By: Andy Barr
October 31, 2008 01:16 PM EST
Republican Sen. Ted Stevens told Alaska voters Thursday night that he has “not been convicted of anything” — less than a week after being found guilty on all seven counts at his corruption trial.
During a debate with Democratic opponent and Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, Stevens insisted on his innocence and said that he intends to ignore calls from his Republican colleagues to resign.
“I’m not going to step down. I have not been convicted,” Stevens said according to a transcript provided by the Anchorage Daily News .
“I have a got a case pending against me, and probably the worst case of prosecutorial misconduct by the prosecutors that is known. I had a talk this afternoon, with one of the attorneys here, a former U.S. attorney, who told me he was appalled by what went on in that case. So I think you’ll find out. I will succeed, and I will be found innocent.”
Stevens has previously said that he intends to appeal, but he did not mention that option during Thursday’s debate, instead stressing, inaccurately, that he had not been convicted.
Several GOP party leaders, including John McCain and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, have asked Stevens to step down in hopes of preserving his historically red Senate seat.
Polls taken prior to the conviction showed Begich already within striking distance of the seat Stevens has held since 1968.
On Wednesday, Sen. John Ensign, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, urged Stevens to “do the right thing” and resign.
“The statesman-like thing for Sen. Stevens would be to resign,” Ensign said in an interview on MSNBC. “I would like to see a special election in the state of Alaska so they can actually choose between a Republican and a Democrat running to see who they want to represent them in the United States Senate.”
“Sen. Stevens should do the right thing and resign so that we can have a special election to determine the best way to represent the people of the state of Alaska,” he added.
Asked what he would say to McCain and Palin in response to their calls for his resignation, Stevens said, “I would tell them that I understand that they make statements during the heat of the campaign. And probably they’ve been a little misinformed by their staff. But I wouldn’t hold it against them. I understand what they’re doing. They’re trying to get elected.”
“The case is still pending on the basis of motions which we filed for a new trial or for a dismissal of the case for prosecutorial misconduct,” he said. “I have not been convicted of anything.”
© 2008 Capitol News Company, LLC
Popularity: 39% [?]
1 Response
What? This is exactly what is wrong with the Washington crowd, they think the laws that the rest of us “lower class” citizens live under don’t apply to them. How can this guy possibly think he can just keep on doing business as usual? He needs to resign immediately and pay his price for being a greedy, self-absorbed crook. For him to think, even for just a second, that because he has been so beneficial for Alaska during his term as Senator that he shouldn’t have to pay the same price you or I would if we were convicted of the same charges is proof positive that he is not what we need in D.C.
I think part of the problem is he is feeling picked on since it is obvious that most of our politicians are guilty of the same type of crimes, they just haven’t been caught yet. We need to clean house at the Capital Building and get these types out of there. Until we do that, we will keep getting the same types of results from Congress.
The whole reason I joined this blog as a commenter is because I feel the same way as the founder, we need to hold our politicians responsible for their actions (or lack there of) and make them pay the price when they screw up. They are not above any of us and we need to make them understand that THEY work for US, not the other way around.
Posted on October 31st, 2008 at 11:07 am
Add A Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.