McCain: Sen. Stevens should resign after conviction
Tue Oct 28, 2008 10:34am EDT
reuters.com
HERSHEY, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - Republican presidential nominee John McCain on Tuesday called on fellow Republican Ted Stevens to resign after the Alaska senator's corruption conviction, a verdict which could help tip power in the U.S. Senate.
The 84-year old Stevens, who is in a race for re-election on November 4, was found guilty on Monday on all seven counts of lying on Senate disclosure forms to hide more than $250,000 in home renovations and other gifts from an oil executive.
"It is clear that Senator Stevens has broken his trust with the people and that he should now step down. I hope that my colleagues in the Senate will be spurred by these events to redouble their efforts to end this kind of corruption once and for all," McCain said in a statement.
McCain said it was a sign of the "health of our democracy" that Stevens was held to account for his conduct.
"But this verdict is also a sign of the corruption and insider-dealing that has become so pervasive in our nation's capital," he said.
The verdict in the Stevens trial could help Democrats expand their control of the Senate in the November 4 election. If Stevens loses the election, that could help Democrats control 60 seats in the 100-seat chamber, enough to overcome potential Republican roadblocks.
Stevens has called the convictions "unjust" and said he intends to return to Alaska on Wednesday and resume campaigning for re-election against his Democratic challenger, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich.
The Senate could vote to expel a convicted felon with a two-thirds vote, but no action is expected before next week's election. Since 1789, the Senate has expelled only 15 members.
Stevens was the first sitting senator on trial since 1981.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate who casts herself as a reformer, called the verdict a blow against corruption in Alaska.
"The verdict shines a light on the corrupting influence of the big oil-service company that was allowed to control too much of our state. That control was part of the culture of corruption I was elected to fight. And that fight must always move forward regardless of party or seniority or even past service," Palin said in a statement on Monday.
(Reporting by Steve Holland, editing by Vicki Allen)
|
