2 replies to this topic

[Lazarus Long]

Well the jury is in and I am sure there will be appeals but this is probably another Senate seat that now will go to the Dem's because Stevens was just found guilty.

Alaska Senator Is Convicted of Violating Ethics Rules

By NEIL A. LEWIS
Published: October 27, 2008

WASHINGTON — 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.

Mr. Stevens has long been tied to the rough-and-tumble history of his home state and wields outsized influence over federal spending. Government prosecutors used evidence and testimony to paint a picture in which several of Mr. Stevens’s wealthy Alaskan friends, keenly aware of his status as the dominant political figure in the state, were eager to shower him with gifts. The indictment charged that he received some $250,000 worth from a longtime friend, Bill Allen, the owner of a huge oil-services construction company, as well as a sled dog, an expensive massage chair and other items from other friends.

(excerpt)

[Iam Empathy]

Sarah Palin Ran 527, Which Raised Corporate Money, for Indicted Republican Senator Ted Stevens

http://www.citizensf....org/node/33923

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin began building clout in her state's political circles in part by serving as a director of an independent political group organized by the now embattled Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens.

Palin's name is listed on 2003 incorporation papers of the "Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc.," a 527 group that could raise unlimited funds from corporate donors. The group was designed to serve as a political boot camp for Republican women in the state. She served as one of three directors until June 2005, when her name was replaced on state filings.

Palin's relationship with Alaska's senior senator may be one of the more complicated aspects of her new position as Sen. John McCain's running mate; Stevens was indicted in July 2008 on seven counts of corruption.

Palin, an anti-corruption crusader in Alaska, had called on Stevens to be open about the issues behind the investigation. But she also held a joint news conference with him in July, before he was indicted, to make clear she had not abandoned him politically.

Stevens had been helpful to Palin during her run for governor, swooping in with a last moment endorsement. And the two filmed a campaign commercial together to highlight Stevens's endorsement of Palin during the 2006 race.

Edited by Iam Empathy, 27 October 2008 - 09:14 PM.

[niner]

A colorful phrase came up a while back in a radio discussion of Pennsylvania State politics, but it never seems to go out of style:

"Republicans going to prison on a conveyor belt."