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Watchdog: Stevens Should Step Down from Committee Posts
Below is the letter the nonpartisan D.C. watchdog Taxpayers for Common Sense sent to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) this morning asking that Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) get the temporary boot from his committee seats.
The letter:
The Honorable Mitch McConnell Minority Leader United States Senate Washington, DC 20510July 31, 2007
Dear Leader McConnell:
I’m writing to request that you ask Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) to temporarily recuse himself from his committee assignments until the federal criminal investigation into his activities has been resolved.
Under Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), House Republican leadership have created a precedent of self-policing by asking lawmakers under federal investigation to leave their committee assignments until the investigation is completed, particularly after a search warrant has been executed on their home or business. By urging Rep. Rick Rienzi (R-AZ) and Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) to leave their committee assignments, Leader Boehner drew a proverbial ethics line in the sand that he will not cross. Now that a search warrant has been issued and executed in his home, it is time for Senator Stevens to do the right thing and step down from his committee assignments.
We don’t make this request lightly. Senator Stevens has served the people of Alaska in the Senate for 37 years. Like every target of a federal investigation or criminal defendant, Senator Stevens is entitled to due process and remains innocent until proven otherwise. But the standard for holding a powerful committee position should not hinge on the absence of a criminal conviction. Even the appearance of using public office for personal profit undermines public confidence in Congress. A judicial finding of probable cause that a search of the Senator’s home would produce evidence of a crime certainly has the effect of harming the public trust.
There is growing evidence that Senator Stevens may have used his powerful perch on the appropriations committee to direct tens of millions of dollars of earmarks to benefit family, friends, business partners and former staff. We think you would agree that the use of public office for personal profit in any way, shape, or form cannot be condoned. Indecisiveness will harm the public trust and current Senate efforts on ethics reform. The Senate needs to take decisive action to show taxpayers that self-dealing will not be tolerated.
Thank you for your attention on this matter.
Sincerely,
Ryan Alexander
President
Taxpayers for Common Sense
Comments (9)
Troll Patrol wrote on July 31, 2007 10:57 AM:Ban the Trolls. He's one. Include bush and cheney!
Eric Ferguson wrote on July 31, 2007 11:04 AM:Perhaps Mike Gravel should take advantage of the higher profile his presidential run has given him and challenge Stevens or Rep. Don Young.
Slim Pickins wrote on July 31, 2007 11:16 AM:Good luck getting Senator Toobz off those committees... Do you remember the tantrum he threw when they tried to take away his pork for the bridge to nowhere? Sweet Jeebus. Did he threaten to burn down Congress or something?
jjn wrote on July 31, 2007 11:18 AM:Logic 101:
All Senators under federal criminal investigation should leave their committee assignments until public trust is restored.
Sen. Stevens is a Senator under federal criminal investigation.
Therefore, Sen. Stevens should leave his committee assignments until public trust is restored.
In a black & white "mission accomplished" world, this should be a no-brainer. Sen. Stevens has been living off the dole in Seward's Folly for far too long. Isn't he the same guy that built a welfare state for Eskimos that made defense contractors rich? Of course they paid him back.
Tom Betz wrote on July 31, 2007 11:31 AM:Eric Muller noticed something odd today in the WaPo story about the raid on Stevens' house:
Justice Department Tips Off Senator Stevens Before Searching His Home!
The FBI and IRS's execution yesterday afternoon of a search warrant on the Alaska home of GOP Senator Ted Steven has been widely reported by now.
What's striking is this tidbit in today's WaPo:
Stevens said in a statement that his attorneys were advised of the impending search yesterday morning.
I spent nearly 9 years as a federal prosecutor. I'm not aware of a single instance when any prosecutor or agent told anyone outside the Justice Department that a search warrant was going to be executed later in the day. Telling outsiders -- especially lawyers for the person whose property will be searched -- defeats one of the principal purposes of a search warrant: SURPRISE to ensure the integrity of the evidence field.
Click on my name for the whole article.
More interesting is what Daily Kos commenter junta2021 points out here:
http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2007/7/31/93552/9237/3#c3
I think it is interesting that the Alaska USA appears to be a PATRIOT Act appointee (Nelson Cohen).
So (unless the WaPo is making this shit up) we appear to have a "loyal Bushie" tipping off a Republican Senator that his house is about to be raided by the IRS and the FBI, in violation of every applicable rule and law.
Something stinks here.
stan wrote on July 31, 2007 11:42 AM:It looks like the investigation is being directed by DC US attys office and not Alaska. That is good as Stevens is in a big way responsible for the new FBI building in Anchorage, the appointment of federal judges i Alaska, and the appointment of the US Attorney there also. Doing it out of DC keeps the lid on and prevents leaks. Since Stevens has greased so many Alaskans with his pork, it might be very difficult to get a conviction in Alaska, but a DC jury will not have the same problem.
bobh wrote on July 31, 2007 11:53 AM:the repugs are doing it this way to say - see - they found nothing - all smoke and mirrors. were fucked if a real ag doesnt get put in place soon.
KKKarl wrote on July 31, 2007 12:17 PM:this will dwarf Abramoff clan culture though he was in the loop w/Don Young. Local property developers, fish processor bribes, and VECO will all come together in a mosaic that Repubs will surely lose more seats across the country & the Presidency
local elections across America will evoke Ted Stevens and Don Young as crony Republicant culture
republicans probably wished they turned Ted & Don in with Foley as individual lowlifes in 2006. this is all 2008 impact and its going to hurt
Samsara wrote on July 31, 2007 12:40 PM:Mitch McConnell literally and figuratively stood beside Stevens when he was tired to rail-road the Senate into opening the Alaska Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. He supported Stevens as he stomped around the Senate, threatening fellow Senators while sporting an "Incredible Hulk" tie. McConnell won’t say boo until Stevens is indicted.