Written on Monday, October 27th, 2008 at 4:21pm by Alan Bedenko | 10 Comments

Ted Stevens Convicted on all 7 Counts

From the Associated Press:

Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens has been convicted of lying about free home renovations and other gifts he received from a wealthy oil contractor.

Stevens was found guilty on all seven counts of making false statements on Senate financial documents.

The verdict throws the upcoming election into disarray. Stevens is fighting off a challenge from Democrat Mark Begich and must now either drop out or continue campaigning as a convicted felon.

The trial hinged on the testimony of Stevens’ longtime friend, who testified that his employees dramatically remodeled the senator’s home.

Stevens faces up to five years in prison on each count but, under federal sentencing guidelines, will likely receive much less prison time, if any.

I think this makes Stevens a “maverick”.

“Pallin around”, indeed.

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10 Comments

  1. Byron says:
    October 27, 2008 at 5:08 pm

    Cue Mike the Freener to tell us that Stevens is an innocent victim of government, like Charles Keating.

  2. Mike In WNY says:
    October 27, 2008 at 7:33 pm

    Sorry to disappoint you Byron, but I feel no sympathy for Stevens, he got what he deserved. STEEL, are you reading this? I am criticizing a Republican.

    When I saw the post title on this blog, I wondered how far I would have to scroll before seeing Palin dragged in somehow. I wasn’t disappointed. I will just say it is kind of unreasonable for a Governor of a state to not occasionally speak with a United States Senator from the same state. She did a nice job distancing herself at the end and never fully denied saying that Stevens is stupid.

  3. Mike In WNY says:
    October 27, 2008 at 7:37 pm

    Byron, the government created a crime to fit the facts in Keating’s case. That is specifically prohibited by the Constitution.

    In the United States, ex post facto laws are prohibited in federal law by Article I, section 9 of the U.S. Constitution.

  4. kris says:
    October 27, 2008 at 7:43 pm

    huzzah!

  5. Byron says:
    October 27, 2008 at 7:56 pm

    Charles Keating was convicted of bankruptcy and wire fraud and racketeering. Those crimes were not “created” in 1993.

  6. Mike In WNY says:
    October 27, 2008 at 8:11 pm

    To finish Byron’s story – The convictions against Keating were overturned by higher courts. The government, with their infinite resources, was going to retry Keating on the federal charges. However, Keating, having had enough after already serving 4 1/2 years in prison for charges that were ultimately overturned, agreed to a plea deal in exchange for time served.

    Many people accept plea deals because they do not have the resources to fight the government. Eliot Spitzer made his career from extorting fines with the use of unlimited and relentless threats of prosecution.

  7. Byron says:
    October 28, 2008 at 11:07 am

    The federal convictions were overturned because jurors had heard about and discussed Keating’s conviction on State charges. There was never any finding that the federal or State charges violated the ex post facto clause – you just made that up. Seems to be your style (c.f. your ridiculous claim that Obama made a “legal admission” that he isn’t qualified to be President).

  8. Byron says:
    October 28, 2008 at 1:01 pm

    By the way – the article that Mike in WNY quoted (without attribution) to support his contention that Keating was a victim of government, was written by a guy who apparently is another 9-11 Truther.

    That’s two Truthers you’ve cited just this week. Do you believe Bush carried out the 9/11 attacks, Mike?

  9. Jim Ostrowski says:
    October 28, 2008 at 3:37 pm

    Are there any photos of Obama and Kwame Kilpatrick?

 

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