Ethics -- Corruption Up North

October 28, 2008

by Faiz Shakir, Amanda Terkel, Satyam Khanna, Matt Corley, Benjamin Armbruster, Ali Frick, and Ryan Powers

ETHICS

Corruption Up North

Yesterday, a jury convicted Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) on all seven counts of making false statements on his financial disclosure form regarding $250,000 in home renovations and other gifts he received from an oil contractor. "The verdict, coming barely a week before Election Day, added further uncertainty to a closely watched Senate race," where he is facing a tough reelection campaign against Anchorage mayor Mark Begich. Stevens was accused of accepting $110,153.64 in materials, labor and other renovation expenses to his home in Girdwood, Alaska, as well a $2,695 massage chair for his home in Washington, D.C. "Other gifts prosecutors said he accepted include a new tool cabinet with tools, a new professional Viking gas grill and a stained glass window." Stevens' conviction is the latest shoe to drop in the wide-ranging investigation into corruption in Alaska, which has already seen 11 people -- including former Veco Corp. head and Stevens' close friend Bill Allen -- charged, convicted, or pleaded guilty. Leaving the court house, Stevens defiantly declared, "It's not over yet!" He plans to resume his reelection campaign on Wednesday.

JURY DIDN'T BUY IT: Stevens' defense was largely built on the notion that many of the goods and services he received were not asked for, and were things for which he had no use. In the case of the massage chair, he testified that it was not a gift, but rather a loan -- "even though the chair has remained in his Washington home for more than seven years." "Clearly the jury did not buy that," NBC's Pete Williams said. As the prosecution showed, employees of Veco, Alaska's largest oil-field services company, were working on Steven's Girdwood home daily. "Prosecutors also showed that the project's two supervisors...were being paid by Veco and that the company provided much of the material for the renovation and all the later additions and some repairs and furnishings. There was not evidence in the case that Stevens or his wife ever paid Veco a penny for the work." Allen himself testified that Stevens' office told him "explicitly and coarsely to ignore" Stevens' notes asking for bills, "saying that they were sent only to provide a false record to protect the senator." Allen said he was told by the office, "'Bill, don't worry about getting a bill, Ted's just worried about covering his a--.'"

BUYING INFLUENCE WITH FAVORS: The trial revealed the extensive relationship between Stevens and the powerful Veco Corp. Allen's testimony "outlined how he or his firm solicited Stevens and his office for assistance with government contracts and lobbied Stevens as well as Alaska state legislators on issues including an oil pipeline." In 1999, Stevens even wrote to the World Bank president to secure favorable terms for Allen on a Pakistan oil pipeline project. In May, Allen pled guilty to bribery after bribing Stevens' son Ben, among others. An editorial in the Anchorage Daily News today writes that Stevens showed "astonishingly bad judgment" in associating with Allen and Veco. Stevens took over $150,000 in campaign funds from the Veco pipeline controlled by Allen, and Allen's conviction revealed that "when Veco executives made 'personal' campaign donations, they used laundered money from Allen and Veco." "Bill Allen asked for and got Ted Stevens' help in getting federal contracts," the Anchorage Daily News writes. "Ted Stevens was scratching Bill Allen's back while Bill Allen was scratching his."

PALIN WON'T CONDEMN STEVENS: Reacting to the verdict yesterday, Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) vaguely condemned a "culture of corruption" in Alaska, and said she was "confident" Stevens "will do the right thing for the state of Alaska" -- without naming what that "thing" might be. She has studiously avoided condemning the senator; when asked in September whether she would endorse his reelection, she said, "we'll see where [the trial] goes." "Palin wants to be a reformer, but seems to have a hard time distancing herself too much from Stevens," ABC News reports. In fact, the two have a long and close history. During her 2006 gubernatorial race, Palin featured Stevens' endorsement of her in a campaign ad. Just this past July, "Stevens and Palin held a joint news conference, denying that there was any political distance between them." After his indictment, she refused to call for his resignation, and in turn Stevens provided political cover for Palin by declaring that that she "was never really behind" the Bridge to Nowhere. Even before she was governor, Palin served as one of three directors of a political 527 group called "Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service."

ALASKA CONSERVATIVES CIRCLE THE WAGONS: In a written statement, Stevens blamed his conviction on "the repeated instances of prosecutorial misconduct in this case" and declared, "I will fight this unjust verdict with every ounce of energy I have." Alaska's entrenched conservative power stands strongly behind him. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) insisted Stevens "is an honorable, hard-working Alaskan," and said of Stevens' pending appeal, "I look forward to having justice served." Rep. Don Young (R-AK), who is facing legal problems himself, insisted "this was not a jury of his peers" and said Stevens was convicted of "a trumped up charge." He heartily endorsed Stevens' reelection campaign, calling him "the best thing...for the Senate." Senate conservatives, however, seem to have had enough of Stevens' courtroom drama. Sen. John Ensign (R-NV), head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, declared Stevens' career will now "end in disgrace." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said, "As a result of his conviction, Sen. Stevens will be held accountable so the public trust can be restored." Though Stevens faces up to five years in prison for each of the seven counts, he is unlikely to serve any jail time and could legally return to the Senate if he is reelected. Two-thirds of the Senate would have to vote to expel Stevens, something that has never happened before. Otherwise, he could continue as the longest-serving Republican senator in history.

ENVIRONMENT -- WHITE HOUSE FOR WEAKER POWER PLANT POLLUTION REGULATIONS: The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that the Bush administration "is moving to adopt rules that would loosen pollution controls on power plants" allowing them to "increase emissions without adding controls." One person familiar with the Environmental Protection Agency's internal deliberations said that "work on the rule has sped up noticeably in recent weeks." However, McClatchy reports that some EPA officials are arguing against the rule change because the rule would allow more power plants to be built near national parks and wilderness areas. The rule change, which was sought by power companies, will judge the plants "on their hourly rate of emissions rather than their total annual output" and will "make it easier for older power plants to extend their life span and upgrade without installing costly new equipment." As the Journal noted, "As long as a power plant's hourly emissions stay at or below the plant's historical maximum, the plant would be treated as if it were running more cleanly, even if its total annual emissions increased as plant operators stepped up operations." The proposed rules were originally part of Vice President Cheney's 2001 energy plan.

VETERANS -- 15 PERCENT OF FEMALE VETERANS REPORT SEXUAL HARASSMENT: A new study finds that "[a]bout one out of seven female veterans of Afghanistan or Iraq who visit a Veterans Affairs center for medical care report being a victim of sexual assault or harassment during military duty." By contrast, just under 1 percent of male veterans reported being sexually assaulted. More than half of the women who reported being sexually assaulted are now suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. Dr. Kaye Whitley, who heads the Pentagon's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, remarked, "There is concern about the number of sexual assaults, and we're working very hard to prevent them." Whitley's efforts, however, have been the subject of some controversy. In the course of a recent House Oversight Committee investigation, the Pentagon ignored a subpoena and blocked Whitley from publicly testifying about the Pentagon's response to reports of widespread sexual assault. Instead, the Pentagon sent Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Michael Dominguez to the committee." Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) responded by asking Dominguez, "What is it you're trying to hide?" The committee members were said to be "infuriated by slow progress on the military's response to sexual assault." Whitley finally testified before the committee in early September.

MEDIA -- REPORT: WASHINGTON POST UNDERCOUNTS BALLS IRAQI DEATH COUNT: "The Washington Post's weekly Saturday feature on 'Iraq War Casualties' has consistently listed a 'maximum count' of Iraqi civilian deaths that is dramatically lower than the likely civilian death tolls assessed through surveys of the Iraqi public," journalism watchdog Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) reports. The Post feature on Oct. 25 claimed that the "maximum count" of Iraqi civilian deaths was 96,719. The source for the Post's tally, Iraq Body Count, is "much lower than the death tolls assessed through surveys of the Iraqi public -- the standard method for assessing casualties of large-scale wars or disasters." For example, a recent Lancet estimate found 601,027 "excess" deaths from violence in Iraq. An August 2007 by the British polling firm Opinion Research Business estimated 1.2 million excess violent deaths in Iraq since the U.S. invasion. The U.N.'s World Health Organization and the Iraqi Health Ministry found that "151,000 Iraqis died from violence in the three years following the U.S.-led invasion of the country." As FAIR observed, "The paper seems to be opting to use the lowest range it can find."

According to senior Bush administration officials, the U.S. is "actively considering talks with elements of the Taliban" -- "a major policy shift that would have been unthinkable a few months ago." The officials said that "the recommendation calls for the talks to be led by the Afghan central government, but with the active participation of the U.S."

"Nine of 10 American workers are losing sleep over financial worries," according to a survey released yesterday by ComPsych Corporation. In addition, thirty percent of those surveyed "reported worrying about the cost of living while 29 percent cited credit-card debt."

Politico reports that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) "is quietly preparing to ease 90-year-old Sen. Robert C. Byrd from his perch as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee." Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI), the committee's second-ranking Democrat, would assume the chairmanship. Byrd, who suffers from health ailments, would become chairman emeritus.

IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said yesterday that "the number of reports of nuclear or radioactive material stolen around the world last year was 'disturbingly high.'" "Equally troubling is the fact that much of this material is not subsequently recovered," ElBaradei said. Experts noted that if all the stolen material were lumped together, "it would not be enough to build even one nuclear device."

The Bank of England (BoE) today estimated that the global financial crisis will likely cost the world $2.8 trillion. "The instability of the global financial system in recent weeks has been the most severe in living memory," said BoE Deputy Governor John Gieve.

And finally: The "pardoned" White House turkeys: Where are they now? Many of these birds capitalized on their 15 minutes of fame and are now living the good life. Marshmallow and Yam, who were in the pardoning class of 2005, went to Disneyland. May and Flower (class of 2007) went to Disney World in Florida, "where they were flown by a United Airlines flight that was renamed 'Turkey One' for the occasion." This year’s turkeys will also be going to Disneyland, "where you will be able to visit them at Big Thunder Mountain Ranch."

"A military judge has ruled that defense lawyers can inspect the mysterious Camp 7 at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, puncturing the secrecy surrounding a facility where some of the major al-Qaeda suspects are being held."

THINK PROGRESS: Senate conservatives would "welcome" Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) "with open arms" next Congress.

WONK ROOM: The true consequences of so-called consumer-driven health care.

YGLESIAS: Former White House official Peter Wehner wants the conservative movement to get "cocoonier."

GLENN GREENWALD: Former Bush Justice Department official Ed Whelan's fact-free right-wing victimhood.

WASHINGTON: "Hate crime incidents decreased slightly around the nation last year, but spiked in Washington state."

COLORADO: Fourteen ballot initiatives are in play this year, raising concerns about "voter fatigue" on Nov. 4.

FLORIDA: The name of a majority African-American high school named after a KKK leader may be changed.

"I am innocent."
-- Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), 10/27/08

VERSUS

"Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens was convicted of seven corruption charges Monday in a trial that threatened to end the 40-year career of Alaska's political patriarch in disgrace."
-- AP, 10/27/08

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