Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens found guilty of financial disclosure violations
A Washington, D.C. jury convicts the longtime senator on all seven counts of failing to disclose thousands of dollars in gifts and home improvements in violation of Senate disclosure rules.
Gerald Herbert / Associated Press
Reporting from Washington — A federal jury today found Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska guilty on all seven counts that he failed to disclose thousands of dollars in gifts and home improvements in violation of Senate disclosure rules.
The unanimous verdict in the corruption trial was announced in U.S. District Court with Stevens present in the courtroom with his attorneys. U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, at the request of Stevens' lawyers, polled the jurors individually, asking whether they agreed with the verdict, and each said he did.
The verdict came the same day that the jury began its deliberations anew after one of the jurors had to leave abruptly to attend a funeral in California late last week.
Stevens, 84, has been in the Senate since 1968 and is the longest-serving Republican in Senate history, and has been a fixture in Alaska politics since before statehood.
He is seeking re-election to a seventh term next Tuesday, and has been in a close contest with his Democrat rival, the mayor of Anchorage. His conviction does not automatically bar him from serving in the Senate.
Stevens' lawyers are likely to request a new trial. The judge did not set a date for sentencing.
Stevens left the courtroom with his lawyers and did not answer questions. A number of family members, including his wife, Catherine, were in the courtroom during the sentencing. Justice Department officials were scheduled to make a statement on the courthouse steps this afternoon about the case.
Schmitt is a Times staff writer.
rick.schmitt@latimes.com
