Breaking news!
Sorry for the incredibly brief diary - I was just driving home and heard on the news that Ted Stevens was found GUILTY.
I will go look for more info and post.
UPDATE: Stevens guilty on all 7 counts.
From CNN.com:
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 the federal courthouse last week with his daughter Beth Stevens.
Sen. Ted Stevens leaves the federal courthouse last week with his daughter Beth Stevens.
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.
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 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.
UPDATE x 2: Video Report at CNN
From The Hill:
The verdict could spell the end of a 40-year Senate career for a man who rose to be one of the most dominant figures in the upper chamber and who helped transform Alaska in its 50 years of statehood. The verdict was reached after the jury deliberated since Wednesday and found the 84-year-old senator guilty of failing to report more than $250,000 in gifts from Bill Allen, the former head of Veco Corp., and other friends.
From The Examiner:
The Senate's longest-serving Republican, 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.
UPDATE x 3: Annnnnd the AP weighs in:
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.
UPDATE X 4: From the Anchorage Daily News:
A jury has found Sen. Ted Stevens guilty on all seven counts of lying on his financial disclosure forms. It is the highest-profile felony conviction in a sweeping four-year federal investigation into corruption in Alaska politics, and an almost unprecedented conviction by a jury of a sitting U.S. senator.
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