McCain Calls on Stevens to Step Down
- By Paul Singer
- Roll Call Staff
- Oct. 28, 2008, 1:10 p.m.
Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) said Tuesday that Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) should resign in the wake of his corruption conviction Monday.
“It is clear that Senator Stevens has broken his trust with the people and that he should now step down,” McCain said in a statement issued by his campaign. “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 the verdict “is a sign of the health of our democracy that the people continue to hold their representatives to account for improper or illegal conduct, but this verdict is also a sign of the corruption and insider-dealing that has become so pervasive in our nation’s capital.”
Stevens was found guilty Monday on seven counts of making false statements on his annual financial disclosure forms. The jury concluded that Stevens failed to report hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of home renovations and other gifts that he received between 2000 and 2006.
Stevens, a longtime appropriator, and McCain, a foe of earmarks, have had a frosty relationship over the years.
