Ethics conviction leaves Alaska's Sen. Ted Stevens defiant

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Ted Stevens, Alaska's dominant political figure for more than four decades, was found guilty Monday of violating federal ethics laws for failing to report some $250,000 in gifts and services he received from friends.

The jury of District of Columbia residents convicted Stevens, 84, on all seven felony counts he faced in connection with charges that he knowingly failed to list on Senate disclosure forms the receipt of gifts and services used to renovate his home in Girdwood, Alaska.

Stevens, the Senate's longest-serving Republican and a consistently grim-faced figure, seemed to frown even more deeply as the verdict was delivered by the jury foreman.

In a statement issued after he left the courthouse, Stevens struck a defiant tone, urging Alaskans to re-elect him to a seventh full term when they vote next week.

He blamed the verdict on what he said was repeated misconduct by the federal prosecutors. "I will fight this unjust verdict with every ounce of energy I have," he said.

Indicted in July, Stevens requested an expedited trial to clear his name before Election Day. Despite the guilty verdict, he will remain on the ballot and is engaged in a tight race against Anchorage's Democratic mayor, Mark Begich.

If he can pull off an upset victory, Stevens could cling to his seat in the Senate for months, if not longer, while he appeals the verdict. Tradition allows him to exhaust his appeals before the ethics committee will begin expulsion hearings, according to the Senate Historical Office. It takes 67 votes to expel a senator.

Known as "Uncle Ted" in Alaska, Stevens was instrumental in promoting statehood for Alaska when he was a young Interior Department official in the Eisenhower administration and went on to represent the state in the Senate for 40 years. Over that time, he used his steadily accumulated influence over federal spending, notably using his membership on the Appropriations Committee, to steer billions of dollars in federal funds to his home state.

Stevens also has been influential in Washington state, collaborating in the 1970s with legendary Democratic Sens. Henry "Scoop" Jackson and Warren Magnuson.

He helped Magnuson push through legislation to preserve commercial fishing along the Northwest coast. Stevens helped win money to expand Sea-Tac International Airport, worked to get Seattle-based Alaska Airlines gate space at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., and supported expansion of the Port of Tacoma. He also directed billions in defense spending to Boeing, his No. 1 corporate contributor.

But in recent years, he has clashed bitterly with Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., over her opposition to oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and to his effort to abolish limits on oil tankers in Puget Sound.

Political handicappers refused to write Stevens off but said his chances of re-election were greatly diminished by Monday's outcome.

"In another state, he would be toast," said Charlie Cook, editor of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. "In Alaska, you've got to make him a significant underdog."

If Stevens loses his seat, the trial's implications could be felt on a far broader political scale, helping Democrats in their drive to win enough seats in the Senate to give them a filibuster-proof majority of at least 60 votes.

Should Stevens win re-election but later be expelled or resign, Alaska's governor would have to call a special election to fill the vacancy.

Alaska's current governor, Sarah Palin, the Republican candidate for vice president, issued a statement late Monday saying she was "confident that Sen. Stevens will do what's right for the people of Alaska."

Palin did not specify what that was. She did ask that the verdict be respected, saying that it "shines a light on the corrupting influence of the big oil service company that was allowed to control too much of our state. It 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."

Judge Emmet Sullivan of federal District Court delayed sentencing until after a Feb. 25 hearing scheduled to consider motions from Stevens' lawyers.

Under complicated guidelines that are no longer mandatory, Sullivan has wide discretion in setting a sentence, although lawyers familiar with the subject said it is difficult to conceive of a situation in which Stevens is not required to spend time in prison.

In addition to his expected appeal, his supporters are likely to explore the possibility of obtaining a pardon, or some form of executive clemency such as a commutation of any sentence, from President Bush, a fellow Republican, before he leaves office.

The verdict came after more than three weeks of testimony, the highlight of which was Stevens' testifying in his own defense.

Government prosecutors used evidence and testimony to paint a picture of Alaska in which several of Stevens' wealthy friends, keenly aware of his political status, were eager to shower him with gifts. The indictment charged that he received some $250,000 in gifts and services from a longtime friend, Bill Allen, the owner of a huge oil-services construction company, and gifts from other friends like a sled dog and an expensive massage chair.

Allen, who was convicted for his role in a scheme to bribe Alaska state lawmakers to help his oil-exploration projects, agreed to cooperate with the government and have his telephone conversations with Stevens recorded.

At one time, the two men were friends, thrown together by politics and oil money. Allen, who was the prosecution's chief witness, testified that Stevens knew he was getting the goods and services for free and even sent an emissary to ask that no bills be sent.

Stevens' defense was largely built on the notion that he had not asked for, and had no use for, many of the goods and services he received. In the case of the massage chair, he said it was not a gift from Bob Persons, a friend and restaurant owner who had purchased it from a Brookstone store and sent it to the Stevenses' Washington home. It was a loan, Stevens testified, even though the chair has remained in his Washington home for more than seven years and he once wrote to Persons that he enjoyed using it and even fell asleep in it.

Information from The Washington Post and The Seattle Times archives is included in this report.