Alaska's Senator Stevens Found Guilty

[deltecs]

Sen. Ted Stevens Found Guilty on All Counts in Federal Corruption Case
Monday , October 27, 2008



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 WASHINGTON —

Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens was convicted of seven corruption charges Monday in a trial that threatened to end the 40-year career of Alaska's political patriarch in disgrace.

The verdict, coming barely a week before Election Day, increased Stevens' difficulty in winning what already was a difficult race against Democratic challenger Mark Begich. Democrats hope to seize the once reliably Republican seat as part of their bid for a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.

Stevens, 84, was convicted of all the felony charges he faced of lying about free home renovations and other gifts from a wealthy oil contractor. Jurors began deliberating last week.

Visibly shaken after the verdicts were read — the jury foreman declaring "guilty" seven times — Stevens tried to intertwine his fingers but quickly put his hands down to his side after noticing they were trembling. As he left the courtroom, Stevens got a quick kiss on the cheek from his wife, Catherine, who testified on his behalf during the trial. He declined to talk to reporters waiting outside.

Stevens faces up to five years in prison on each count when he is sentenced, but under federal guidelines he is likely to receive much less prison time, if any. The judge originally scheduled sentencing for Jan. 26 but then changed his mind and did not immediately set a date.

The monthlong trial revealed that employees for VECO Corp., an oil services company, transformed Stevens' modest mountain cabin into a modern, two-story home with wraparound porches, a sauna and a wine cellar.

The Senate's longest-serving Republican, Stevens said he had no idea he was getting freebies. He said he paid $160,000 for the project and believed that covered everything.

He had asked for an unusually speedy trial, hoping he'd be exonerated in time to return to Alaska and win re-election. He kept his campaign going and gave no indication that he had a contingency plan in case of conviction.

Despite being a convicted felon, he is not required to drop out of the race or resign from the Senate. If he wins re-election, he can continue to hold his seat because there is no rule barring felons from serving in Congress. The Senate could vote to expel him on a two-thirds vote.

"Put this down: That will never happen — ever, OK?" Stevens said in the weeks leading up to his trial. "I am not stepping down. I'm going to run through, and I'm going to win this election."

Democrats have invested heavily in the race, running television advertisements starring fictional FBI agents and featuring excerpts from wiretaps.

Stevens' conviction hinged on the testimony of Bill Allen, the senator's longtime drinking and fishing buddy. Allen, the founder of VECO, testified that he never billed his friend for the work on the house and that Stevens knew he was getting a special deal.

Stevens spent three days on the witness stand, vehemently denying that allegation. He said his wife, Catherine, paid every bill they received.

Living in Washington, thousands of miles away, made it impossible to monitor the project every day, he said. Stevens relied on Allen to oversee the renovations, he said, and his friend deceived him by not forwarding all the bills.

Prosecutors used a barrage of witnesses to question how Stevens could have been in the dark about VECO's work on the project. VECO employees testified to seeing Stevens at the house. One left him a company business card. Stevens sent thank you notes to others.

Stevens' conviction is the highlight of a lengthy FBI investigation into Alaska corruption, but prosecutors noted that it is not the end. Stevens' longtime Republican colleague, Rep. Don Young, remains under investigation for his ties to VECO. Stevens' son, Ben, a former Alaska lawmaker, is also under investigation.

Stevens is a legendary figure in Alaska, where he has wielded political influence since before statehood. His knack for steering billions of dollars in federal money to his home state has drawn praise from his constituents and consternation from budget hawks.

There was no immediate word on Stevens' campaign plans. His spokesman, Aaron Saunders, did not immediately return a message seeking comment on whether Stevens would stay in the race.

In Alaska, the Democratic Party issued a statement calling for Stevens to resign immediately. "He knew what he was doing was wrong," the party said. "But he did it anyway and lied to Alaskans about it."

Stevens is the sixth senator convicted of criminal charges. The last previous one was Republican David Durenberger of Minnesota, who was indicted in 1993 on charges of conspiring to make fraudulent claims for Senate reimbursement of $3,825 in lodging expenses. He later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges and was sentenced to one year of probation and a $1,000 fine.

The jurors left the court without comment.

Said U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan: "The jurors have unanimously told me that no one has any desire to speak to any member of the media. They have asked to go home and they are en route home."

The jurors had been shuttled to and from the proceedings each day by court officials.




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I was extremely reluctant to post this, but it is important news.   Senator Stevens is the longest serving Republican in US Congress history.  I personally know Sen Stevens and have found him to be most honest.  I can only wonder the makeup of the jury in Washington DC that convicted him.  It is unlikely that Sen Stevens will be reelected because of this verdict and Alaska will have an extremely liberal Senator in Mark Begich, a young man who will likely be there as incumbent for many years to come.  One more Republican loss in the US Senate toward the magic number of 60.  That is the number needed by Dem to override any filibuster attempts to stop a liberal agenda and laws enacted thereby.  Keep you powder dry boys and a goodly supply of bullets, as you won't be able to afford them once the taxes go into effect on reloading components.  That will probably not be the worst of it either.

[Graybeard]

If I paid $160,000 I'd sure expect that much work to have been done for it. I only paid $75,000 for my  nearly new home on almost six acres of land. I can't imagine anyone doing enough work on it to cost me that much extra.

[deltecs]

I cannot but believe that the jury makeup in Washington DC at this trial was bias with partisan politics.  They know the Senator was campaigning for reelection in Alaska.  They certainly knew of his name since he has been in Washingtion for over 35 years.  We all know the Senator supports McCain instead of Obama.  Knowing Washinton DC's ethnic makeup as mostly black, I must really wonder if the jury convicted Stevens for being a Republican and not for disclosure violations, especially in light of all the prosecution's underhanded tactics that the Judge even admonished.  Those tactics should have been enough to dismiss the case and was not by the judge.  I personally think again that this trial was not tried by a fair and IMPARTIAL jury.

[Swampman]

All politicans would be in jail if the got caught.

[deltecs]

Stevens Wants Probe into Federal Prosecutors
Wednesday, October 29, 2008



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 FAIRBANKS, Alaska —

Sen. Ted Stevens is asking the Justice Department to investigate the conduct of federal prosecutors who participated in the trial that led to his conviction for lying about home renovations and gifts he received from a wealthy businessman.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported Tuesday that Stevens attorney Brendan Sullivan requested an investigation into "numerous, serious constitutional violations" by government prosecutors.

In the letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, Sullivan asked that immediate steps be taken to preserve all Justice Department information related to its investigation and prosecution of Stevens. He also asked Mukasey to pull the prosecution team from any further involvement with the case.

"We believe that an impartial investigator looking at this case with an eye toward the administration of justice would be shocked at the conduct of this prosecution team," the letter says.

The attorney alleges in the request that prosecutors knowingly presented false evidence to the jury in Washington, which found Stevens guilty Monday of seven felony counts.

"Senator Stevens' trial was irretrievably tainted by the prosecution team's zeal to convict a high-profile but innocent defendant," the letter says.

The letter was delivered to the attorney general Tuesday morning. Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said the department would have no comment. Sullivan's office did not respond to an e-mail requesting comment.

Stevens, 84, has steadfastly maintained his innocence after a federal grand jury indicted him in July on charges that he lied on financial disclosure forms.

Stevens, the Senate's longest-serving Republican, demanded a speedy trial, hoping for exoneration in time for him to fight a serious threat to his seat by Mark Begich, a Democrat and the mayor of Anchorage.

Sullivan's letter notes that several times during the trial, Judge Emmet G. Sullivan criticized the federal Office of Public Integrity and "specifically found that the government had engaged in intentional misconduct."

The letter also alleges that prosecutors must have known testimony by Bill Allen, former VECO head, was fabricated, but used it anyway.

Allen is the former head of oilfield services company VECO. The financial disclosure reports Stevens lied on concerned home remodeling work and gifts from VECO. 

Senator Stevens will no doubt appeal this verdict to the Appeals Court in light of prosecutors conduct.  This verdict will probably cost him his Senate seat, yet the Appeals Court could overturn the lower court's verdict and vindicate his innocent plea.  This definitely will not happen prior to election day.  Alaskans should remember on election day of Sen Stevens integrity and honesty during his tenure in the Senate.  Somehow, I just cannnot understand how a man, who's been ethically correct his entire tenure, suddenly change his spots.  The conclusion drawn then is partisan politics, either by federal prosecutors and/or the jury deliberations in a closely contested general election.  Especially in light of the duty of prosecutors to present facts and the jury to decide a verdict based solely "beyond a reasonable doubt".  The prosecutors mishandling and credibility of government witnesses would lend me enough doubt not to return a guilty verdict.