July 31, 2007

FBI, IRS Search Ted Stevens' Home

UPDATED.

Two watchdog groups are calling for Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens (R) to step down, at least temporarily, from any appropriations-related committee posts after FBI and IRS agents searched his home in Girdwood, Alaska, yesterday. The groups, Taxpayers for Common and Sense and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, asked Republican Senate leaders to suspend any appropriations-oversight duties Stevens may be responsible for as long as the federal investigation is ongoing.

Stevens is the second-highest ranking GOP member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and also serves on six appropriations subcommittees.

Meanwhile, the Anchorage Daily News reports that GOP Sens. Trent Lott, the minority whip, and Lisa Murkowski, a fellow Alaskan, spoke out in Stevens' defense today.

This afternoon, AP reported that a Senate Commerce Committee financial clerk who works for Stevens recently testified before a federal grand jury and provided documents in a public corruption investigation involving the senator.

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Posted at 3:25 PM
Posted to: Senate, Ted Stevens
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House Sends Ethics Bill To Senate

The House voted nearly unanimously in favor of an ethics reform bill this morning, sending the measure to the Senate, where it faces opposition from some Republicans.

By a vote of 411 to 8, lawmakers approved new disclosure rules for earmarks and donations from lobbyists. Democrats are hoping to secure the bill's passage through both houses of Congress before they depart for the August recess at the end of the week. Lobbying reform was a key element of the Democratic leadership's promise to root out the "culture of corruption" -- personified by disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff -- in the 2006 midterm elections.

AP has a breakdown of the bill's key provisions, The Hill delves into the complicated drafting process that led to the version lawmakers approved today, and CongressDailyAM (subscription) reported this morning on the hurdles the package faces in the Senate.

The bill's movement through Congress comes at an awkward time for at least one senator. Alaska Republican Ted Stevens will be casting his vote amid a federal investigation into his dealings with a housing contractor ensnared in a state bribing scandal.

Posted at 1:48 PM
Posted to: Congress, Crime, Jack Abramoff, Senate, Ted Stevens
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July 09, 2007

Stevens Fears Bridge To Unemployment

Alaska Republican Ted Stevens, a one-time Senate appropriations gatekeeper, says he is worried about a Justice Department probe that may target him.

"The worst thing about this investigation is that it does change your life in terms of employment potential," Stevens told AP. "It doesn't matter what anyone says, it does shake you up. If this is still hanging around a year from November, it could cause me some trouble."

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Posted at 6:41 PM
Posted to: Campaigns, Crime, House, Jack Abramoff, Senate, Ted Stevens
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