- Sen. Stevens
- Rep. Jefferson
By Allan Lengel
-
State Sen. Wilkerson
WASHINGTON — Federal conviction. Federal indictment. Heck.
These days those things don’t seem to be stopping Joe Politician from campaigning for re-election.
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) was convicted of public corruption charges on Monday. But instead of waving the white flag, he chastised the government and vowed to campaign on.
“I am innocent,” Stevens said in a statement. “This verdict is the result of the unconscionable manner in which the Justice Department lawyers conducted this trial. I ask that Alaskans and my Senate colleagues stand with me as I pursue my rights. I remain a candidate for the United States Senate.”
In Massachusetts, State Sen. Dianne Wilkerson who was arrested Tuesday in an FBI sting for allegedly accepting bribes, also vowed to stay the course with her write-in campaign she launched after losing in the Democratic primary.
“I would like voters of the 2nd Suffolk Senate District to know that I am staying the course of my campaign for re-election on Nov. 4,” Wilkerson said in a statement. “Not only does this represent the biggest challenge in my personal and political life, but it will test to the limit the notion of innocent until proven guilty.”
And then there’s Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-La.), who is running for re-election well over a year after he was indicted on public corruption charges. He has yet to go to trial.
These days, he isn’t saying much about the indictment or the $90,000 in the freezer.
But his longtime pastor, Bishop Paul Morton Sr., summed it all up in a quote in the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
“I’ve seen too many congressmen who have been indicted who have won their cases. And we’re not going to let a Congressman go down because of an indictment. Anybody can be indicted. You got to do more than that.” Also Read: Sen. Stevens Asks Atty. Gen. To Investigate Prosecutors’ Conduct (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)
