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Senator Stevens Indicted!!

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Anonymous

Guest
The Longest serving Repub in the Senate may be done......No more "Bridges to Nowhere".... :???:

Justice Department to Announce Charges Against Sen. Stevens
Tuesday, July 29, 2008


WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has indicted Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, on seven counts of making false statements to federal officers investigating an Alaska businessman.

The Justice Department has announced a 1:20 p.m. ET press conference.

Nearly one year ago to the day, federal investigators raided Stevens' Alaska home as part of a probe of his relationship to an oil field services contractor convicted last year in a state corruption case.

The contractor, Bill Allen, in 2000 also oversaw construction for a major renovation of Stevens' house in the ski community of Girdwood. Stevens has claimed he paid for all the construction.

FOX News' Ian McCaleb contributed to this report.
 

fff

Well-known member
This is interesting. Too bad this didn't come after the Alaska primary. When Tom Delay was indicted (funny how that seems to be happening to top Republicans), he had to step down from all his leadership positions. I wonder if that's true in the Senate, too?
 

Sandhusker

Well-known member
Barney Frank, Sandy Berger, Torricelli, Condit, Rostenkowski, Gerry Studds, Marion Barry, Clinton, Spitzer, McGreevey, Trafficant, Bustamonte, etc...
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
fff said:
This is interesting. Too bad this didn't come after the Alaska primary. When Tom Delay was indicted (funny how that seems to be happening to top Republicans), he had to step down from all his leadership positions. I wonder if that's true in the Senate, too?


The Dems and pollsters were already predicting that this was possibly a seat that could be picked up by the Dems... Stevens is known countrywide as the poster boy for pork barrel legislation gone berserk, and been a disgrace for Republicans- altho Alaskans kept reelecting him to get their hands on the pork ...

What might be interesting is what this does to Rep. Don Young (R-AK), who is also under investigation for corruption, campaign and election ....

Some of the fishing legislation Daddy pushed thru- alledgedly supported his son in the fishing business....For one- when the Senator and Repubs backed the Packer Lobby over the cattlemen/consumers to block the enforcement of M-COOL- Stevens pushed it thru for the fishing industry, knowing the value it would be to them....
 

fff

Well-known member
Sandhusker said:
Barney Frank, Sandy Berger, Torricelli, Condit, Rostenkowski, Gerry Studds, Marion Barry, Clinton, Spitzer, McGreevey, Trafficant, Bustamonte, etc...

Wow, what an impressive list. But the only one of those who was an actual leader in the Democratic Pary was Rostenkowski. I don't know that Frank, Torricelli, Condit, Studds, Clinton, Spitzer, or McGreevey were ever charged or indicted for anything. In spite of what you might believe, being a homosexual isn't illegal.

Are you talking about Cruz Bustamante? His only crime seems to be losing an election to Arnold Schwarzenegger. That's hardly comparable to Delay and Stevens. :lol:
 

jigs

Well-known member
Sandhusker said:
Barney Frank, Sandy Berger, Torricelli, Condit, Rostenkowski, Gerry Studds, Marion Barry, Clinton, Spitzer, McGreevey, Trafficant, Bustamonte, etc...

how dare you throw the long list of dirty democraps up in thier faces.... you know that we are not supposed to use logic and reason when making points.... only short little blurbs they can twist, edit or deny
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Out and out involves peddling influence for gifts received which he tried then to hide...Kick them All out......

Earlier today, a federal grand jury here in the District of Columbia returned an indictment charging United States Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska with seven felony counts of making false statements.


The charges relate to false statements that Senator Stevens is alleged to have made on his mandatory financial disclosure forms filed for calendar years 1999 through 2006.
----------------------

The indictment charges that while he was sitting as a United States senator between 1999 and 2006, Senator Stevens accepted gifts from a privately held company, known as VECO, its chief executive officer and others.


VECO was a oil field services company and operated on an international basis. VECO was one of the largest private employers in the state of Alaska.


The gifts Senator Stevens is alleged to have received include substantial amounts of material and labor, used in the renovation of a private residence which Senator Stevens and his wife own, located in the town of Girdwood, Alaska.
-----------

The indictment also alleges that Senator Stevens received other gifts from VECO and its CEO, including household goods, furniture, a new Viking gas range, a tool storage cabinet and an automobile exchange, in which Senator Stevens received a new vehicle worth far more than what he provided in exchange.


According to the indictment, the total amount of gifts that Senator Stevens is alleged to have received over the duration of the offense is greater than $250,000. Also according to the indictment, these items were not disclosed on Senator Stevens' financial disclosure forms, which he filed under penalties of perjury, either as gifts or as liabilities, and further, that Senator Stevens did not reimburse or repay VECO or its chief executive officer for these items.
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To date, that investigation has resulted in seven convictions. Among those who have been convicted are Pete Kott, the former speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives; Bill Allen, the former CEO of VECO; and Richard Smith, a former vice president at VECO; William Babrick (ph), a former lobbyist in Anchorage; and Thomas Anderson, a former lobbyist -- excuse me -- and Thomas Anderson, a former Alaska state representative.


That investigation is continuing.
---------------

Can you elaborate on what sort of cooperation of Bill Allen provided?


TIDWELL: Bill Allen -- Bill Allen entered into a plea agreement. That plea agreement is publicly available to you. It's a public record in Alaska. You can go and look at it and see for yourself what the terms of that plea agreement are. He is cooperating with the United States.

http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/29/AR2008072901736.html

The business executive at the center of the affair is Bill J. Allen, a longtime friend of the senator’s and the founder of VECO, a company that builds pipelines and does other construction work for oil companies. Mr. Allen pleaded guilty in May 2007 to making $243,000 in illegal payments to a lawmaker, who was later identified as State Senator Ben Stevens, Ted Stevens’s son.

Ben Stevens, who was once president of the Alaska State Senate, is one of a half-dozen lawmakers under scrutiny for their relationships with Mr. Allen and his company.

Republicans on Capitol Hill were already jittery over a lobbying and influence-peddling scandal related to the lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who is now in prison. Mr. Stevens’s troubles are not linked to that affair. Instead, they stem from his ties to Mr. Allen, whose company won millions of dollars in federal contracts with the help of Mr. Stevens, whose home in Alaska was almost doubled in size in the renovation project.

Under Senate Republican party rules, an indictment on felony charges compels a member to temporarily give up his leadership posts. Mr. Stevens has been the ranking minority member on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

Mr. Stevens is a former chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and he is still on the panel. As chairman, he wielded huge influence, and did not hesitate to use it to steer money and projects to his state.



http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/30/washington/30stevens.html?_r=1&ref=politics&oref=slogin
 

Sandhusker

Well-known member
fff said:
Sandhusker said:
Barney Frank, Sandy Berger, Torricelli, Condit, Rostenkowski, Gerry Studds, Marion Barry, Clinton, Spitzer, McGreevey, Trafficant, Bustamonte, etc...

Wow, what an impressive list. But the only one of those who was an actual leader in the Democratic Pary was Rostenkowski. I don't know that Frank, Torricelli, Condit, Studds, Clinton, Spitzer, or McGreevey were ever charged or indicted for anything. In spite of what you might believe, being a homosexual isn't illegal.

Are you talking about Cruz Bustamante? His only crime seems to be losing an election to Arnold Schwarzenegger. That's hardly comparable to Delay and Stevens. :lol:

You don't know much about what the leaders in your party have done. I guess that partially explains your membership.
 

RobertMac

Well-known member
Sandhusker said:
fff said:
Sandhusker said:
Barney Frank, Sandy Berger, Torricelli, Condit, Rostenkowski, Gerry Studds, Marion Barry, Clinton, Spitzer, McGreevey, Trafficant, Bustamonte, etc...

Wow, what an impressive list. But the only one of those who was an actual leader in the Democratic Pary was Rostenkowski. I don't know that Frank, Torricelli, Condit, Studds, Clinton, Spitzer, or McGreevey were ever charged or indicted for anything. In spite of what you might believe, being a homosexual isn't illegal.

Are you talking about Cruz Bustamante? His only crime seems to be losing an election to Arnold Schwarzenegger. That's hardly comparable to Delay and Stevens. :lol:

You don't know much about what the leaders in your party have done. I guess that partially explains your membership.

But, SandHusker, the libs consider the problems of their Dem leaders as résumé enhancement!!!:lol2: :lol2: :lol2:
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Luckily the voters of Montana saw thru our shyster (Conman Burns) and ousted him at the polls...Not sure if his replacement has done that much as a junior Senator- but its kind of nice to pick up a State paper and not read another story of some corruption or influence peddling investigation taking place involving your Senator....

But now we have a Congressman that has some questions to answer to the Montana agriculture folks on his long standing policy change on trading with Cuba- and then collecting large amounts of donations from a anti-Cuba Lobbying group.... :( .

I don't know what Alaska will do- hopefully the same... It would be nice if voters could get past the (D) or (R) by their name and kick all the crooks and shysters out that vote not because of their principles, but instead of by which Lobbyist is filling their coffers.... :(
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Sounds like Alaska has one big political mess of scandal going on up there- mostly involving Republicans...It would be a shocker if they went Democrat......
Stevens still has a primary to win- but already is running behind the Dem in the polls.......

News from the Votemaster
Polar bear special today. Yesterday we reported that a rich businessman, Vic Vickers, is spending $410,000 to defeat Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) in the Alaska senatorial primary. We added that Vickers didn't have a prayer. That was yesterday. Today is today. In politics, a week--make that a day--is a long time. Stevens took bribes from an oil company and then concealed the payments (of $250,000) on official Senate forms he filed. Yesterday he was indicted on seven felony counts of making false statements on his financial disclosure forms.

Stevens is the longest serving Republican senator in history but it is hard to see how he can survive now. No doubt the (private) pressure from fellow Republicans to drop out will be immense. If he ignores them and stays in the race and manages to eke out a victory against the unknown Vickers, real estate developer David Cuddy, and several other Republicans (who are likely to split the anti-Stevens vote), he gets to face off with Anchorage mayor Mark Begich (D) in the Fall. Begich is young, good looking, popular in the state, and well funded (one of Chuck Schumer's priorities). Begich is already ahead in the polls and the indictment probably seals Stevens' doom.

The Republicans best-case scenario is that Stevens wins the Aug. 26 primary and then drops out before Sept 17. In that case, the Alaska Republican Party gets to name the new nominee. They could name Gov. Sarah Palin (R), but the state legislature decided Monday to investigate her for abuse-of-power charges for trying to fire her state trooper brother-in-law who is in a bitter child custody dispute with her sister. They could name Rep. Don Young (R) but he is under investigation for corruption as well. Their best best is to name Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, who is running in the House primary, but could switch to the Senate race if the slot opens up to due the nominee's resignation and the state party wants him to. If Stevens drops out after Sept. 17, his name remains on the ballot.

But Stevens is not the kind of guy who gives up easily and is probably not keen on going to jail at 84 so he may deny all charges and not drop out. Second best scenario for the Republicans is that Vickers or Cuddy wins the primary. Then the Republicans have an unknown but at least untainted candidate against Begich. That becomes the classic battle of an established Democratic politician against a rich businessman.

Stevens indictment could easy affect the House race in Alaska as well since Young is facing a primary challenge from Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell (R). A Hays Research Group (D) poll puts Young's unfavorable rating at 56% and his favorable rating at 41%. In a trial heat against Parnell, Young loses 42% to 46%. However, when Parnell is paired against the Democrat, former state legislator Ethan Berkowitz, Berkowitz has a slight lead of 33% to 30%. Stevens' indictment only makes Young's task harder as all the Democrats will be yelling "Republicans are corrupt" from now until November and a lot of Republican voters will shake their heads in dismay and agree.

The only top official in Alaska not in a current scandal is Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), but she has a bit of a cloud over her head, too. She was initially appointed to the Senate by her father, Gov. Frank Murkowski (R-AK), but later won election on her own. She had ethical problems last year though.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/160224.php

All in all (1) lots of action in Alaska, (2) the Democrats chances of picking up this Senate seat have probably improved, (3) the Democrats chances of picking up the House seat are now maybe 50-50, and (4) the national Democrats have more ammo in other races to paint the Republicans as out of touch and corrupt. Three state legislators and two lobbyists have already been convicted in the Alaska scandal. CQ Politics changed its rating on the Senate race yesterday from leans Republican to leans Democratic. A lot rides on what Stevens does.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
A Republican for Obama Remembers Ted Stevens

Thu, 07/31/2008 - 2:26pm — jmartin
Here's a bipartisan ideal: good government.

Back in 2000, the GOP controlled both the House and the Senate. Bob Ney (R), Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R), Tom Delay (R) and Jack Abramoff had not yet become household names, and our party was still largely seen as the party of reform. In some sense, you could almost forgive Senator Ted Stevens for thinking it no big deal to allow the VECO Corporation to double the size of his home that summer. After all, Stevens had worked tirelessly on behalf of Alaskans for almost half a century, and he did a great job at helping his state get its share of federal dollars.

Here's something you cannot forgive Ted Stevens for, however: back in 2006, Senator Barack Obama (D) and Senator Tom Coburn (R) introduced the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006. This legislation would create a website that would list all entities and organizations receiving federal funds, and would be accessible to everyone. The idea was simple-- the taxpayers should be able to see where and to whom their tax dollars were going.

Before this bill unanimously passed the Senate and was signed into law by President Bush, however, Senator Ted Stevens put a secret hold on it-- preventing it from even reaching the Senate floor. As this CNN.com

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/08/30/secret.senators/

article pointed out shortly thereafter, it wasn't until Senator Coburn revealed which of his colleagues had a hold on the legislation that it was eventually allowed to go through.

Why did Senator Ted Stevens (R) not want U.S. taxpayers to know where their money was going? How many more "bridges to nowhere" did Stevens want to keep out of the public's eye?

What is it about fiscal responsibility that Barack Obama and Tom Coburn know, that Ted Stevens does not?
 
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Anonymous

Guest
I heard on the news the other day that even if Stevens is convicted of the crimes charged- he will still get all his Congression pension and retirement benefits including his health care benefits-- just like also are convicted shysters Cunningham, Ney, and Rostenkowski.... :( :( :mad: :mad:

I wonder how that became law :???:
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Uncle Teds woes are getting worse!! I even saw a poll the other day- where the Repubs were leading in all the races...Could Alaska be becoming a blue state too :???: :wink: :lol:

More of Bush's Legacy

More bad news for the Republicans in Alaska. First, a poll shows Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), the longest-serving Republican senator in history, down by double digits against his young challenger, Mark Begich (D), Mayor of Anchorage.

Second, in Stevens' upcoming trial, prosecutors are going to enter evidence that Stevens got an interest-free loan to finance a Florida real estate deal on which he made $100,000. He didn't mention this on his Senate financial disclosure form, which is a felony. Woe is Uncle Ted. Unless Stevens drops out of the race after the primary and allows the Alaska Republican Party to pick a new candidate, it looks like there will be a changing of the guard.
http://www.electoral-vote.com/
 

fff

Well-known member
The last poll I saw showed Stevens leading in the Republican primary race. I've got my fingers crossed that he'll win that because it will probably be easier for a Dem to beat him than another, lesser known, Republican. I think the governor was expected to fill in if he was unable to run, but now she's in trouble, too, and says she's staying in her current job. So far, things look pretty positive for Dems in Alaska. Stevens is demanding a quick trial. What will happen if he's actually convicted before the election? He'll have the right to appeal, but can he stay in the race?
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Sounds like his quick trial might not occur-- as now he wants to change the trial from D.C. to Alaska where he thinks he can find a sympathetic jury- but to do that will probably slow up the trial process...

He's just playing the game- will probably end up plea bargaining out to keep his old ancient crooked rear out of prison-- Or Bush will pardon him- as I'll bet he has a little on GW that GW doesn't want getting out..You scratch my back- I'll scratch yours.....

Thats the reason we need to clean these old crooks that have sat in D.C. 20-30 years out- and bring in some fresh faces, new ideas, and some major "Change".....
 
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