Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens Indicted on Charges of Lying on Disclosure Forms
Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska has been indicted on seven counts of lying on Senate financial disclosure forms, the U.S. Justice Department announced in a press conference this afternoon.
The indictment charges that, from 1999 to 2006, Stevens accepted gifts from the oil services company Veco valued at more than $250,000. The gifts included material and labor used in the renovation of his private residence, said Matthew Friedrich, acting assistant attorney general. The gifts were not disclosed on the financial disclosure forms, according to Friedrich.
This indictment charges violations of the false statements statute.
Stevens was not charged with bribery, which requires proof of a specific agreement involving a quid pro quo. The indictment does not claim a quid pro quo, although it does allege that at the same time Stevens received the gifts he was solicited to take certain official actions for the company, and his office acquiesced.
The 84-year-old Stevens is the longest-serving Republican senator, the Anchorage Daily News reports in its story on the indictment. Federal authorities raided his home last year as part of an investigation into his ties to Veco.
The chief executive of Veco pleaded guilty to bribing Alaska state legislators last year. Veco has obtained tens of millions of dollars worth of federal contracts.
The Justice Department has posted a press release announcing the indictment.
