the law. Senator Stevens must now respect the outcome of the judicial process and the dignity of the United States Senate.”
Stevens was found guilty of failing to report more than $250,000 in improper gifts he received between 1999 and 2006. Stevens has already indicated that he will appeal the conviction, but if he loses in the Nov. 4 elections, his defeat may help propel Reid and Senate Democrats to a 60seat, filibuster-proof majority. Reid has served with Stevens on the Senate Appropriations Committee, and he told his GOP colleague, the longest serving Republican in Senate history, that he appreciated his friendship.
"So I say to Senator Stevens, at this important occasion for you, of course, and our country, recognizing you, your service in this body, the longest serving Republican in the history of the Republic, I extend to you my appreciation and my friendship," Reid told Stevens during an April 12, 2007, celebrating Stevens' becoming the longest-serving Republican senator.
Copyright 2008 POLITICO http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/27/politics/politico/thecrypt/main4550860.shtml REACTION to Senator Stevens Conviction October 28 2008 page 10 of 29 pages
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http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hoB2kfl8Lk2SYE18XiScAbEKgFEQ
Alaska senate seat in play as Republican found guilty in corruption
5 hours ago WASHINGTON (AFP) — A US court on Monday found Ted Stevens of Alaska, a Republican senator for some 40 years, guilty of corruption one week before he is up for reelection in the narrowly-divided US Senate. Stevens, 84, was convicted on all seven counts of making false statements on mandatory financial disclosure forms he filed between 1999 and 2006, a court source told AFP. REACTION to Senator Stevens Conviction October 28 2008 page 11 of 29 pages
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The Alaska senate seat, long considered safely Republican, now seems vulnerable: Democrats are banking on big gains in the Senate in the November 4 election, where five or six Republican seats in the 100 strong-chamber are likely to change hands. The Democrats are hoping to hit the magic 60 seat-barrier needed to pass major legislation and break Republican filibuster legislation delaying tactics. They currently enjoy a 51-49 edge in the 100-seat Senate, with the help of two independents. In recent opinion polls Stevens, the longest-serving Republican in the US Senate, trailed his Democratic challenger, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, by less than one percentage point. Stevens was found guilty of accepting gifts from a company known as VECO, an Alaska-based firm which provides oil field support, between 1999 and 2006. He was convicted of receiving more than 250,000 dollars worth of gifts, mainly in material and labor that doubled the size of one of his homes. Two VECO executives pleaded guilty last year to bribing government officials, including an unnamed state senator. Stevens was unrepentant. "This verdict is the result of the unconscionable manner in which the Justice Department lawyers conducted this trial," the senator said in a statement, decrying alleged "repeated instances of prosecutorial misconduct." Said Stevens: "I will fight this unjust verdict with every ounce of energy I have. I am innocent." He called on Alaskans and his Senate colleagues to "stand with me as I pursue my rights," adding: "I remain a candidate for the United States Senate." Stevens, who has served in the US Senate since December 1968, is one of the body's most powerful Republicans, with seats on the Appropriations, Defense, and other committees. He has temporarily relinquished his committee vice chairmanships. The charges normally carry a sentence of several years in prison, but Stevens is likely to leniency due to his age. Judge Emmet Sullivan, who presided in the case, has set a February 26 hearing, the source said. The corruption trial began on September 22 and saw 24 government witnesses and 28 defense witnesses testify in court. Stevens testified in his own defense. Stevens and his team of lawyers made no statement as they left the courthouse. Stevens, who has all along claimed his innocence, has been a strong advocate of opening up Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. President George W. Bush declined to comment on the Stevens conviction. REACTION to Senator Stevens Conviction October 28 2008 page 12 of 29 pages
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A felony conviction does not automatically bar Stevens from serving in the senate. If he is re-elected he could be expelled only with a two-third vote of his colleagues, according to US Senate rules. Then the governor of Alaska -- Republican Sarah Palin, who also is her party's nominee for vice president -- would appoint a successor. In a statement, Palin said that the verdict "shines a light on the corrupting influence of the big oil service company that was allowed to control too much of our state. "That control was part of the culture of corruption I was elected to fight," Palin said. "And that fight must always move forward regardless of party or seniority or even past service." As Alaska governor "I will carefully monitor this situation and take any appropriate action as needed. In the meantime, I ask the people of Alaska to join me in respecting the workings of our judicial system. I'm confident Senator Stevens will do what is right for the people of Alaska," Palin said. Copyright © 2008 AFP. All rights reserved. http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hoB2kfl8Lk2SYE18XiScAbEKgFEQ
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/27/politics/politico/thecrypt/main4550811.shtml
Murkowski Stands By Stevens
By Glenn Thrush
Oct 27, 2008 (The Politico) Others may be offering lukewarm support to Ted Stevens – but Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski just issued a strong statement in support of her convicted colleague. “Given today’s verdict, it’s a sad day indeed for Sen. Stevens and his family as well as for Alaska,” Murkowski said. “Ted Stevens is an honorable, hard-working Alaskan who has served our state well for as long as we have been a state. It was clear that the prosecution blundered in several instances. Given these gaffes, which raised the ire of U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan on several occasions, Sen. Stevens has announced that he will appeal the verdict. I look forward to having justice served.” “Ted has asked for Alaskans and his Senate colleagues to stand with him as he pursues his legal
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rights. He stood with Alaskans for 40 years, and I plan to continue to stand with him.” http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/27/politics/politico/thecrypt/main4550811.shtml
Copyright 2008 POLITICO
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Stevens the Soothsayer
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), it turns out, was prescient. Here's what he said two years ago in a secretly recorded phone conversation with Bill Allen, his longtime friend (whom he now may wish he had never met): "The worst that can happen to us is we run up a bunch of legal fees, and might lose and we might have to pay a fine, might have to serve some time in jail. I hope to Christ it never gets to that.... I don't think we have done anything wrong." A federal jury thought otherwise, however, and Stevens -- the Senate's longest-serving Republican -- was convicted on seven charges of making false statements on Senate disclosure documents. Technically, Stevens accepted gifts from Allen and others and failed to report them. The word "gifts" is somewhat mild; Allen renovated Stevens' house, filled it with furniture and other comforts, gave him a new roof, fixed his boiler, and on and on and on. The verdict comes as Stevens prepares to face voters Tuesday in a bid for reelection. It was Stevens who pushed to have the trial before the election, not federal prosecutors -- or Stevens's Democratic opponent, Mark Begich, who must feel as if he received a "gift" today. Stevens was one of the lords of the Senate, a czar of earmarks who brought home federal largess to his state by the boatload and never apologized for it. He could be famously prickly and showed that side of his personality at his trial, when he shot back retorts at prosecutors as if he were in the midst of a floor debate. Asked about a chair that Allen had given him, Stevens responded: "He bought that chair as a gift, but I refused it as a gift. He put it there and said it was my chair. I told him I would not accept it as a gift. We have lots of things in our house that don't belong to us." One thing was missing from the charges, though: An alleged quid pro quo. Prosecutors didn't accuse Stevens of doing any specific favors for Allen or his oil services company, VECO Corp., in return for the gifts. They just accused Stevens of not reporting the gifts. What Stevens did was wrong, and now both he and his party will pay for it -- his conviction makes it more likely that Begich will win, which would increase the Democrats' chances of building a veto-proof, 60-vote majority in the Senate. Prosecutors were sloppy enough in presenting their case that Stevens likely has avenues for appeal, though of course any reversal would come too late to affect his political fortunes. Stevens's real crime was arrogance -- he assumed that rules made for mere mortals didn't apply to him. This is Washington: That's not an unfamiliar story.
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By Eugene Robinson | October 27, 2008; 5:41 PM ET
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2008/10/stevens_the_soothsayer.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
Alaska Senator Is Guilty Over His Failures to Disclose Gifts
REPRINTS SAVE SHARE
By NEIL A. LEWIS Published: October 27, 2008
WASHINGTON — Senator Ted Stevens, Alaska’s dominant political figure for more than four decades, was found guilty on Monday by a jury of violating federal ethics laws for failing to report tens of thousands of dollars in gifts and services he had received from friends.
Hyungwon Kang/Reuters
Senator Ted Stevens left court in Washington after the guilty verdict.
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Multimedia
Indictments of Lawmakers
Related
The Lede: 'Guilty' Isn't Always Political Death (October 27, 2008) Times Topics: Ted Stevens U.S. v. Stevens: Indictment and Trial Exhibits
The jury of District of Columbia residents convicted Mr. Stevens, 84, on all seven felony counts he faced in connection with charges that he knowingly failed to list on Senate disclosure forms the receipt of some $250,000 in gifts and services used to renovate his home in Girdwood, Alaska. Mr. Stevens, a consistently grim-faced figure, frowned more deeply as the verdict was delivered by the jury foreman, a worker at a drug counseling center. Mr. Stevens’s wife and one of his daughters sat glumly behind him in the courtroom. In a statement issued after he had left the courthouse, Mr. Stevens was defiant, urging Alaskans to re-elect him to a seventh full term next week. He blamed what he called repeated misconduct by federal prosecutors for the verdict. “I will fight this unjust verdict with every ounce of energy I have,” he said. “I am innocent. This verdict is the result of the unconscionable manner in which the Justice Department lawyers conducted this trial,” he said. “I ask that Alaskans and my Senate colleagues stand with me as I pursue my rights. I remain a candidate for the United States Senate.” Nonetheless, the verdict is widely expected to write an end to Mr. Stevens’s long political career, which has moved in tandem with his state’s roughand-tumble journey from a remote territory to an economic powerhouse. Mr. Stevens was instrumental in promoting statehood for Alaska when he was a young Interior Department official in the Eisenhower administration and then went on to represent the state in the Senate for 40 years. Over that time, he used his steadily accumulated influence over federal spending,
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notably using his membership on the Appropriations Committee, to steer millions, perhaps billions, of dollars in federal money to his home state. The verdict comes a week before a second jury of sorts, the voters of Alaska, will decide whether to return him to the Senate or elect his Democratic opponent, Mayor Mark Begich of Anchorage. After Mr. Stevens’s indictment in July, he asked for a quick trial so he might clear his name before Election Day. If Mr. Stevens loses his seat, the trial’s implications could be felt on a broad political scale, helping Democrats in their drive to win enough seats in the Senate to give them a filibuster-proof majority of at least 60 votes. Within an hour of the verdict’s becoming public, Democrats in Senate races around the country immediately sought to make the conviction an issue for their opponents, demanding that those who had received money from Mr. Stevens, who was generous with contributions to his colleagues, return it. If Mr. Stevens wins and insists on keeping his seat, his fate will be in the hands of his Senate colleagues. A senator can be expelled only by a twothirds vote of the entire Senate, so a conviction does not automatically cost a lawmaker his seat. Since 1789, only 15 senators have been expelled, most for supporting the Confederacy during the Civil War, the Senate Web site states. In 1982, the Senate Ethics Committee recommended that Senator Harrison A. Williams, Democrat of New Jersey, be expelled because of his conviction on bribery, conspiracy and conflict of interest charges in the Abscam scandal, and in 1995 the committee recommended the expulsion of Senator Robert W. Packwood, Republican of Oregon, for sexual misconduct. Both men resigned before the full Senate could vote. Should Mr. Stevens be expelled or resign on his own, the Alaska governor, Sarah Palin, would most likely have to call a special election to fill the vacancy, according to state legal officials.
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Ms. Palin, the Republican nominee for vice president, issued a statement late Monday, saying she was “confident that Senator Stevens will do what’s right for the people of Alaska.” Governor Palin did not specify what that was. She did ask that the verdict be respected, saying that it “shines a light on the corrupting influence of the big oil service company that was allowed to control too much of our state. It was part of the culture of corruption I was elected to fight. And that fight must always move forward regardless of party or seniority or even past service.” The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, said: “This verdict is a personal tragedy for our colleague Ted Stevens, but it is an important reminder that no man is above the law. Senator Stevens must now respect the outcome of the judicial process and the dignity of the United States Senate.” The Republican leader, Senator Mitch McConnell, issued this statement after the verdict: “Senator Stevens was found guilty by a jury of his peers, and now must face the consequences of those actions. As a result of his conviction, Senator Stevens will be held accountable so the public trust can be restored.” Judge Emmet G. Sullivan of Federal District Court delayed setting a date for sentencing until after a Feb. 25 hearing on motions from Mr. Stevens’s lawyers. Under complicated guidelines that are no longer mandatory, Judge Sullivan has wide discretion in setting a sentence, although lawyers familiar with the subject said it was difficult to conceive of a situation in which Mr. Stevens would not be required to spend time in jail.
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In addition to his expected appeal, his supporters are also likely to explore the possibility of obtaining a pardon, or some form of executive clemency like a commutation of any sentence, from President Bush, a fellow Republican, before he leaves office. The verdict came after more than three weeks of testimony, the highlight of which was Mr. Stevens’s taking the calculated risk of testifying in his own defense. Government prosecutors used evidence and testimony to paint a picture of Alaska in which several of Mr. Stevens’s wealthy friends, keenly aware of his political status, were eager to shower him with gifts. The indictment charged that he had received some $250,000 in gifts and services from a longtime friend, Bill Allen, the owner of a huge oil services construction company, and gifts from other friends like a sled dog and an expensive massage chair. Mr. Allen, who was convicted for his role in a scheme to bribe Alaska state lawmakers to help his oil exploration projects, agreed to cooperate with the government and have his telephone conversations with Mr. Stevens recorded. At one time, the two men were friends, thrown together by politics and oil money. Mr. Allen, who was the prosecution’s chief witness, testified that Mr. Stevens knew he was receiving the goods and services free and even sent an emissary to ask that no bills be sent. Mr. Stevens’s defense was largely built on the notion that he had not asked for, and had no use for, many of the goods and services he received. In the case of the massage chair, he said it had not been a gift from
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Bob Persons, a friend and restaurant owner who had bought it from a Brookstone store and sent it to the Stevenses’ Washington home. It was a loan, Mr. Stevens testified, even though it had remained in his Washington home for more than seven years and he once wrote to Mr. Persons that he enjoyed using it and even fell asleep in it. Moreover, Mr. Stevens asserted that his wife of 28 years, Catherine, was assigned to oversee the remaking of the Alaska home from a simple Aframe cabin to a grander, two-story residence fitted with two decks, a new garage and amenities like a whirlpool, a steam room and an expensive gas grill. The verdict came relatively swiftly. The jury began deliberating last week. But it was obliged to start all over Monday morning when a juror was replaced by an alternate because of the death of a family member. In midafternoon, jurors sent a note saying they had finished their work. William Yardley contributed reporting from Seattle, and Carl Hulse from Washington.
More Articles in Washington »A version of this article appeared in print on October 28, 2008,
on page
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/washington/28stevens.html?_r=1&th=&oref=slogin&emc= th&pagewanted=all
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-stevens282008oct28,0,2189325.story
From the Los Angeles Times
Corruption conviction doesn't daunt Sen. Ted Stevens
Alaska's Republican senator vows to fight the verdict and stay in the race for reelection.
By Richard B. Schmitt October 28, 2008 Reporting from Washington — In a stunning verdict that imperils the tenure of the
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Senate's longest-serving Republican, a federal jury Monday found Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska guilty of concealing tens of thousands of dollars in gifts and improvements to his home. Stevens, 84, reacted pugnaciously, attacking the Justice Department and vowing to continue campaigning for reelection to his seventh term next Tuesday. "I am obviously disappointed in the verdict but not surprised given the repeated instances of prosecutorial misconduct in this case," he said in a prepared statement. "I will fight this unjust verdict with every ounce of energy I have." He asked Alaskans and his Senate colleagues to "stand with me as I pursue my rights." Stevens has managed to remain neck and neck with Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich since the trial began, despite being unable to campaign in person. But political analysts have said from the beginning that all bets would be off were Stevens to be convicted. The conviction boosts Democrats' hopes of reaching a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. Democrats control the Senate 51 to 49 with the help of two independents but need 60 seats to overcome Republican-led filibusters that have stymied Democratic initiatives. Senate rules do not bar convicted felons from serving, and it would take a twothirds vote to expel Stevens if he were reelected. The chamber has not expelled anyone in more than a century. If Stevens is forced to step down, a special election would be held to determine his replacement. Some Republicans already appeared to discount the chances that he would be returning to Washington. "Ted Stevens served his constituents for over 40 years, and I am disappointed to see his career end in disgrace," said Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, who heads the Senate Republicans' campaign committee. "Sen. Stevens had his day in court and the jury found he violated the public's trust -- as a result he is properly being held accountable. This is a reminder that no one is above the law." Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee, also appeared to distance herself from her home-state lawmaker, using the conviction as an opportunity to trumpet her own anti-corruption credentials.
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Palin, who has clashed with Washington's Republican congressional delegation in the past, said in a statement that the verdict "shines a light on the corrupting influence of the big oil service company that was allowed to control too much of our state. It was part of the culture of corruption that I was elected to fight. And that fight must always move forward, regardless of party or seniority or even past service." Palin concluded: "I'm confident Sen. Stevens will do what's right for the people of Alaska." The verdict was a swift and devastating fall from grace for Stevens, one of the most powerful men in Washington, who once stood third in line to the presidency. The four-week trial shone a light on Stevens' relationship with a millionaire oilman, Bill J. Allen, who once owned the state's onetime largest private employer and who with others plied Stevens with more than $250,000 in gifts and improvements to his Alaska home. Allen, who pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges last year, was the star witness for the prosecution against Stevens. Stevens took the stand in his own defense in an attempt to rebut the charges. He took the position that he did not consider the things he got from Allen, including a high-end gas barbecue grill and an elaborate outdoor lighting display, to be gifts, but rather unwanted indulgences. As for the home improvement bills, he said that his wife was in charge of that and that she paid every bill she ever received. But he came across as sour and argumentative on cross-examination, and the verdict indicates the jury did not find him to be a credible witness. "The last piece of proof that the jurors were left with was a pretty withering crossexamination of Sen. Stevens by the government," said Joshua Berman, a Washington lawyer who once worked in the Justice Department public integrity unit that prosecuted Stevens. The jury also heard telephone conversations, secretly recorded by the FBI, including one in which Stevens openly discussed the possibility that he and Allen "might have to serve a little time in jail." Stevens was convicted on seven counts of making false statements under federal law by failing to disclose the gifts and improvements on his annual Senate financial disclosure form. Each count carries a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison, although he
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is not expected to get anywhere near that term. Some experts said there was a chance he could get probation, given his age, years of public service and other factors. He remains free until sentencing, which is expected to occur early next year. The verdict was reached the same day that a reconstituted jury began deliberations anew after one of the 12 panelists was replaced over the weekend because of a family emergency. Stevens sought "to hide from the public, from his constituents, that he received hundreds of thousands of dollars in freebies," Matthew Friedrich, acting head of the Justice Department criminal division, said on the courthouse steps after the verdict. He said an investigation into political corruption in Alaska was continuing; among those still believed to be under investigation are Stevens' son, Ben, a former Alaska lawmaker. The prosecutors in the case also face an internal Justice Department investigation after being sanctioned by U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan for withholding documents from the defense. Stevens indicated in his statement Monday that prosecutorial misconduct would be part of his appeal. Democratic Party leaders in the state immediately called on the veteran senator to resign. "He knew what he was doing was wrong, but he did it anyway and lied to Alaskans about it," Alaska party chairwoman Patti Higgins said in a statement. Party leaders also said any decision by Stevens to appeal the verdict could "put himself and Alaska under a cloud of uncertainty for another 18 months," while the state's needs "will go unmet in Washington." State Republican Party officials said they would urge Stevens to stay the course and attempt to win reelection. "The majority of Alaskans are conservative, they have strong family values and very strong faith in their convictions," said Alaska GOP spokesman McHugh Pierre, "and if those voters want a like-minded person representing them in the U.S. Senate, they need to vote for Sen. Ted Stevens."
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Schmitt is a Times staff writer. [email protected] Times staff writers Kim Murphy contributed from Seattle and Richard Simon from Washington.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-stevens28-2008oct28,0,2189325.story
Stevens says, 'I am innocent' after corruption conviction
STORY HIGHLIGHTS NEW: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin calls verdict "a sad day" for home state Sen. Stevens expressionless as verdict is read Stevens guilty on all seven counts, could face up to 35 years in prison Judge replaces juror who left Washington after her father died last week
Watch how the trial unfolded » Watch Alaskans sound off on Stevens » Watch CNN's Kelli Arena explain the verdict » Watch the prosecutor talks about 'freebies' given to Sen. Stevens. » Last week, the judge dealt with another juror issue after the panel sent him a note Thursday accusing juror No. 9 of "violent outbursts" and other misconduct. They asked that she be dismissed, but Sullivan gave what he called a "pep talk" to the 12 and told them to resume their deliberations. WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens vowed to fight his Monday conviction on federal corruption charges, a verdict he attributed to "repeated instances of prosecutorial misconduct."
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Sen. Ted Stevens leaves federal court Monday as the jury deliberated in his corruption trial.
"I will fight this unjust verdict with every ounce of energy I have," the 84-year-old Stevens, the Senate's longest-serving Republican, said in a written statement after the jury came back Monday afternoon. "I am innocent." Stevens was convicted of seven counts of making false statements on Senate ethics forms to hide hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts and work on his Alaska home from an oilfield contractor at the center of a corruption investigation in the state. "This verdict is the result of the unconscionable manner in which the Justice Department Watch how the trial unfolded » lawyers conducted this trial," he said. The senator's lawyers twice sought to have the charges thrown out during the monthlong trial, accusing prosecutors of hiding evidence favorable to the defense. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan rejected those efforts, but blasted prosecutors for "hiding the ball." "I ask that Alaskans and my Senate colleagues stand with me as I pursue my rights," Stevens said. He vowed to get the trial's results overturned and added, "I remain a candidate for the United States Senate." Watch Alaskans sound off on Stevens » The verdict came days before he is to face voters in a neck-and-neck re-election bid against his Democratic challenger, Mark Begich. Stevens hopes to retain the seat he has held since 1968. A poll by Ivan Moore Research conducted October 17-19 found Begich slightly leading the race 46-45, within the poll's margin of error of plus-or-minus 4.4 percentage points. The longest-serving Republican senator in history, Stevens becomes the first senator to be convicted of a felony since 1981. Stevens faces a maximum sentence of up to to 35 years in prison -- five years for each of the seven counts Watch CNN's Kelli Arena explain the verdict » Legal experts note the judge has the discretion to give Stevens as little as no jail time and probation when he is sentenced. He sat expressionless as the seven verdicts were read out at the end of his trial, less than a day after the jury began deliberations from scratch because of a change in jurors. After the second guilty verdict was read, Stevens' lead defense attorney, Brendan Sullivan, patted his back, leaving his hand there.
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As Stevens left the defense area, he and his wife exchanged a kiss on the cheek. Stevens said: "It's not over yet." Stevens' defense team said they will move for a new trial. "This is a sad day for Alaska and a sad day for Sen. Stevens and his family," Alaska Gov. and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin said after the verdict. "The verdict shines a light on the corrupting influence of the big oil service company up there in Alaska that was allowed to control too much of our state. And that control was part of the culture of corruption that I was elected to fight, and that fight must always move forward regardless of party affiliation or seniority or even past service," she said. Stevens accepted "hundreds of thousands of dollars of freebies" from a major oil services company in his state, acting assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich said after the verdict. "This company was not a charity," he said, saying it solicited Stevens for help in Washington at the same time it was transforming Stevens' single-story A-frame Alaska house into a two-story structure with a deck, new gas grill and other accouterments. Judge Emmet Sullivan has scheduled a hearing on any pending motions for February 25. The charges against Stevens related to renovations on his family home in Girdwood, Alaska. The remodeling was done by his longtime friend, Bill Allen, and Allen's oil industry services company, VECO Corp. The prosecution accused Stevens of knowingly failing to declare hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gifts and work on his house in Alaska between 1999 and 2006. Members of the Senate are required to fill out forms each year stating what gifts they Watch the prosecutor talks about 'freebies' given to Sen. have received and from whom.
Stevens. »
Stevens' defense said Allen, the senator's friend, had quashed bills without the senator's knowledge. Allen testified that he had done so because he "liked Ted." The defense said Stevens had paid the bills he received, thinking they covered the full cost of renovating the house in Girdwood, Alaska. Allen, the government's star witness, earlier pleaded guilty to trying to bribe a number of Alaska state lawmakers, not including Stevens. He is awaiting sentencing. The jury began deliberations at noon Wednesday, but started anew Monday morning when an alternate replaced a juror who left town abruptly last week because of the death of her father. REACTION to Senator Stevens Conviction October 28 2008 page 28 of 29 pages
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The verdict comes after jurors spotted a discrepancy Monday between the government's indictment and a key piece of evidence. The judge declined to throw out the related charge against Stevens The indictment accuses Stevens of checking "No" in response to a question about whether Stevens or his family had "any reportable gift ... more than $260" in 2001. But the form introduced as evidence in court shows he checked "Yes." The jury sent out a note on the issue, prompting a debate between defense and prosecution attorneys about what instructions Sullivan should send the jury. Prosecutors said the error was simply a "typo" on the indictment, and that other charges and evidence covered Steven's alleged failure to disclose the home renovations at issue in the case. Stevens' defense said the judge should toss out the count that no longer matched the evidence. The juror who left last week was Juror No. 4, a paralegal in her 40s. She told a U.S. marshal that she had to leave the state for a family emergency after the jury was dismissed Thursday. Judge Sullivan dismissed the jury Friday morning after the woman left for California, hoping to resume with her on the panel as soon as possible.
Since then, court officials made several unsuccessful attempts to reach the woman. Defense attorneys for Stevens, who was in court Sunday, had asked the judge to put off deliberations another day as they awaited the return of the juror, arguing against inserting an alternate in the middle of the process. Last week, the judge dealt with another juror issue after the panel sent him a note Thursday accusing juror No. 9 of "violent outbursts" and other misconduct. They asked that she be dismissed, but Sullivan gave what he called a "pep talk" to the 12 and told them to resume their deliberations http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/27/stevens.jurors/index.html?eref=rss_latest
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