Senator Stevens Knew He Was Guilty

Not all the news on corruption out of Alaska is about Sarah Palin. She may be the one running for VP, but Senator Stevens is campaigning for his re-election to the Senate and his little criminal trial is starting to get in the way. Instead of being able to hold rallies and fundraisers in Alaska, he is stuck in Washington so that a jury can decide whether he is guilty or innocent. Too bad for Stevens, he already knew he was guilty, though when he said it he was unaware that he was being recorded.

From Yahoo News:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens told an oil-executive friend, in recordings played on Monday at the Alaska Republican's corruption trial, they both risked going to jail -- but he didn't think it would come to that.

"These guys can't hurt really us. They're not going to shoot us. It's not Iraq. What the hell?," Stevens told Bill Allen, founder of the former VECO Corp. oil-services firm based in Alaska.

Stevens is charged with lying on Senate disclosure forms from 2001 to 2006 to conceal more than $250,000 in renovations to his property and other gifts provided by VECO.

"The worst that can happen to us is we run up a bunch of legal fees, and might lose and we might have to pay a fine, might have to serve a little time in jail. I hope to Christ it never gets to that, and I don't think it will," Stevens said.

However, he said, "We've got a fight out there ahead of us, and we're going to win, because we didn't do anything wrong. You've got a right to spend all the money you've got to support the party you believe in."

If Stevens thought he wasn't doing anything wrong, then he wouldn't have lied and concealed all the gifts he received. Sorry Senator, I'm afraid logic has its way of blocking your path to innocence. The recording clearly shows that Ted knew that what he was doing was illegal and gambled on the outcome of being bribed. For him, giving attention to rich oil companies was more important than representing Alaskans. Stevens figured that by throwing as much pork as he could their way that they'd be happy, but clearly Ted never gave his constituents much credit.

Thankfully for them, they can put their trust in a man who will put Alaska first, Senate candidate and Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich.