Sen. Stevens Convicted

By Eric on October 27, 2008

Guilty on all seven felony counts:

Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska was found guilty on Monday of violating ethics laws for failing to report gifts and services that he was given by friends.

A federal jury of eight women and four men from the District of Columbia found that the 84-year-old Republican, who has represented Alaska in the Senate for more than 40 years, knowingly failed to list on Senate disclosure forms the receipt of several gifts and tens of thousands of dollars worth of remodeling work on his home in Girdwood, Alaska. The verdict came after more than three weeks of testimony, the highlight of which was Mr. Stevens making the calculated risk of taking the witness stand in his own defense.

The maximum sentence is 5 years in prison for charge, but it is doubtful that Stevens would serve the maximum if he even spends a day in prison–the NYT reports that some of Stevens’ supporters already thinking of asking President Bush for the Scooter Libby treatment. Regardless, this is excellent news for Mark Begich, the next U.S. Senator for Alaska.

Incidentally, via Kos, guess who’s a big Ted Stevens fan?

Shocker, right? Alaska Republicans just can’t help letting people buy stuff for them.

Update: Prison: It’s not a dump truck, it’s a series of tubes!

Update 2: Kos notes that as a convicted felon, Sen. Stevens can’t vote for himself.

Update 3: NRSC Chairman John Ensign:

“This is a sad day for the United States Senate,” said Ensign. “Ted Stevens served his constituents for over 40 years and I am disappointed to see his career end in disgrace.”

Tags: 2008, AK-Sen, Mark Begich, Sarah Palin, Ted Stevens

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