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Officials say the Justice Department has indicted Alaska Senator Ted Stevens on "seven counts of falsely reporting hundreds of thousands of dollars in services he received from a company that helped renovate his home," according to MSNBC.
Stevens has been under investigation by the FBI and the IRS for alleged corruption based on his relationship with an oil service executive who has pled guilty to bribing Alaskan legislators.
In 2006 Stevens went down in web infamy for calling the Internet a "series of tubes" during Net Neutrality discussions.
At the time, FireDogLake's Christy Hardin Smith wrote, "Now, you guys all know that I am not the most tech savvy person on the planet -- but what in the hell is Senator Ted Stevens talking about with that ranty blather? He is in charge of the net neutrality issue in the Senate. In charge.
And if you want to really confuse the hell out of yourself this morning, you can listen to the entire ranty blather of a speech. I swear, it takes a while, but it is worth every freaking syllable to get a really good understanding of Senator Ted Stevens' intellectual understanding of "the internets." (Move over W, there may be a new technology doofus crownholder. Jeebus.)"
Today, with news of the indictment, FireDogLake's Jane Hamsher writes, "Ted Stevens: Down the Toobz...Sort of hoping this happened later rather than sooner, so no other Republican had time to regroup before November. The filing deadline was June 2, and this is the ballot for the August 26 primary."
The big question swirling around the blogosphere is, as Jane points out, the election. Daily Kos has pulled up the statute -
"If a candidate of a political party nominated at the primary election dies, withdraws, resigns, becomes disqualified from holding the office for which the candidate is nominated, or is certified as being incapacitated in the manner prescribed by this section after the primary election and 48 days or more before the general election, the vacancy may be filled by party petition. The central committee of any political party or any party district committee may certify as being incapacitated any candidate nominated by their respective party by presenting to the director a sworn statement made by a panel of three licensed physicians, not more than two of whom may be of the same political party, that the candidate is physically or mentally incapacitated to an extent that would in the panel's judgment prevent the candidate from active service during the term of office if elected. The director shall place the name of the person nominated by party petition on the general election ballot. The name of a candidate disqualified under this section may not appear on the general election ballot."
Stevens has denied any wrongdoing. He announced last week that he would not attend September's Republican National Convention in Minneapolis/St. Paul.
Erika Bolstad of McClatchy Newspapers has more, " The 7-count indictment comes nearly one year after federal agents raided Stevens' home in Girdwood, a resort town about 40 miles south of Anchorage. The Justice Department has scheduled a press conference for 1:30 p.m. to announce the indictment.
A broad federal investigation of public corruption has been under way in Alaska for more than four years, although it didn't become widely known until Aug. 31, 2006. That's when teams of federal agents executed search warrants at the offices of six state legislators, as well as others, in Anchorage, Juneau and elsewhere around the state.
The government has since brought indictments against five state legislators. Three have been convicted by juries and two are awaiting trial. Four others — two former top officials with Veco Corp., the former chief of staff of Gov. Frank Murkowski and a private-prison lobbyist - have entered guilty pleas and are cooperating with the government.
The investigation continues, with grand juries hearing secret testimony in Anchorage and Washington, D.C.
Federal agents searched Stevens' home in Girdwood on July 30, 2007. Alaska's sole congressman, Don Young, is also under federal investigation.
The indictment is still being processed and isn't yet available.
Stevens' home in Girdwood was renovated in 2000. Those renovations doubled the size of the home and were overseen by Veco Corp. chief executive Bill Allen. Witnesses with knowledge of Veco's role have reported testifying before grand juries in Anchorage and Washington, D.C.
Stevens has said he paid all the bills he was presented, leaving open the question of whether he was billed the entire amount."
Contributing Editor Erin Kotecki Vest
