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Republican senator's indictment could haunt his party

By Elana Schor / Guardian

Republicans awoke today to a new identity crisis less than 100 days before the November election, as the party's longest-serving senator vowed to fight his indictment on criminal charges of falsifying records.

Alaska senator Ted Stevens, 84, was indicted yesterday for hiding more than $250,000 (£125,000) in gifts he received from an oil-services company in his home state. But Stevens's legendary stature in Washington means that his troubles are sure to haunt his party.

The conservative National Review magazine is urging Stevens, a 40-year veteran of Congress, to resign rather than try for re-election this year against a formidable Democratic opponent.

Other Republicans are openly warning that the party has not learnt its lesson from the disastrous election of 2006 and may suffer greater losses this year with popular Barack Obama on the ballot.

"In 2006, the image of congressional Republicans as corrupt was a major factor in their loss of control of Congress," conservative activist Richard Viguerie, credited with helping to shape modern Republicanism, said in an email.

"Since then, the Democrats are turning out to be just as bad, but the Republicans have done little to clean up their act."

Stevens is slated for arraignment in federal court tomorrow. He has already surrendered his leadership roles on Senate committees, in accordance with standing party rules on Capitol Hill.

The Alaskan has been under investigation by the FBI for more than a year for his ties to oil-services company Veco, and his delivery of $50m in federal cash to a non-profit group run by his former aide.

The senator was charged with seven counts of making false statements on government financial disclosure forms. Stevens "willfully engaged in a scheme to conceal" gifts he got from Veco, including furniture, vehicles and a barbecue grill, according to the indictment.

One thing Stevens does not have to worry about for now is an ethics inquiry from his colleagues. The Senate ethics panel, which probed last year's arrest of Idaho Republican Larry Craig for alleged sexual solicitation, said yesterday it would not investigate Stevens.

"[I]t has been the longstanding policy of the committee to defer investigation into matters where there is an active and ongoing criminal investigation and proceeding so as not to interfere in that process," the ethics panel's senior members said.

But Stevens has a difficult re-election fight to keep him occupied. Democratic foe Mark Begich, the 46-year-old mayor of Anchorage, Alaska, was leading Stevens by as many as eight points in polls taken before yesterday's indictment.

The senator may fall victim to Alaskan voter fatigue with the long-running government investigation of public officials connected to Veco.

Seven Alaska state legislators - who dubbed themselves the Corrupt Bastards Club for their cosy relations with the company - have already been indicted in the probe.

Veco's former chief executive, Bill Allen, pleaded guilty to bribery last year. Allen admitted to paying for a lavish remodelling of Stevens's house in the resort town of Girdwood, Alaska, and giving the senator's son more than $240,000 in sham "consulting fees" to help secure favourable treatment.