October 27, 2008
Sen. Ted Stevens Found Guilty
So Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) has been found guilty on felony charges of making false statements on his Senate financial disclosure forms. A jury today issued a guilty verdict in the corruption case, deciding that they did not believe that Stevens didn't know about the $250,000 worth of gifts he received from Bill Allen, the former head of Veco Corp., among others. The AP says that Stevens faces up to five years in prison on each of the seven counts, but will likely receive much less. Stevens is currently locked in a tight race with Anchorage mayor Mark Begich for his U.S. Senate seat. The question now is will he drop out, or continue running with a felony conviction which would most likely lead him to be expelled by the Senate anyway? Maybe he's counting on a pardon from President Bush?
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adios, sen. tubes. we'll miss you in next year's coot-off!
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I hope he gets to take his shiatsu massage chair to prison, even though it doesn't belong to him. How many cartons of cigarettes is one of those worth?
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Looks like my buddy (the press secretary for Ethan Berkowitz) might be coming to DC soon now. Turn over, Alaska-- turn over!
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I wonder if they'll hook him up his own series of tubes in his cell, you know...so he can receive internets from him friends and family.
by far the best thing to come out of this are the phone call tapes between him and bill allen:
ted: [going on and on about how the feds got nothing on them and there's nothing to worry about and bill should just stay calm] "You with me, buddy? OK?"
bill: "OK."
ted: "OK."
bill: "Hey Ted..."
ted: "Yeah Bill?"
bill: "You know, uhhh... I love you, right?"
ouch! the kiss of death. how the hell teddy didn't know right then that he was being taped...oh man. gold!
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If he wins somehow, does Palin (not like she'll be VP) get to nominate the replacement? If so, the seat would stay republican, so enough reason for conservative Alaskans to still vote for him...
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Nope. Alaska just overturned that law, after their last governor appointed his daughter to take his place in the Senate.
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I bet the other inmates will have a series of tubes for Stevens.
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Inmates? He ain't going to prison.
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I was talking about Congress, not prison.
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@DCist: The Senate, to my knowledge, has never expelled a member. I could be wrong on that, but this NPR story says no other convicted felon (and there have been 10 others) has been expelled. If he wins, there's a good chance he'll serve until the appeals process is exhausted, at the very least.
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How did the jurors possibly reach this verdict?
Just a few years ago a restaurant-owner gave me his $2500 vibrating chair and I told him, "no thanks, buddy, I don't want any gifts." Don't ask me how it's still whirling and pulsating around on my back as I type - it's not mine or anything. These sort of 'gifts' that aren't gifts are given all of the time. It's not like you have to be the head of some grant-making committee to get one...
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According to Politico
Since 1789, the Senate has expelled only 15 of its entire membership. Of that number, fourteen were charged with support of the Confederacy during the Civil War. In several other cases, the Senate considered expulsion proceedings but either found the member not guilty or failed to act before the member left office. In those cases, corruption was the primary cause of complaint."
In the entire course of the Senate's history, only four members have been convicted of crimes. They were: Joseph R. Burton (1905), John Hipple Mitchell (1905), Truman H. Newberry (1920), and Harrison Williams (1981). Newberry's conviction was later overturned. Mitchell died. Burton, Newberry, and Williams resigned before the Senate could act on their expulsion."
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um all that should be in italics (my bad) to indicate it's all from the Politico post.
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Well, if Bush does pardon him, it will only confirm my suspicion that GOP stands for Greed, Obstruction, Power.