Ted Stevens Indictment

UPDATE: Stevens Declares His Innocence

Ted Stevens has given his first public comment since he was indicted today on seven felony charges.

Note that he says he never "knowingly" submitted false statements, leaving some wiggle room.

This was just posted on his Web site:

"I have proudly served this nation and Alaska for over 50 years. My public service began when I served in World War II. It saddens me to learn that these charges have been brought against me. I have never knowingly submitted a false disclosure form required by law as a U.S. Senator.

JULY 29 2008: DOJ Press Conference On Stevens' Indictment

JULY 29 2008: Ted Stevens Indicted

United States Senator Theodore F. Stevens of Alaska was charged today in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia with seven counts of making false statements related to Stevens' financial disclosure forms, Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich of the Criminal Division announced.

The seven-count indictment charges Sen. Stevens, the former chairperson of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, with engaging in a nearly eight-year scheme to conceal his receipt of more than $250,000 in things of value from VECO Corporation, formerly a multi-national oil services company based in Alaska, and Bill J. Allen, the Chief Executive Officer of VECO at the time.

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Read the full indictment.

NOVEMBER 16 2007: Stevens Blames Press For Bad Reputation

"I don't see any reason why we should have had this massive press interest in what's going on," Stevens said. "It's just an investigation of a federal agency. They go on all the time. No one else talks about them the way they talk about the one involving me." ...

Stevens made vague threats to the people who have suggested that he and his son, former state Senate President Ben Stevens, might be guilty of some sort of wrongdoing.

SEPTEMBER 15 2007: Oil Executive Testifies On Stevens' Home Remodeling

Bill Allen, former chief executive of oil services company VECO, testified that he spent more than $400,000 to bribe state legislators and for work at Stevens' house in the ski resort town of Girdwood. He said VECO also paid at least two contractors, a plumber and a carpenter, for work on the house. The project in 2000 more than doubled the size of the four-bedroom structure.

SEPTEMBER 13 2007: Veco Executive Admits To Bribing Ted Stevens' Son

The former head of an oil field service company admitted Thursday in court that he bribed three Alaska legislators, including the son of a U.S. senator who is the target of a federal investigation.

JULY 30 2007: FBI Raids Stevens Home

Federal law enforcement agents raided U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens' Alaska home in Girdwood on Monday, hauling off undisclosed items from inside and taking extensive pictures and video. Officials wouldn't say what they were looking for or what they found.

JUNE 7 2007: Stevens Admits He's Under Investigation

Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest-serving Republican in the Senate, disclosed in an interview that the FBI asked him to preserve records as part of a widening investigation into Alaskan political corruption that has touched his son and ensnared one of his closest political confidants and financial backers.

JULY 29: Jon Stewart Knew Ted Stevens Was Up To No Good

Stevens, 84, has had what has been described as an "iron grip" on Alaskan politics for decades, since he was appointed to the Senate in 1968, won a special election two years later and was re-elected six times. The largest airport in Alaska is named for him -- the Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage.

Sure, Stevens is in the news now -- but there is one news program that has been on him for ages, tipped off by his notorious temper and propensity for saying whatever the hell he wants.

Comments

[neoconhypocrites]

That lovely flag pin should make a handy weapon in prison.

[Kiwi12]

"My public service began when I served in World War 2"

And this would be relevant to your innocence how?

[SouthPrairie]

Corrupticans cannot conceal,
The crimes that their past deeds reveal,
They can't stand the facts,
That follow their tracks,
Allowing our country to heal.

[Larry of Corrales]

I worked, for about a year, for Senator Stevens in the late 80's as a LEGIS Fellow on the Governmental Affairs Committee in the U.S. Senate. While I always knew he was a conservative Republican I would have never thought he would be one who would engage in any illegal activities. I feel sorry for the man as he always did everything he could to help the people of Alaska and was always a good friend of the Federal civil servant.

[Annette]

Ted Stevens "never knowingly filed a false report"??? Is he saying he did it unknowingly? Perhaps while sleepwalking, while drunk? While busy crying about his bridge to nowhere? Come on, the guy has been in the Senate since 1968 if he doesn't know the rules by now he is too dense to be in the job.The man is corrupt, one of a long group of corrupt GOP officials who thought that he was so powerful that he could do anything. I remember when he swore a vendetta against my senator because she had the nerve to try to stop his free wheeling corruption. The man signed a paper that was false, he lied. He is a crook. Now it remains to be seen if the people of Alaska are wise enought to elect some one who is not a crook.

To be honest after seeing what giving absolute power to the GOP has done to this country, in money wasted, corruption, vanity wars, deaths, and Constitutional mafeasance. It is impossible to see how almost anything wouldn't be better. He has proven to be arrogant, ill informed, and venal.

[UtahLady]

What a bunch of baloney! Stevens was caught fair and square, and is now trying to obfuscate his way out of trouble. The effluent eminating from the male bovine fecal matter he's spreading far and wide should gag just about everyone. Business as usual, neo-cons.

[SouthPrairie]

I'm really surprised that the Bush Justice Department willing to do anything--the man's a Corruptlican for cryin' out loud! Now if only they's indite Libby, Rice, Cheney, Bush....

[brooklyncitizen]

Jon Stewart certainly called this one.

[infinity]

Love the photo and the lapel flag pin. What a great patriot!

[makeanimpact]

Yes, but isn't that a flag pin in his lapel?

Well, then.

[BruntLIVE]

Why doesn't DrudgeReport have this story in 22 Bold Helvetica font with siren? Instead, he has it in the left corner so it can be said he's fair....gimmie a break. Thank you Huff Post for getting the story out, you have talk radio and Foxnews on the run.

[grumpygranny66]

One by one the GOP thugs are falling from grace

That's what happen when government official think they're above the law.

Still waiting for the head of the Washington Mafia to fall from grace, hope that day will be here soon!!

[plaidlemur]

These are wrist slap charges. There was a definitive quid pro quo, in my opinion, and he should have been charged with receiving bribes. The Bush administration knew they needed to pursue the case, but wanted to be as lenient as possible--another case of cronyism.

[Big0725]

Felonies are some pretty hard slaps, don't you think?

[Birdman]

What he was tryig to say is that he should have been brought up on charges of Bribery rather then the lesser charges of lying.

[chucktrotter]

Poor Sen. Stevens! A quotation...

"It just doesn't mesh. He grossly overestimated his political capital. Hubris, whatever, I can't explain it. He didn't have a lot of political capital. That was wrong."

George Edwards

[jacmull]

Bush's hand-picked DOJ indicted Steven? Teddy must not have donated to GW Presidential Library fund with its one volume, My Pet Goat.

[xrepublican]

You can use The Department of Justice to take out political 'enemies', you can feed billion dollar no-bid contracts (that don't need to get completed) to your cronies, you can rig voting machines and throw hundreds of thousands off voting rolls, you can torture innocent people and hold them indefinitely ....... but when you're taking money DIRECTLY and having someone RENOVATE YOUR HOUSE AT NO COST..... you're THEN at a level of blatant corruption that's pretty damn hard to ignore........

the problem is that these crooks have NO sense of ethics - they literaly think they CAN get away with anything

[Gingerfr]

My query regarding the allegations against Senator Ted Stevens is, why is there no lenght y print or press about Veco Corp.'s illegalities in these circumstances other then the minimal information naming their company about their illegal misdeeds and the executives who bribed a government official? But nothing further about charges against this company and its executives. I googled to see if there is any current information indicting the Veco Corp. and I found none. Is it not still against the law to bribe an official no matter what level of government is involved city, state of federal? Is the FBI investigating Veco Corp.? Surely Senator Stevens cannot be the only government official who has been allegedly bribed by this company? Hummmmmm.

Ginger Ferrer.

[rabrophy]

Stevens is old and in deep political trouble, so Bush/Cheney threw him to the lions.

[Big0725]

Because it's a long, sordid affair that isn't over yet, so the entire story hasn't come out.

VECO execs Bill Allen and Rick Smith plead guilty in U.S. District Court to extortion, bribery and conspiracy to impede the IRS on May 7, 2007. Also, VECO was eaten up by some Colorado-based company called CH2M HILL. VECO no longer exists.

Might I proffer you this link:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x843102

It has all sorts of good info.