Oct 27 2008 GUILTY VERDICT News Clippings US V Stevens

Gu ilty Verdict - US v.
S tevens - October 27, 2008 pag e 1 o f 62 pages
Will Sarah Palin finally call for Ted Stevens to resign?

Dallas Morning News, TX - 1 hour ago
Sarah Palin's pal Ted Stevens has been found guilty on all seven counts of failing to
report gifts on Senate forms. Remember the story we were fed about
Jury Catches Error In Stevens Indictment
CBS News, NY - 3 hours ago
By John Bresnahan (The Politico) Jurors at Sen. Ted Steven's (R-Alaska) noticed
something that no one else has during his month-long trial – the indictment ...
UPDATE 4-US Sen. Stevens guilty of corruption charges
Reuters - 25 minutes ago
By Randall Mikkelsen WASHINGTON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - US Sen. Ted Stevens of
Alaska was convicted of corruption on Monday, a verdict that could endanger the
Republican's political future and help Democrats expand control of the Senate in the Nov.
Sen. Stevens' conviction tarnishes storied career FOXNews
Analysis: Verdict helps Democrat Senate-seekers Washington Post
International Herald Tribune - Bloomberg - The Associated Press - Los Angeles Times
all 2,513 news articles »
http://www.projo.com/
http://www.projo.com/
http://www.reuters.com/article/sarahPalin/idUSN2740848720081027?sp=true
Stevens vowed to return to Alaska on Wednesday and resume campaigning. "I will fight this
unjust verdict with every ounce of energy I have," he said in a blistering statement issued after
the verdict.
"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."
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate who casts herself as a
reformer, called the verdict a blow against corruption in Alaska.
"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," Palin said in a statement.
Guilty Verdict - US v. Stevens - October 27, 2008 page 1 of 62 pages

Gu ilty Verdict - US v. S tevens - October 27, 2008 pag e 2 o f 62 pages
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/washington/28stevens.html?hp
October 28, 2008
Alaska Senator Is Convicted of Ethics Breach

in Gift Scheme
By NEIL A. LEWIS
WASHINGTON — Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, the longest-serving Republican in the

Senate’s history and a figure of enormous influence in his state, 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 Mr. Stevens, 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 just eight days before the senator is to face re-election and 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. As the verdict was
announced, the senator remained composed and stared at the ceiling while his lawyer,
Brendan Sullivan, put his arm around him.
Just before the trial, the senator sounded defiant. “Put this down,” he told reporters. “I
am not stepping down. I’m going to run through, and I’m going to win this election.” He
did not signal whether the verdict had softened his stance, but he was heard to tell his
wife, Catherine, afterward, “It’s not over yet.” The senator remains free on bail.
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.
Mr. Stevens’s defense was largely built on the notion that many of the goods and
services he received were unasked for, and were things for which he had no use. In the
case of the massage chair, he testified that it was not a gift from Bob Persons, a friend
and restaurant owner, but rather a loan — even though the chair has remained in his
Washington home for more than seven years and has been used by the senator.
Moreover, he asserted that his wife of 28 years, Catherine, and not he, oversaw the
remaking of the Alaska home from a simple A-frame cabin into a grander two-story
residence fitted with two decks, a new garage and amenities like a whirlpool, steam
room and expensive gas grill.
Mr. Stevens is facing another jury, made up of Alaska’s voters, who will decide on Nov. 4
whether to return him to the Senate or elect a Democrat, Anchorage Mayor Mark
Begich, to replace him. Political analysts had said that a conviction would make it highly
unlikely that Mr. Stevens could win re-election.
Democrats have invested heavily in the Alaska race and have run television
advertisements featuring excerpts from wiretaps and fictional F.B.I. agents.
Democrats now have a 51-to-49 margin in the Senate (counting two independents who
usually vote with them), so the conviction of Mr. Stevens could have great importance
politically. As a power on the Appropriations Committee, the senator has wielded wide

influence, which he has used to steer money to his own state as well as to persuade other
senators.
Before Democrats captured the Senate in the 2006 elections, Mr. Stevens, as president
pro tem of the Senate, was third in line for the presidency, after the vice president and
Speaker of the House.
Shortly after the verdict, the Alaska Democratic Party called on the senator to step
down. “He knew what he was doing was wrong, but he did it anyway and lied to
Alaskans about it,” Patti Higgins, the party chairwoman, said in a statement. “Alaskans
deserve better from their public officials. It’s time for us to elect an ethical and honest
senator who will move this state forward.” Mr. Stevens is certain to appeal the
conviction, and his supporters are also likely to explore the possibility of obtaining a
pardon from a fellow Republican, President George W. Bush, before Mr. Bush leaves
office in January.
Senator Daniel K. Inouye, Democrat of Hawaii, has been a close friend of Mr. Stevens
and expressed sorrow after the verdict. “I hope the people of Alaska continue to believe
in Ted Stevens, to remember his contributions and to look upon him as a friend,” Mr.
Inouye said in a statement issued in Honolulu. “He will continue to be my friend.”The
maximum sentence on each of the felony charges is five years in prison, but federal
sentencing guidelines could call for much less than that. Mr. Stevens will turn 85 on
Nov. 18. Judge Emmet Sullivan did not set a date for sentencing, but said it would be
after February. A senator can be expelled only by a two-thirds vote of the entire Senate,
so a conviction does not automatically cost a lawmaker his seat. Since 1789, only 15
senators have been expelled, mostly for supporting the Confederacy during the Civil
War, according to the Senate Web site.
Should Mr. Stevens win re-election but then resign or be expelled, the Alaska governor,
now Sarah Palin, would have to call a special election to fill the vacancy.
In 1982, the Senate Ethics Committee recommended that Senator Harrison J. 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. Mr. Williams
was convicted of bribery and conspiracy and served 21 months in federal prison.
Deliberations in the Stevens case were sometimes tense as members of the panel
complained about the behavior of one juror. On Monday morning, an alternate juror
was seated to take the place of a member who had left because of a death in the family.
After Monday’s verdict, Judge Sullivan said all jurors had told him they did not want to
speak to reporters. “They have asked to go home, and they are en route home,” he said.
David Stout contributed reporting.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/washington/28stevens.html?_r=1&hp=&pagew
anted=print&oref=slogin


Senator Convicted on Corruption Charges

Verdict Casts Doubt on Reelection Prospects for Alaska Republican Ted
Stevens
By JASON RYAN, PIERRE THOMAS and THERESA COOK
Oct. 27, 2008—
A jury in Washington, D.C., has convicted Alaska Republican Sen. Ted Stevens on federal
corruption charges, casting doubt on the future of his 40-year political career.
A federal grand jury indicted Stevens, 84, in July on seven counts of making false statements, for
allegedly lying on U.S. Senate financial disclosure forms for the years 1999 to 2006.
The jury of eight women and four men deliberated for five hours Monday before returning guilty
verdicts on all seven counts.
Deliberations came to a halt late last week after a juror needed to leave town because of her
father's death. The jury restarted its deliberations Monday with an alternate taking the place of
that juror.
Prosecutors claimed that Stevens accepted $250,000 worth of gifts, primarily from now-defunct
oil services company Veco Corp. and its former CEO, Bill Allen. Among the alleged gifts was
the value of a home renovation project that transformed the senator's Girdwood, Alaska, home
from a quaint cabin to a sizeable house, a $2,600 massage chair and a Viking gas grill.
The defense had said in court that the Stevens family paid more than $160,000 for the
renovations, and Stevens testified that some of the gifts were instead loans, and others were left
at his home by Allen. The defense contended that anything left off the disclosure forms was
merely an oversight.
Each charge carries a maximum five years in prison and $250,000 fine. U.S. District Court Judge
Emmet Sullivan will sentence Stevens in January.
Stevens, the longest-serving Republican senator, has been in office since 1968. During his four
decades on Capitol Hill, he has become legendary for funneling millions in federal dollars to
Alaska, including the "bridge to nowhere" project. Buildings and facilities all across Alaska,
including the state's biggest airport, bear Stevens' name.
But the senator is also known for his orneriness. On days when he was spoiling for a fight in the
Senate, Stevens often wore a tie bearing the angry comic book hero the Incredible Hulk. He even
referred to himself as "a mean, miserable SOB."
Next week, he will face off with the Democratic challenger to his seat in the U.S. Senate,
Anchorage mayor Mark Begich. Recent polls show a tight race, and Republican officials have
admitted that the outcome of Stevens' trial will weigh heavily on the minds of Alaska voters and
fellow senators who could vote to oust Stevens.

"If the trial comes to a conclusion and, as he believes, that he is found innocent, I think that he
will win that election up there," National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman Sen. John
Ensign, R-Nev. said last Tuesday. "If it goes the other way, obviously, it really won't matter what
happens in the election."
Stevens is the latest Alaska Republican to fall amid the wide-ranging public corruption probe in
that state. The investigation began in 2004, expanded to include Allen's company two years later
and ensnared the senator after investigators became suspicious of Stevens' relationship with
Allen.
Last year, federal agents searched Stevens' Girdwood home -- which he calls the "chalet" -- and
Allen, the millionaire oilman, pleaded guilty to his own separate corruption charges. Seven other
Alaskans, including the ex-speaker of the statehouse, a former vice president of Veco and a
lobbyist, have been convicted as part of the probe.
Allen is the man on the other end of Stevens wiretaps, collected by the FBI. Prosecutors believed
the recordings, which they played for the jury, proved that Stevens was aware he might be in
legal trouble.
"They are not going to shoot us, it's not Iraq," Stevens can be heard saying on one tape. "We
might have to pay a fine and serve a little time in jail."
Stevens' attorneys are expected to appeal the conviction, but the senator's words could come back
to haunt him soon enough.
Copyright © 2008 ABC News Internet Ventures
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US Senator Stevens found guilty
The longest-serving Republican in the US Senate has been found guilty of lying about gifts
worth $250,000 he received from an oil company.
Ted Stevens, 84, was charged with seven counts in connection with the gifts.
Mr Stevens faces up to five years in prison on each count but, under federal guidelines, is
unlikely to spend much time in prison.

He is fighting a tough re-election battle against Democrat Mark Begich for his Alaskan senate
seat.
During the trial, prosecutors gave details of the items given to Mr Stevens by the oil firm, Veco,
including a massage chair, rope lighting, furniture, a gas grill and a fully stocked tool chest.
Veco also provided contractors to carry out home renovations at Mr Stevens's cabin in
Girdwood, Alaska.
Bribery charges
Bill Allen, Veco's founder, pleaded guilty to bribery charges in May 2007.
Testifying to the court, Mr Stevens claimed that he had paid Mr Allen $160,000 for the work
done, and had been under the impression that no more money was required.
And he had considered many of the gifts as loans - including the massage chair.
Prosecutor Joseph Bottini, in his closing argument, poured scorn on Mr Stevens's testimony.
"Does anybody really believe that the defendant really can't get Bill Allen to stop giving him all
this free stuff?" he asked.
"Does anyone really believe he thought that [massage] chair was a loan? It's been in his house for
seven years."
Polls suggest Mr Stevens is currently neck and neck with his Democratic rival in his bid for re-
election, but correspondents say a guilty verdict in the trial can only damage his chances of
victory.
Despite the guilty verdict, he is not required by law to drop out of the election or give up his seat.
And there is no rule barring felons from serving in Congress, so if he wins he will be allowed to
stay in the Senate.
His fellow senators could opt to expel him, however, by a two-thirds vote.
Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/7694209.stm
Published: 2008/10/27 20:54:26 GMT
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7694209.stm
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/27/stevens.jurors/?iref=mpstoryview

Gu ilty Verdict - US v. S tevens - October 27, 2008 pag e 10 o f 62 pag es
Jury finds Stevens guilty on corruption

charges
 Story Highlights
 NEW: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin calls verdict "a sad day" for home state
 Sen. Stevens expressionless as verdict was 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
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A jury found U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska guilty Monday of all
seven counts in his federal corruption trial.

Sen. Ted Stevens leaves federal court Monday as the jury deliberated in his corruption trial.
The jury found Stevens guilty of "knowingly and willfully" scheming to conceal on Senate
disclosure forms more than $250,000 in home renovations and other gifts from an Alaska-based
oil industry contractor.
Stevens faces a maximum sentence of up to to 35 years in prison -- five years for each of the
seven counts.
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.
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.
Don't Miss
 Prosecutors grill Stevens as trial comes to a close

 Stevens insists family paid for all chalet renovations
 Sen. Stevens takes stand in his corruption trial
 Conviction wouldn't bar Stevens from Senate
Stevens left the courthouse without comment.

"This is a sad day for Alaska and a sad day for Senator Stevens and his family," Alaska Gov. and
vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin said Monday.
"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.
The 84-year-old senator is locked in a tight race for re-election 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.
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 have received and from
whom.
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.

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.
CNN's Paul Courson, Carol Cratty and Peter Hamby contributed to this report.
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/27/stevens.jurors/?iref=mpstoryview
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aLhOLlu34qjI&refer=home

Stevens Convicted of Concealing $250,000 in Gifts (Update5)
By Cary O'Reilly and Nadine Elsibai
Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Senator Ted Stevens was convicted of all seven
felony charges of failing to report gifts from a company in his home state of
Alaska, a possibly fatal blow to the career of the Senate's longest-serving
Republican.
Stevens, 84, was convicted in Washington of making false statements on his

Senate financial disclosure forms. He was accused of hiding more than
$250,000 in home renovations and other gifts from Veco Corp., an Alaska
oil-services company, Bill Allen, the company's founder, and other friends.
The senator's wife, Catherine, kissed him on the cheek as they were walking
out of the courtroom. `Ìt's not over yet,'' Stevens said to her. Stevens is
seeking re-election on Nov. 4, and after being indicted on July 29 he sought
a speedy trial in an effort to clear his name.

``This is obviously the worst possible outcome, not only legally but
politically, for Senator Stevens,'' said Jennifer Duffy, who analyzes Senate
races for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report in Washington.
At the same time, she said she would wait to see how Alaska voters react to
the news, and whether Stevens delivers a message calling on those voters
to stand with him despite the verdict. ``Remember, this is a guy whose poll
numbers went up during the trial,'' Duffy said.
Stevens, a member of the Senate since 1968, is the first sitting U.S. senator
convicted of a felony since 1981, when the late New Jersey Democrat
Harrison Williams Jr. was found guilty of bribery and conspiracy. The false-
statement charges carry a maximum prison term of five years.
`Freebies'
Stevens sought ``to hide from the public, from his constituents, that he
received hundreds of thousands of dollars in freebies,'' Matthew Friedrich,
acting assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's criminal
division, said outside the courthouse after the verdict. ``This investigation
continues, as does our commitment to holding elected officials accountable.''
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the Republican vice- presidential nominee, said
in a statement it was a ``sad day'' for Alaska and for Stevens.
``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,'' Palin said.
`Ì'm confident Senator Stevens will do what's right for the people of
Alaska.''
The Alaska Democratic Party called on the senator to resign immediately.

``He knew what he was doing was wrong, but he did it anyway and lied to
Alaskans about it,'' a party statement said.
Not Required to Resign
Stevens isn't required by law to give up his Senate seat. He can only be
removed by a full Senate vote on a recommendation by its ethics
committee. Such a process would likely take until next year and would move
forward only if he is re-elected.
U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan delayed setting a sentencing date at the
defense's request, and allowed Stevens to remain free without bail.
Stevens's conviction will likely boost Democratic chances of winning an

Alaska Senate seat for the first time in almost three decades. He won the

Republican primary in August with 63 percent of the vote after being

indicted. He faces Democrat Mark Begich, the mayor of Anchorage, in the
general election. An Oct. 7 Rasmussen Reports poll had the two statistically
tied.
The verdict ``should elect Begich,'' Marc Hellenthal, an Alaska pollster and
political consultant, said in a phone interview from Anchorage after the
verdict.
Hellenthal said Stevens has ``shown tremendous resilience'' after being

charged. ``The fact that Stevens was indicted should have elected Begich,
but there was a backlash and Stevens picked up some support. I don't
expect that to happen now that he's been convicted.''
Billions of Dollars
A legendary figure in Alaska politics, Stevens has steered billions of dollars

to the state from his seat on the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The case stemmed from a federal investigation of political corruption in

Alaska that began in 2004 and has resulted in eight convictions or guilty
pleas. Allen, the prosecutors' star witness against Stevens, pleaded guilty
last year to charges of bribery and conspiracy. Stevens wasn't charged with
taking bribes.
Prosecutors presented evidence that between 2000 and 2006, Stevens

received improvements to his home and other gifts, including a Viking gas
grill, a power generator, an Alaskan sled dog and a custom-made glass
window, without reporting them on his financial disclosure forms.
Prosecutors said Veco and Allen provided labor and materials to install a first
floor, garage, outdoor deck and other improvements to Stevens's home in
Girdwood, Alaska, which he called his ``chalet.''
Stevens's Testimony
Stevens, in three days on the witness stand, testified that his wife was in
charge of the home renovations and paid all the bills they received. His
defense lawyers said the couple spent $160,000 on the renovations and that
Stevens believed his financial disclosures were accurate.
Stevens insisted he never accepted as gifts other items delivered to his

homes in Alaska and Washington, D.C., including a $2,700 massage chair,
the gas grill and a statue depicting migrating salmon. Stevens said they
were either loans or he didn't want them at all.

``We have lots of things in our house that don't belong to us,'' Stevens said
when a prosecutor asked him about the chair.
Defense lawyer Brendan Sullivan called Allen `à paid witness'' and said
prosecutors ``twisted'' the evidence.
Earlier in the trial, the judge denied multiple requests from Stevens's
attorneys for a mistrial or dismissal of the case over claims the prosecution
withheld evidence.
The case is U.S. v. Stevens, 08cr231, U.S. District Court for the District of
Columbia.
To contact the reporters on this story: Cary O'Reilly in Washington at

caryoreilly@bloomberg.net; Nadine Elsibai in Washington at
nelsibai@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: October 27, 2008 18:14 EDT
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aLhOLlu34qjI&r
efer=home
Alaska Senator Is Convicted of Ethics Breach in Gift Scheme

New York Times, United States - 29 minutes ago
By NEIL A. LEWIS WASHINGTON — Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, the longest-serving Republican in the
Senate’s history and a figure of enormous influence in ...
Alaska Republican Ted Stevens Found Guilty on all Counts in ...

ABC News - 2 hours ago
By JASON RYAN, PIERRE THOMAS and THERESA COOK A jury in Washington, DC, has
convicted Alaska Republican Sen. Ted Stevens on federal corruption charges, ...
Jury finds Stevens guilty on corruption charges

CNN International - 1 hour ago
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A jury found US Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska guilty Monday of all seven counts in his
federal corruption trial. Sen. ...
US Senator Stevens found guilty

BBC News, UK - 1 hour ago
The longest-serving Republican in the US Senate has been found guilty of lying about gifts worth
$250000 he received from an oil company. ...
Alaska senator convicted on all counts

The Miami Herald, FL - 58 minutes ago
By ERIKA BOLSTAD AND RICHARD MAUER WASHINGTON -- A federal jury on Monday found Republican
Sen. Ted Stevens guilty of lying on his financial disclosure ...

Sen. Stevens guilty of corruption charges

Reuters - 2 hours ago
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska was found guilty on Monday
of failing to report more than $250000 in gifts from a powerful ...
A look at indicted senators through history

The Associated Press - 55 minutes ago
The conviction of Sen. Ted Stevens on Monday is the fifth time a US senator has been found guilty on felony
charges. Another had his conviction overturned ...
Stevens' conviction 'disappoints' Hatch

Salt Lake Tribune, United States - 1 hour ago
By Matt Canham WASHINGTON - The man Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch recently called a "legend" of the Senate now is
a felon. A jury convicted Alaska Republican Sen. ...
Stevens the Soothsayer

Washington Post, United States - 36 minutes ago
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, ...
US Senator Stevens Found Guilty

Voice of America - 1 hour ago
By VOA News US Senator Ted Stevens has been found guilty on seven charges of lying about gifts
he received. A jury in Washington convicted him Monday after ...
Does Stevens Still Get Paid? CQ’s Q-and-A on Senator’s Corruption ...
CQPolitics.com, DC - 1 hour ago
By Kathleen Hunter, CQ Staff Sen. Ted Stevens , R-Alaska on Monday was convicted of seven counts related to
allegations that he concealed free house ...
UPDATE 1-US Sen. Stevens guilty of corruption charges

Reuters - 1 hour ago
WASHINGTON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - US Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska was found guilty on Monday on corruption
charges, a verdict that could endanger the powerful ...
Sen. Ted Stevens found guilty in corruption case

The Associated Press - 1 hour ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — 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 ...
Stevens faces no automatic Senate punishment

The Associated Press - 33 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — There is no automatic Senate punishment for Sen. Ted Stevens, the Alaska Republican
convicted of seven corruption charges Monday. ...
The charges and verdicts in the Ted Stevens trial

The Associated Press - 2 hours ago
Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, was convicted on all seven charges of making false statements on Senate financial
documents about gifts he received from ...

Ted Stevens found guilty in corruption case

The Associated Press - 2 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens has been convicted of lying about free home renovations and
other gifts he received from a wealthy oil contractor. ...
How Stevens Invited His Verdict

Washington Post, United States - 49 minutes ago
Goodness knows, I take no pleasure in what just happened to the Senate's longest serving Republican, Sen. Ted
Stevens of Alaska, in the US District Court ...
Corruption Conviction of Sen. Stevens Enhances Democrats' Prospects

Washington Post, United States - 1 hour ago
The news that Ted Stevens has been found guilty on all charges in his federal corruption trial badly
imperils any lingering chance that the long-time Alaska ...
Stevens Found Guilty On All Counts

Washington Post, United States - 1 hour ago
A federal jury in DC has found Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens guilty of seven counts of lying on his Senate financial
disclosure forms, undoing the once-sterling ...
Jury Finds Sen. Ted Stevens Guilty of Corruption

findingDulcinea, New York - 28 minutes ago
by Lindsey Chapman A jury found Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens guilty on all seven counts of corruption
relating to gifts he failed to disclose. Sen. ...
Alaska Republican senator guilty in corruption trial

AFP - 5 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (AFP) — A US court on Monday found Ted Stevens of Alaska, a Republican
senator of 40 years, guilty of corruption one week before he is up for ...
Jury Finds Ted Stevens Guilty On All Seven Counts In Corruption Trial
AHN - 36 minutes ago
Washington, DC (AHN) - A jury has found Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AZ) guilty on all seven counts in his federal
corruption trial for allegedly concealing more ...
Campaign Money Watch on Guilty Verdict In Stevens Case

AlaskaReport, AK - 43 minutes ago
Today Campaign Money Watch, a national nonpartisan campaign finance watchdog, issued the
following statement from its director, David Donnelly, ...
Jury Finds Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens Guilty on All Charges

The Public Record, California - 1 hour ago
By Jason Leopold Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest serving Republican in the United States Senate, has been
found guilty by a Washington, DC jury on all ...
Sen. Stevens Found Guilty on All Seven Corruption Counts

CQPolitics.com, DC - 1 hour ago
By Kathleen Hunter, CQ Staff A federal jury in Washington Monday found Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens guilty on
seven felony counts of lying on his financial ...

Alaska Senator Convicted Of Financial Disclosure Violations

Hartford Courant, United States - 1 hour ago
A Washington, DC, jury convicts the longtime senator on all seven counts of failing to disclose
thousands of dollars in gifts and home improvements in ...
Porker Convicted
FITSNews, SC - 44 minutes ago
By fitsnews • on October 27, 2008 In a fitting tribute to the ass-raping he’s inflicted on the American taxpayers over
the last forty years, Alaska Senator ...
Ted Stevens found guilty of all seven felony charges

Muckety, NY - 1 hour ago
By Carol Eisenberg | October 27, 2008 at 5:07pm | 0 Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest-serving Senate
Republican in history, was found guilty Monday of ...
Ted "A Series of Tubes" Stevens Found Guilty

Slashdot - 1 hour ago
techmuse writes "According to a series of tubes sites, Senator Ted Stevens has been found guilty of lying about free
home renovations that he received from ...
Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens Found Guilty of Corruption

NewsHour - 1 hour ago
After less than a week of deliberation, the jurors in the corruption trial of Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens
returned a verdict Monday of guilty on all seven ...


http://alaskacorruption.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2008-01-
01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2009-01-
01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=20
Monday, October 27, 2008

Prediction on the Outcome
Live from the Ted Stevens Trial, Day 26
Washington, D.C.--
As a practical matter, the outcomes of this trial fall into three categories:

1. Acquittal on all counts (also known as “Stevens walks” or “pure acquittal”)
2. Hung jury on all counts
3. Conviction on at least one count
It appears that Outcome # 1 above—a pure acquittal—is the least likely result of this trial. The
other two outcomes—a jury unable to decide on any of the seven counts and a conviction on at
least one count—now seem about equally likely. The prediction would have been different when
the case went to the jury last Wednesday, when this blog would have wagered on
conviction on at least one count. But the intervening difficulties arising within the jury have
seemed to have marginally increased the odds of a hung jury.
Once again, please recall that this prediction comes from the same blogger who confidently
announced that Ted Stevens would never testify in his own defense.
(Thanks go to loyal reader Betsy Ptak, who has frequently urged that the blog post a prediction
before the jury returned a verdict.)
Posted by Cliff Groh at 8:26 AM 2 comments
Labels: Ted Stevens Trial


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Sen. Ted Stevens Convicted of All Charges in Corruption

Case
Despite Guilty Verdict, Alaska Lawmaker Remains on Ballot for Reelection
By Del Quentin Wilber

Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, October 27, 2008; 5:45 PM
Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens was convicted today of lying on financial disclosure forms to hide tens
of thousands of dollars in gifts and renovations to his Alaska home that were financed mostly by
a powerful business executive and his oil services company.
The verdict was announced just after 4 p.m. in a packed courtroom in U.S. District Court in
Washington. Stevens (R) sat quietly as the jury foreman said the panel had reached a unanimous
decision and found Stevens guilty on all seven counts of filing false financial disclosure forms.
Jurors, who re-started their deliberations at 9:30 a.m. today when a juror was replaced by an
alternate, were somber as they walked into the courtroom to deliver the verdict and did not look
at Stevens. No sentencing date has been set, and Stevens's attorneys are expected to file motions
seeking to have the verdict set aside.
Despite the guilty verdict, Stevens remains on the ballot in Alaska, where he is locked in a tight
race with Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich.
If he can pull off an upset victory, Stevens could remain in the Senate for months, if not longer,
if he chose to appeal the verdict. Tradition allows him to exhaust his appeals before the ethics
committee begins expulsion hearings, according to the Historical Office of the Senate.
Harrison Williams (D-N.J.), the last senator found guilty of a felony while in office, was
convicted of one count of conspiracy and two counts of bribery May 1, 1981, part of the FBI's
Abscam scandal. Williams remained in the Senate for almost 10 months before resigning on
March 11, 1982, after the ethics committee had recommended to the full chamber that he be
expelled.
It takes 67 votes to expel a senator.
Patti Higgins, chairman of the Alaska Democratic Party, released a statement calling on Stevens
to "immediately resign" his Senate seat.
"He knew what he was doing was wrong, but he did it anyway and lied to Alaskans about it.
Alaskans deserve better from their public officials. It's time for us to elect an ethical and honest
Senator who will move this state forward," Higgins said.
Stevens, who did not comment after the verdict, said in the weeks before the trial that he would
not step down if convicted.

Matthew Friedrich, acting assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's criminal
division, said that "this has been a long and hard-fought 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," he said.
Prosecutors alleged throughout the month-long trial that Stevens, one of the most influential
Republicans in the Senate, was a miser who approached a close friend to help him remodel his
home in Girdwood, Alaska. That friend, Bill Allen, chief executive of the defunct oil services
company Veco, testified that his company financed extensive renovations to the house from 2000
through 2002.
Veco workers testified in great detail that they helped jack up the house on stilts to transform the
rustic cabin, adding a new first floor, a garage and two wrap-around decks.
In extensive e-mail traffic during that period, Stevens was kept abreast of the work by a
neighbor, who lauded the work of Allen and two Veco employees.
Stevens contended that Veco played no role in the renovations, that Allen was only providing
workers and that he had actually been paying the firm's moonlighting employees. He and his
wife, Catherine, testified they thought a residential contractor had been in charge of the
remodeling work. They paid that firm about $132,000 in 2000 and 2001 and paid other workers
about $30,000.
Stevens's attorneys argued that the couple believed they had paid fair-market value for all of the
work.
Prosecutors hammered Stevens in closing arguments, demanding to know why he had not
refused gifts from Allen and others. Sevens said he was not aware that Veco had financed the
addition of a deck in 2002 or that it was even being built until a neighbor sent him an e-mail
about it.
On the stand, he contended that he thought the residential contractor had done the job and sent
Allen two notes requesting bills for the work. Stevens's attorneys had painted those requests for
bills as an earnest attempt by the senator to settle any debts. But prosecutors said the letters
showed on that Stevens was trying to create a paper trail.
Stevens was also accused of accepting other gifts, ranging from a $2,700 massage chair to a sled
dog. Prosecutors said Stevens received the dog from a friend who bought it from a nonprofit
group at a 2003 auction for $1,000. Stevens reported the value of the dog, Kiely, as $250 -- the
price he paid for another puppy -- and said it had been given to him by the nonprofit, not his
friend.
"He worked so hard to hide a dog's true value," said prosecutor Brenda Morris of the Justice
Department's Public Integrity Section, adding that Stevens's other alleged misdeeds were easy to
believe if he went to "those lengths for a dog, to not provide the truth when he knew full-well
what the truth was."

"The little things prove the big things," Morris said.
In the case of the chair, a friend testified he gave the Brookstone lounger to Stevens as a gift. But
the senator sent him an e-mail at the time saying the chair was just a loan. Stevens asserted on
the witness stand that the lounger was only a loan, even though it has been in his basement for
seven years.
Staff writer Paul Kane contributed to this report.
dyn/content/article/2008/10/27/AR2008102700289.html?hpid=topnews
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/washingtonpostinvestigations/2008/10/st
evens_found_guilty_on_all_co.html?sid=ST2008102701929&s_pos=list

Conviction Mars Senator's Reputation

POSTED: 04:40 PM ET, 10/27/2008 by Derek Kravitz
TAGS: Congress, Ted Stevens, federal courts
Sen. Ted Stevens (AP)
A federal jury in D.C. has found Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens guilty of seven counts of lying on his
Senate financial disclosure forms, undoing the once-sterling reputation of the 40-year Republican
lawmaker and throwing his chances at re-election into serious doubt.
Stevens, 84, has been locked in an election fight with Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich. If
Stevens wins Nov. 4, there is no rule that prohibits a convicted felon from remaining in office,
although the Senate could vote to expel him (U.S. Senate Associate Historian Donald Ritchie
tells National Public Radio's David Welna that, historically, the chamber has been "very
reluctant to expel such members.")
The Nation's John Nichols called the guilty verdict "the biggest news story -- even bigger than
that of long-time Stevens ally Sarah Palin's campaign for the vice presidency -- in the state as
Alaskans prepare to vote November 4" and The Dallas Morning News' Michael Landauer
wondered whether Palin would now call for Stevens to resign.
The Post's columnist Colbert King called Stevens a "nasty and arrogant human being who
seems to get his jollies treating people with disdain." He suggested that Stevens's character might
help explain why the jury convicted him.
Meanwhile, Patti Higgins, chairwoman of the Alaska Democratic Party, released a statement
calling on Stevens to "immediately resign" his Senate seat and the watchdog group Citizens
Against Government Waste called the Stevens trial "just another sad, but not surprising spectacle
of corruption and cynicism in the nation's capital," likening it to the cases of lobbyist Jack
Abramoff and former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.).
The National Journal opines that the verdict virtually seals Stevens's political fate, saying it is
unlikely he "could possibly be re-elected a mere 8 days after being convicted of a felony."

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), a character witness on Stevens's behalf, expressed disappointment
with the verdict, adding that he has always found Stevens to be "very honest and
straightforward," according to the Salt Lake Tribune.
Under sentencing guidelines, Stevens could get up to five years in prison for each count of lying
about hundreds of thousands of dollars home renovations and gifts he received from his one-time
fishing and drinking buddy, Alaska oil executive Bill Allen.
The Alaska Republican icon had asked for a speedy trial so he could clear his name before
Election Day. His conviction follows chaotic deliberations by the 12-person jury, which excused
one member after her father died and requested another juror be removed after she had "violent
outbursts" as the pool decided the senator's fate.
In the weeks leading up to the trial, Stevens had boldly said he would not step down and that he
would win his upcoming bid for a seventh term.
"Put this down: That will never happen -- ever, OK?" Stevens said, according to The Associated
Press.
As the guilty verdict on the first count was read, Stevens slumped slightly, reported Erika
Bolstad and Richard Mauer of the Anchorage Daily News. When the second count was read,
his lawyer, Brendan V Sullivan Jr., reached over and put his arm around Stevens' shoulders.
As Stevens left the courtroom, he told his wife, "It's not over yet."
By Derek Kravitz | October 27, 2008; 4:40 PM ET Stevens Trial

Previous: Early Voting Might Relieve Polling Pressure |
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/washingtonpostinvestigations/2008/10/st
evens_found_guilty_on_all_co.html?sid=ST2008102701929&s_pos=list

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/10/ak-
senate_stevens_guilty_on_al.html?sid=ST2008102701929&s_pos=list
Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
UPDATE, 6:50 pm: Stevens remained defiant in a statement released moments ago. "I am
obviously disappointed in the verdict but not surprised given the repeated instances of
prosecutorial misconduct in this case," Stevens said. He added that he is innocent and blamed his
conviction on the "unconscionable manner in which the Justice Department lawyers conducted
this trial."
ORIGINAL POST
The news that Ted Stevens has been found guilty on all charges in his federal corruption trial
badly imperils any lingering chance that the long-time Alaska Republican Senator had at
winning reelection in eight days time.
It's hard to imagine worse timing for the Stevens' conviction to be announced -- roughly one
week before he faces Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich in a race long targeted by national
Democrats as a takeover opportunity.

And, because the guilty verdict happened so close to the election, Stevens's name will remain on
the ballot whether or not he resigns his seat in the wake of the conviction -- meaning that, simply
put, Republicans are stuck with him.
National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman John Ensign (Nev.) offered a
strong condemnation of Stevens and seemed to hint that this conviction would lead to his defeat.
"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."
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee, released a statement of her
own late Monday night -- casting the Stevens' verdict as evidence of the "corrupting influence of
the big oil service company that was allowed to control too much of our state." Palin did not call
for Stevens' resignation in her statement, saying only: "I'm confident Senator Stevens will do
what's right for the people of Alaska."
Begich, for his part, was decidedly reserved in his statement on the Stevens' conviction. "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," he said.
The Alaska Democratic Party was less restrained -- calling for Stevens' resignation. "Senator
Stevens' felony convictions are very serious and he should immediately resign from the United
States Senate," said Patti Higgins, the chairwoman of the Alaska Democratic Party. "He knew
what he was doing was wrong, but he did it anyway and lied to Alaskans about it. Alaskans
deserve better from their public officials."
Other Democratic Senate candidates also moved quickly to capitalize on the fallout from the
Stevens verdict. Former Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, who is seeking to oust appointed
Sen. Roger Wicker (R), put out a release minutes after the ruling was announced denouncing
"politicians and their insider friends [who] are more concerned with their own interests than the
people's business."
And even Red State, a prominent conservative blog, endorsed Begich late in the day under the
headline: "Party loyalty has its Limits".
At issue in the trial was whether Stevens, who has represented Alaska in the Senate since 1968,
failed to disclose a series of free renovations of his Alaska home performed by individuals with
ties to Veco Corp. -- an oil and energy services company whose executives have already pled
guilty to seeking to bribe elected officials.
Stevens had argued during the trial that he paid every bill he ever received and was unaware he
was receiving free services. The prosecution used Bill Allen, the founder of Veco and a longtime
Stevens friend, as their star witness; Allen testified that Stevens was aware he had received
special treatment in regards the renovations made to his home.
Strategists in both parties had acknowledged that until the outcome of the trial was known it was
nearly impossible to predict Stevens's chances at reelection.

Had he been acquitted, it's likely he could have painted the trial as evidence of a Justice
Department run amok -- a message that could well have delivered him a reelection victory in a
state notoriously suspicious of government intrusion.
Stevens's conviction, however, makes it hard to see a path for him to retain his Senate seat.
Polling conducted over the last month has shown the race to be an absolute tossup; the Real
Clear Politics average of polling conducted in the race gives Democrat Mark Begich a meager
half percent edge.
There is also recent polling that suggests that huge numbers of people in Alaska were following
the Stevens trial -- a major problem for the incumbent.
Nearly nine in ten Alaska voters (86 percent) said they had been following the trial closely in an
Ivan Moore poll earlier this month and the sample was nearly split between those who thought
the trial was going well for Stevens (36 percent) and those who thought it was not going well (35
percent).
While we readily admit that it really is different up in Alaska and handicapping the state's
political races is a tough task, it's hard to imagine public opinion not turning drastically against
Stevens in the wake of this ruling. Given how close the race was before the ruling, Begich has to
be sitting in the catbird's seat today.
The development in Alaska increases Democrats' chances at winning the 60-seat majority that
would give them the ability to break filibusters and would mean true control over the Senate.
Three open seat races -- Virginia, New Mexico and Colorado -- are seen as very likely pickups
for Democrats, with Republican incumbents in Alaska, New Hampshire, North Carolina,
Oregon, Minnesota, Kentucky and Georgia also coping with various levels of vulnerability.
By Chris Cillizza | October 27, 2008; 4:45 PM ET | Category: Republican Party , Senate
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/10/ak-
senate_stevens_guilty_on_al.html?sid=ST2008102701929&s_pos=list

Sen. Ted Stevens guilty of all 7 felony charges

By Manu Raju
Posted: 10/27/08 04:02 PM [ET]
Ted Stevens, the longest-serving Republican senator in history and patriarch of
Alaska politics, was convicted Monday of all seven felony charges for making false
statements.
The verdict could spell an ignominious end to the political career of a man who

rose to be one of the most dominant figures in the Senate and helped transform
Alaska in its 50 years of statehood.
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Jurors deliberated from scratch Monday morning with the addition of an

alternate juror, and in little more than five hours delivered a unanimous verdict
on all counts. The verdict comes just eight days before Stevens faces the toughest
reelection bid of his four-decade career.
Shortly before 4 p.m., the jury convicted the 84-year-old senator for making false
statements by failing to report more than $250,000 in gifts from Bill Allen, the
former head of Veco Corp., and other friends.
In a packed courtroom, Stevens appeared expressionless, holding his stomach

while the verdict was read. The courtroom was silent as the powerful
Republican's fate was read to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
The senator left the courtroom without taking questions and was shuttled into a
white van waiting for him and his team of attorneys.
A defiant Stevens released a statement later Monday, saying that he was

“obviously disappointed in the verdict but not surprised given the repeated
instances of prosecutorial misconduct in this case.”
The senator vowed to “fight this unjust verdict with every ounce of energy I have”

and said he would return home to defend his seat.
“I am innocent. This verdict is the result of the unconscionable manner in which

the Justice Department lawyers conducted this trial,” Stevens added. “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. I will come home on Wednesday and
ask for your vote.”
"This company, the evidence showed, was not a charity," said Matthew Friedrich,
assistant attorney general for the criminal division at the Justice Department,
referring to Veco Corp.
"This has been a long and hard-fought trial," Friedrich told reporters, without
taking questions.
Judge Emmet G. Sullivan deferred sentencing until after Feb. 25, when a hearing
is scheduled on further motions. Stevens faces up to five years in prison on each
count.
The jury did not seem to buy the explanation from Stevens that Allen showered
him with gifts he didn't want and was unaware of, and that he believed the
$160,000 he gave to another contractor covered all costs for the home
renovations.
Jurors said they would not talk to the press.
Senate Republicans already stripped Stevens of his leadership positions when he

was indicted in July. Under GOP rules, any indicted senator must be removed
temporarily from their positions and permanently if convicted. Stevens was
ranking member on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation
Committee and on the Appropriations Defense subcommittee.
The Alaska Democratic Party on Monday called for Stevens to resign after
hearing the verdict. Patti Higgins, chairwoman of the state party, said in an e-
mail that the convictions are "very serious and he should resign immediately
from the United States Senate."
"He knew what he was doing was wrong, but he did it anyway and lied to
Alaskans about it," Higgins said. "Alaskans deserve better from their public
officials. It’s time for us to elect an ethical and honest senator who will move this
state forward.”
Stevens is still on the ballot against Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich (D), and
observers will be watching to see what he does before Election Day.
A spokeswoman for Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential

nominee, said the governor would likely release a statement through the
governor's office, but a Palin aide in the governor's office in Juneau said she was
unsure if that release was forthcoming.
— J. Taylor Rushing and Sam Youngman contributed to this article.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/stevens-guilty-of-felony-charges-2008-
10-27.html
Analysis: Stevens suffered after his testimony

By Manu Raju
Posted: 10/27/08 07:02 PM [ET]
Ted Stevens gambled – and lost.
The Alaska Republican pushed for a quick trial, thinking he could beat charges of
concealing gifts from an oil executive before he stood for reelection on Nov. 4.
But Stevens was convicted Monday on all seven felony counts - eight days before
the toughest reelection bid of his four-decade Senate career.
What led to that conviction was likely the biggest

role-of-the-dice in the month-long trial: Stevens’s
decision to waive his Fifth Amendment rights and
take the stand in his own defense.
After two brutal days of questioning from
prosecutor Brenda Morris, Stevens came across as
evasive and combative and gave sometimes-
confusing explanations about the gifts. His testimony
helped lend credence to the government’s theory that Stevens and his friends had
concocted a scheme to hide free renovations at his home in Girdwood, Alaska,
from a company that stood to benefit from his position in Washington.
His difficulties under cross-examination seemed

to undermine Stevens’s credibility, despite high-profile
character witnesses like retired Gen. Colin L. Powell attesting to the senator’s
forthrightness and integrity. And it allowed the Justice Department to regain its
footing after fumbling evidence and witnesses, and presenting a sometimes-
disjointed case to the jury.

A 12-person jury returned a unanimous verdict Monday afternoon and convicted

the longest-serving GOP senator of failing to disclose more than $250,000 in
gifts and home renovations from Bill Allen, head of the now-defunct Veco Corp
oil services company. The 84-year-old senator could serve the rest of his life in
prison, but he won’t be sentenced until late February. If he wins reelection next
week, it will be up to the Senate Select Committee on Ethics to decide whether to
expel him from the chamber.
Monday's verdict marks the first conviction of a sitting senator in a generation.
Stevens, who has yet to say if he will appeal the conviction, had contended that he
paid every bill he received, some $160,000 for home renovations, and that any
bill that was left unpaid was because of Allen’s decision to conceal costs.
Stevens said Allen was hiding the costs and made home improvements without
his knowledge. Despite the defense’s attempts to impugn Allen’s credibility, the
government’s star witness seemed to convince jurors that Stevens was just
“covering his ass” in asking for bills.
While he asked for bills from Allen and other Veco employees, Stevens failed to
follow up to make sure they were paid. Stevens said he disliked the
improvements, but didn’t ask Allen to remove them, and in some cases, the gifts
still remain at his home.
Under cross-examination, neither Stevens nor his wife could properly explain
that discrepancy.
Stevens and his wife, Catherine, were the final witnesses called by Brendan
Sullivan, Stevens’s lead defense attorney. Their testimony was intended to shore
up the argument that the Stevenses believed they paid all bills and that Mrs.
Stevens was in charge of the project.
But under a barrage of questions from prosecutors, each seemed to struggle

during key portions of cross-examination.
For instance, in 2000, Stevens met with architect John Hess of Veco, who drew
up plans for the remodeling project. But neither Stevens nor his wife asked for a
contract for Hess’s work. Neither asked for costs of the project. Stevens later sent
Hess a thank-you note and asked for a bill – without inquiring about the costs
and without following up.
Stevens said it was the “Alaska way” to conduct business in that manner. But
when he contracted business with other people – not affiliated with Veco – he
received a breakdown of their work in writing and made sure they were paid.
“Does that make any sense?” prosecutor Joseph Bottini said in closing
arguments.
Mrs. Stevens fared no better in explaining why the couple, both lawyers, did not
ask for contracts from Hess and other workers employed from Veco.
“You just took drawings from someone you never met, and you relied on them
and gave them to the permitting person?” Morris asked the senator’s wife.
Mrs. Stevens said she believed the costs of the architect’s plans were folded into
the work performed by a subcontractor. The Stevenses paid Augie Paone
$130,000 for his work at the Stevens’s home and insisted he was in charge of the
project – not Veco.
But Paone only worked on the Girdwood property part of the time and completed
his portion by early 2001.
The couple’s testimony failed to sufficiently answer key questions: about a

second-round of home improvements that occurred in 2002, including the
installation of a first-floor wrap-around deck, a plastic roof between the first and
second floor decks, and a new lighting system; and regarding kitchen appliances
they received in 2004; and about additional repairs to the boiler system and
roofing later paid for by Allen.
“There is no deck on the first floor, but a deck gets

built in 2002. Who built the deck?” Morris asked
Mrs. Stevens.
The senator’s wife gulped, ran her hand through
her hair and said: “I don’t know who built the
deck. We built the deck, I thought.”
Mrs. Stevens said she thought a bill would come in for the deck, even though the
Stevenses did not request one be built.
“So you came home one day and a deck was there?” Morris asked Mrs. Stevens.
“Yes,” she said.
Both the senator and his wife said they believed the costs for the laborers on site
had also been folded into the bills they paid Paone.
But the couple appeared to know that Rocky Williams, a foreman on the site, was
a Veco employee; Mrs. Stevens asked a staff member to ship materials and

doorknobs to Williams at his Veco address. They also sent him a pair of first-class
plane tickets to his Veco address, a thank-you gesture for his work on their home.
Mrs. Stevens said she believed that Williams was

only a seasonal worker for Veco and was working
for Paone because “he had time off.”
But a bevy of e-mails from Stevens to Persons and
Allen repeatedly praised the work of Williams,
along Veco welder Dave Anderson – and seldom
mentioned Paone.
On top of the questions over the unpaid home renovations was the other gifts
Stevens received but did not report: the $2,700 massage chair from Persons, the
$5,000 Viking gas grill from Allen and the $3,200 stained glass window from
close friends Bob and Jeanne Penney.
Stevens and his wife both said they didn’t want some of the gifts, including
cigarette-burnt leather sofas that Allen gave them in exchange for their furniture.
Such gifts made the senator’s wife “very angry,” but prosecutors asked why –
several years later – did they still have them in their possession?
“We have lots of things in our house that do not belong to us, ma’m,” Stevens said
tersely.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/analysis-stevens-suffered-after-his-
testimony-2008-10-27.html
Ensign: Stevens's career ends in 'disgrace'

By Manu Raju
Posted: 10/27/08 06:54 PM [ET]
The Senate's chief GOP campaign strategist cut Sen. Ted Stevens loose Monday
after the Alaska Republican was convicted in his corruption trial.
In a strongly worded statement, Sen. John Ensign

(R-Nev.), head of the National Republican
Senatorial Committee, said Stevens's conviction
marked the end of his career and signaled that the

GOP would not try to mount an effort to hold onto
the seat he has occupied for 40 years.
"Ted Stevens served his constituents for over 40
years and I am disappointed to see his career end
in disgrace," Ensign said. "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."
Ensign's statement was the strongest yet by a high-ranking GOP official since the
verdict was announced Monday afternoon. And it seemed to undercut any hope
from Stevens's allies that he could defeat Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich (D) in
next week's election.
“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.
Stevens, 84, was convicted Monday on seven felony charges for making false
statements.
The senator, in a statement, proclaimed his innocence and said he would still
seek reelection for a seventh full term.
His junior Alaska Republican counterpart, Sen.
Lisa Murkowski, echoed Stevens's contention that
he was treated unfairly by the Justice Department
and said she would stand by him as he appeals the
ruling.
"He stood for Alaskans for 40 years and I plan to continue to stand with him," she
said.
Alaska Rep. Don Young (R) also said he still supported Stevens.
Other senators were more measured, particularly GOP lawmakers facing difficult

reelection bids.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.),

embroiled in a tough bid, called Monday a "sad
but serious day."
“Sen. Stevens was found guilty by a jury of his
peers, and now must face the consequences of
those actions," McConnell said in a statement. "As
a result of his conviction, Sen. Stevens will be held
accountable so the public trust can be restored.”
Meantime, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-
Nev.) stated: “This verdict is a personal tragedy
for our colleague Ted Stevens, but it is an
important reminder that no man is above the law.
Sen. Stevens must now respect the outcome of the
judicial process and the dignity of the United
States Senate.”
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/ensign-stevenss-career-ends-in-
disgrace-2008-10-27.html

Monday, October 27, 2008
http://alaskacorruption.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2008-01-
01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2009-01-
01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=20
-ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov_
http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/08/10/27/2028215.shtml

Reporting from Washington - A federal jury today found Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska guilty on
all seven counts that he failed to disclose thousands of dollars in gifts and home improvements in
violation of Senate disclosure rules.
The unanimous verdict in the corruption trial was announced in U.S. District Court with Stevens
present in the courtroom with his attorneys. U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, at the
request of Stevens' lawyers, polled the jurors individually, asking whether they agreed with the
verdict, and each said he did.
The verdict came the same day that the jury began its deliberations anew after one of the jurors
had to leave abruptly to attend a funeral in California late last week.
Stevens, 84, has been in the Senate since 1968 and is the longest-serving Republican in Senate
history, and has been a fixture in Alaska politics since before statehood.
He is seeking re-election to a seventh term next Tuesday, and has been in a close contest with his
Democrat rival, the mayor of Anchorage. His conviction does not automatically bar him from
serving in the Senate.

Stevens' lawyers are likely to request a new trial. The judge did not set a date for sentencing.
Stevens left the courtroom with his lawyers and did not answer questions. A number of family
members, including his wife, Catherine, were in the courtroom during the sentencing. Justice
Department officials were scheduled to make a statement on the courthouse steps this afternoon
about the case.
Schmitt is a Times staff writer.
rick.schmitt@latimes.com
http://www.courant.com/news/custom/topnews/hc-la-tedstevens-1027,0,3631268.story
Senator Stevens guilty of all seven corruption counts

Legal News Line, DC - 1 hour ago
BY CHRIS RIZO WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) -- A Washington jury on Monday found US Sen. Ted Stevens
of Alaska guilty of all seven corruption counts he was ...
Stevens Guilty on Seven Counts

WXYZ, MI - 2 hours ago
(WXYZ) - Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) was convicted today on seven counts of failing to report more than $250000
in improper gifts he received from 1999 to ...
Merkley camp calls on Smith to return remaining Stevens’ money

PolitickerOR, Oregon - 1 hour ago
By Britten Chase, PolitickerOR.com Reporter After US Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) was found guilty on federal
corruption charges Monday, US Senate candidate ...
Stevens guilty of all charges

United Press International - 1 hour ago
WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- US Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, was found guilty Monday of all seven felony
charges related to unreported gifts and renovation ...
Sen. Stevens convicted on corruption charges

MarketWatch - 2 hours ago
By Robert Schroeder, MarketWatch WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Sen. Ted Stevens, a powerful Alaska
Republican, was convicted on Monday of all seven counts in ...
Senator Stevens Found Guilty For Failing To Report Gifts

RTT News, NY - 1 hour ago
(RTTNews) - US Senator Ted Stevens, a Republican from Alaska, has been found guilty of seven counts of making
false statements on financial disclosure ...
Senator Stevens guilty on corruption charges

Monsters and Critics.com - 1 hour ago
Washington - The longest serving Republican in the US Senate was found guilty of corruption related charges on
Monday that could harm his bid for ...
Sen. Ted Stevens: Guilty

Daily Green - 1 hour ago

By Dan Shapley Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, was convicted Monday of seven counts of corruption related to gifts
he received from an oil services company, ...
Stevens Convicted in Corruption Probe

Broadcasting & Cable, NY - 1 hour ago
Federal jury finds Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) guilty on failing to disclose improper gifts By B&C Staff --
Broadcasting & Cable, 10/27/2008 4:49:00 PM A ...
Stevens Jury Catches Indictment 'Typo'

ABC News - 3 hours ago
By JASON RYAN After a string of errors in the trial of Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, jurors
deliberating the case have found a small but crucial mistake in the ...
Stevens Convicted on All Counts

The Washington Independent, DC - 1 hour ago
By Mike Lillis 10/27/08 4:39 PM Long-time Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens (R) was convicted Monday on all seven
charges of providing false statements on financial ...
Ted Stevens guilty of 7 felonies

AlaskaReport, AK - 2 hours ago
Alaska's corrupt Republican senator Ted Stevens has been convicted by a Washington DC jury of 7
felonies for failing to disclose hundreds of thousands of ...

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/27/politics/main4548608.shtml
Ted Stevens Guilty In Corruption Case

Alaska Lawmaker Says He's Not Dropping Out Of Senate Race
Despite Being Convicted Of Lying About Gifts
WASHINGTON, Oct. 27, 2008
(CBS/ AP) 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 says he's not dropping out of his Senate race despite being convicted. He accused the
Justice Department of unconscionable behavior in his prosecution and asked Alaskans and
Senate colleagues to stand by him as he appeals the conviction. In a statement released by his
Senate office, Stevens asserted his innocence and said he would appeal.
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.
"If he does get a prison sentence, it almost certainly won’t be a very long one and it wouldn’t
surprise me, given his age and record in Congress, if he were given less than what Martha
Stewart got when she lied to authorities," says CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen. "She
got six months in prison and six months house arrest. I would be shocked if Stevens gets close to
that."
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.
"Coming just eight days before the election, this is big blow for Stevens’ hopes of winning re-
election," said CBSNews.com senior political editor Vaughn Ververs. "And it’s one more
piece of really bad news for a Republican Party on the ropes in this campaign year as Democratic
hopes for a 60-seat, filibuster-proof majority in the Senate just got a big boost."
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.
Prosecutors played secret phone recordings in which the 84-year-old senator suggested Allen lay
low, per his lawyer's advice, reports CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes.
"They point out that, what's her name, that woman, uh, who went to jail - Martha Stewart - she
didn't go to jail because she did something wrong, she went to jail because she lied about a
conversation she had with somebody," Stevens was heard saying in the tape.
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.
View Justice Department documents in the Ted Stevens corruption trial
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.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/27/politics/main4548608.shtml

http://www.abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=6121498&page=1
Stevens Jury Catches Indictment 'Typo'

Jurors Find a Discrepancy With the Senator's Financial Disclosure Forms
By JASON RYAN
Oct. 27, 2008 —
After a string of errors in the trial of Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, jurors deliberating the case have
found a small but crucial mistake in the case relating to the Republican's 2001 Senate financial
disclosure form.
In a note to U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan the jury found that information in the
indictment charging Stevens with making false statements on the forms and information on the
senator's 2001 financial form contradicted each other.
The indictment against Stevens noted, "The first page of the 2001 Financial Disclosure Form
contained the following question, followed by boxes for YES and NO:
'Did you, your spouse or dependent child receive any reportable gift in the reporting period (i.e.,
aggregating more than $260 and not otherwise exempt)? If yes, Complete and Attach PART V.
On the 2001 Financial Disclosure Form, STEVENS checked the NO box."
The jury has correctly found that after reviewing Stevens'

forms, the senator did check the "yes" box. The error is on
page 6 of exhibit 884.
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/us-v-
stevens/exhibits/oct/08/GX0884-
001.pdf#http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/us-v-
stevens/exhibits/oct/08/GX0884-001.pdf
"These items do not correspond. What do we do?" the note from the jury read.
The request by the jury follows a trail in which the judge admonished the government for
withholding evidence, submitting records into evidence that prosecutors knew were false as well
as sending subpoenaed witnesses back to Alaska in the dead of the night without notifying the
defense team.
The 2001 charge against Stevens is crucial. This is the year that renovations on his home were
completed and the year he reportedly received furniture from Veco CEO Bill Allen, a $2,695
massage chair from friend Bob Persons, a $3,200 stained-glass window for his newly improved
house, a Viking gas grill and a large tool set.

On his 2001 Senate form Stevens only reported receiving a $1,100 "Special
Commemorative Gold Olympic coin" for serving as the honorary chairman of the Special
Olympics.
The judge heard arguments from the opposing lawyers on how to respond to the jury's question
and said, "This jury is very perceptive. ? They do not miss anything."
Defense attorney Craig Singer asked the judge to tell the jury that "the
indictment is not evidence and that you should find the charge is not guilty."
Prosecutor Nicholas Marsh said of Stevens, "If we inadvertently got a typo in

there. ? He failed to list gifts from Veco, Bill Allen and others. ? It doesn't
matter if he checked yes or no."
Sullivan considered the issue and said, "It's not a typo because someone presumably reads these
[indictments] before returning them."
Sullivan ruled to tell the jurors that the indictment is merely a charging document and is not
considered evidence. He will instruct the jury with a written instruction after its lunch break that
jurors must consider the evidence and testimony they have heard at trial to determine whether the
government has proven the alleged offenses beyond a reasonable doubt.
Stevens testified before the jury that the massage chair was a "loan" from Persons; prosecutors
noted questioned why it was still in the basement of his house in Washington seven years later.
Stevens also said he never wanted the furniture, grill or the tools Allen put in the house. He said
that he never used the grill or the tools and that he and his wife were irate that Allen had
removed their furniture from their home and placed his sofas and items in their house.
Copyright © 2008 ABC News Internet Ventures
Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, and his daughters Beth Stevens, left, and Susan Covich, arrive at
federal court in Washington, Friday, Oct. 17, 2008. (Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo)
UPDATE 4-U.S. Sen. Stevens guilty of

corruption charges
Mon Oct 27, 2008 7:47pm EDT
(Adds Palin statement, timing of verdict)

By Randall Mikkelsen
WASHINGTON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska was convicted of
corruption on Monday, a verdict that could endanger the Republican's political future and
help Democrats expand control of the Senate in the Nov. 4 election.
Stevens, 84, was convicted on all seven counts of lying on Senate disclosure forms by
failing to report more than $250,000 in home renovations and other gifts from an oil
executive.
Stevens vowed to return to Alaska on Wednesday and resume campaigning. "I will fight
this unjust verdict with every ounce of energy I have," he said in a blistering statement
issued after the verdict.
"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."
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate who casts herself as
a reformer, called the verdict a blow against corruption in Alaska.
"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," Palin said in a statement.
Stevens has been one of the Senate's most powerful Republicans, using his authority to
steer billions of dollars of federal spending to his home state.
He is known for his proposed "Bridge to Nowhere," which became a symbol of out-of-
control "pork barrel" spending. The now-abandoned project would have linked the town
of Ketchikan to its island airport at a cost of $398 million.

Stevens, who had testified in his own defense, showed a fixed frown as he silently left the
court. "I am innocent," he said in the statement. He accused Justice Department
prosecutors of misconduct and acting in an "unconscionable manner."
LONG SENTENCE UNLIKELY
He faces up to five years in prison on each of the seven counts. Under federal sentencing
guidelines he would likely receive much less prison time or only probation.
Matthew Friedrich, acting head of the Justice Department's criminal division, said the
agency was proud of its prosecutors and that jury's decision showed they had proven their
case.
"The investigation continues, as does our commitment to holding elected officials

accountable when they violate our laws," he told reporters.
Stevens was indicted as part of a wide-ranging probe into public corruption in Alaska.
His fellow Republican, U.S. Rep. Don Young, is also under investigation.
Stevens is the Senate's longest-serving Republican, at 40 years. He was popular in Alaska

before the trial but is now in a tight re-election battle with Anchorage Mayor Mark
Begich.
"This makes it more difficult," for Stevens, said Nathan Gonzales of the nonpartisan
Rothenberg Political Report. "Still, I wouldn't count Stevens out because he is an icon in
the state."
News of the verdict broke as Stevens was appearing via prerecorded television statements
in a live debate with Begich, Young, and Young's Democratic challenger, Ethan
Berkowitz.
DEMOCRAT CONTROL
The loss of Stevens' seat could help Democrats control 60 seats in the 100-seat chamber,
enough to overcome potential Republican roadblocks.
He was the first sitting senator on trial since 1981, when New Jersey Democrat
Harrison Williams was convicted of bribery.
The Senate could vote to expel a convicted felon with a two-thirds vote, but no action is
expected before next week's election. Since 1789, the Senate has expelled only 15
members.
Prosecutors charged that Bill Allen, the former head of oil-services firm VECO Corp.,
provided extensive home renovations for Stevens' house in the ski-resort town of

Girdwood, near Anchorage. Allen and others also provided gifts including a $2,700
massage chair, a $29,000 fish sculpture, stained-glass artwork, a gas grill and furniture.
Stevens called his former friend a liar. He said his wife oversaw the renovations and
thought she had paid for them. He said the massage chair and other items were either
unwanted or loaned, not given, to him. (Additional reporting by Thomas Ferraro, Jeremy
Pelofsky in Washington and Yereth Rosen in Anchorage; Editing by David Alexander
and Eric Walsh)
© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved

http://alaskareport.com/news98/x61711_guilty_stevens_8437472.htm
October 27, 2008
Ted Stevens guilty of 7 felonies

Corrupt senator faces expulsion from Senate
Alaska's corrupt Republican senator Ted Stevens has been convicted by a Washington D.C. jury
of 7 felonies for failing to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gifts and work on
his house in Alaska.

Stevens faces up to five years in prison on each of the seven

counts, but under federal sentencing guidelines he would likely
receive much less prison time or just get probation.
The jury found Stevens guilty of "knowingly and willfully"

scheming to conceal on Senate disclosure forms more than
$250,000 in home renovations and other gifts from Bill Allen,
an Alaska-based oil industry contractor.
The jury began deliberations at noon Wednesday, but re-started

Monday morning when an alternate replaced a juror who left
town abruptly last week because of the death of her father.
The verdict comes after jurors in the corruption trial of Sen. Ted Stevens spotted a discrepancy
Monday between the government's indictment of the veteran Alaska Republican and a key piece
of evidence.
The judge declined to throw out the related charge against Stevens, who has been fighting seven
counts of filing false statements on mandatory Senate financial disclosure forms, involving
hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gifts and work on his Alaska home.
Judge Emmet Sullivan has scheduled hearing on any pending motions for February 25. It is not
clear if Stevens’ defense team will move for a new trial.
Sentencing is set for January 26.
Charges and Verdicts
COUNT ONE: False Statements, Scheme
ACCUSATION: Stevens engaged in a scheme to conceal from his Senate financial disclosure
documents home renovations and other gifts he received from Allen and VECO from 2000-2006.
Stevens contends he never asked for any freebies and believed he paid for everything he
received.
VERDICT: Guilty
COUNT TWO: False Statements
ACCUSATION: Stevens knowingly made false, fictitious or fraudulent statements on his 2001
Senate financial disclosure form regarding gifts from Allen and others. That year, VECO
employees renovated Stevens' mountain cabin, building a new first floor and installing a new
electrical system. Allen also filled Stevens' house with furniture, left a tool box in his garage and
installed a grill on the porch. Stevens also received from another friend an expensive massage
chair, which Stevens said was a loan, and a custom work of stained glass, which Stevens said his
wife arranged and he knew nothing about.
VERDICT: Guilty

COUNT THREE: False Statements
employees installed a new roof, wraparound deck and rope lighting system on Stevens' home. An
expensive fish statue, donated to his foundation by an Alaska nonprofit group, was also charged
as a gift because it ended up on Stevens' front porch.
VERDICT: Guilty
COUNT FOUR: False Statements
Senate financial disclosure form regarding gifts from Allen and others. That year, Stevens
received an Alaskan sled dog puppy from a friend who paid $1,000 for it at a charity auction.
Stevens reported the gift's value as $250 and wrote that it was from a charity in honor of his
public service.
VERDICT: Guilty
COUNT FIVE: False Statements
employees installed or repaired kitchen appliances and performed maintenance on a rooftop
snow-melt system at Stevens' house.
VERDICT: Guilty
COUNT SIX: False Statements
employees performed roof and gutter repairs and electrical wiring.
VERDICT: Guilty
COUNT SEVEN: False Statements
Senate financial disclosure form regarding gifts from Allen and others. That year, a VECO
employee and an outside contractor performed work on the boiler at Stevens' house. VECO's
costs were never paid and Allen paid the outside contractor's labor. Stevens says he asked to be
billed and didn't consider it a gift.
VERDICT: Guilty

AlaskaReport's Ted Stevens corruption coverage:
AlaskaReport.com's Corrupt Bastard Club Stories
Alaska's Ted Stevens Indicted On 7 Counts
Alaska fisheries crimes by Stevens under investigation
Alaska Oil Executive Bribed Senator Ted Stevens
Ben Stevens has accepted bribes - By Ray Metcalfe
Ted Stevens under criminal investigation for corruption
Ted Stevens & Corruption: Move Over Duke Cunningham
Ted Stevens and Don Young Fail to Provide 'Honest Services'
FBI in Alaska closing in on Ted Stevens' son Ben
Legislators still stumping for VECO
© AlaskaReport.com All Rights Reserved.
http://alaskareport.com/news98/x61711_guilty_stevens_8437472.htm

CBS News, NY - 3 hours ago
By John Bresnahan (The Politico) Jurors at Sen. Ted Steven's (R-Alaska) noticed something that no one else has
during his month-long trial – the indictment ...


Oct 27, 2008
(The Politico) Jurors at Sen. Ted Steven's (R-Alaska) noticed something that no one else has
during his month-long trial – the indictment against him has a mistake.
Stevens has been charged with failing to report more than $250,000
in improper gifts that he received from 1999 to 2006, including
extensive renovation work on his home in Girdwood, Alaska.
But the July 29 indictment against him contains an error not noticed
by prosecutors. The Justice Department said Stevens had failed to
declare any gifts he received in 2001, which would be listed on his
annual Senate financial disclosure report from filed in 2002.
The indictment specifically stated that Stevens had checked the

"no" box on the form, when, in fact, he had checked "yes."
Stevens, however, declared receipt of a $1,100 commemorative coin
from the Special Olympics during 2001.
The jury, which restarted deliberations in the case Monday after Judge Emmet Sullivan replaced
one of the jurors over the weekend, sent a note to the judge seeking guidance on how to proceed.
"This jury is very perceptive,” Sullivan said. “They aren't

missing anything."
Sullivan told both sides that he would tell jurors that "an indictment is not evidence, merely a
charging document," and that they must find "beyond a reasonable doubt" that Stevens is guilty
on each of the seven counts that he is indicted on.
The judge, though, was clearly exasperated with the

prosecutors for the problem, saying, "This is not a
typographical [error]. Surely someone reads these
indictments before they're acted on."
Stevens' attorneys jumped on the mistake, saying that the
jury cannot convict Stevens on that count because of the
error.
But the lead prosecutors – Brenda Morris and Nicholas
Marsh – argued it wasn't a major mistake, noting that other
portions of the indictment spell out alleged unreported gifts
that Stevens received in 2001, including completion of the
home remodeling project.
Much of that work was conducted by employees of VECO Corp., an Alaska oil-field services
company. And Stevens never declared any work by VECO employees on his home.
Copyright 2008 POLITICO
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/27/politics/politico/thecrypt/main4549603.shtml

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Gu ilty Verdict - US v.

S tevens - October 27, 2008 pag e 1 o f 62 pages

Will Sarah Palin finally call for Ted Stevens to resign?

Guilty Verdict - US v. Stevens - October 27, 2008 page 1 of 62 pages

October 28, 2008

Alaska Senator Is Convicted of Ethics Breach

WASHINGTON — Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, the longest-serving Republican in the

Guilty Verdict - US v. Stevens - October 27, 2008 page 2 of 62 pages

Guilty Verdict - US v. Stevens - October 27, 2008 page 3 of 62 pages

David Stout contributed reporting.

Guilty Verdict - US v. Stevens - October 27, 2008 page 4 of 62 pages

Guilty Verdict - US v. Stevens - October 27, 2008 page 5 of 62 pages

Senator Convicted on Corruption Charges

By JASON RYAN, PIERRE THOMAS and THERESA COOK

Oct. 27, 2008—

Guilty Verdict - US v. Stevens - October 27, 2008 page 6 of 62 pages

Copyright © 2008 ABC News Internet Ventures

Guilty Verdict - US v. Stevens - October 27, 2008 page 7 of 62 pages

US Senator Stevens found guilty

Guilty Verdict - US v. Stevens - October 27, 2008 page 8 of 62 pages

Story from BBC NEWS:

Published: 2008/10/27 20:54:26 GMT

Guilty Verdict - US v. Stevens - October 27, 2008 page 9 of 62 pages

Jury finds Stevens guilty on corruption

Guilty Verdict - US v. Stevens - October 27, 2008 page 10 of 62 pages

 Prosecutors grill Stevens as trial comes to a close

Stevens left the courthouse without comment.

Guilty Verdict - US v. Stevens - October 27, 2008 page 11 of 62 pages

The prosecution accused Stevens of knowingly failing to declare hundreds of thousands of

Guilty Verdict - US v. Stevens - October 27, 2008 page 12 of 62 pages

Guilty Verdict - US v. Stevens - October 27, 2008 page 13 of 62 pages

Stevens Convicted of Concealing $250,000 in Gifts (Update5)

By Cary O'Reilly and Nadine Elsibai

Stevens, 84, was convicted in Washington of making false statements on his

Guilty Verdict - US v. Stevens - October 27, 2008 page 14 of 62 pages

The Alaska Democratic Party called on the senator to resign immediately.

Not Required to Resign

Stevens's conviction will likely boost Democratic chances of winning an

Guilty Verdict - US v. Stevens - October 27, 2008 page 15 of 62 pages

Republican primary in August with 63 percent of the vote after being

Hellenthal said Stevens has ``shown tremendous resilience'' after being

A legendary figure in Alaska politics, Stevens has steered billions of dollars

The case stemmed from a federal investigation of political corruption in

Prosecutors presented evidence that between 2000 and 2006, Stevens

Stevens insisted he never accepted as gifts other items delivered to his

Guilty Verdict - US v. Stevens - October 27, 2008 page 16 of 62 pages

To contact the reporters on this story: Cary O'Reilly in Washington at

Last Updated: October 27, 2008 18:14 EDT

Alaska Senator Is Convicted of Ethics Breach in Gift Scheme

Alaska Republican Ted Stevens Found Guilty on all Counts in ...

Jury finds Stevens guilty on corruption charges

US Senator Stevens found guilty

Alaska senator convicted on all counts

Guilty Verdict - US v. Stevens - October 27, 2008 page 17 of 62 pages

Sen. Stevens guilty of corruption charges

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UPDATE 1-US Sen. Stevens guilty of corruption charges

Sen. Ted Stevens found guilty in corruption case

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