Sen. Ted Stevens Enters Not Guilty Plea In Federal CourtFrom the AP:
Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens has pleaded not guilty to charges that he lied about accepting more than a quarter of a million dollars worth of gifts from a powerful oilfield contractor.
In the midst of his re-election bid, lawyers for the Senate’s longest-serving Republican maintained Stevens’ innocence at his afternoon arraignment in federal court in Washington.
Stevens did not speak when U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan asked for his plea. Stevens’ attorney, Brendan Sullivan, answered for him.
Prosecutors say the Alaska Republican accepted more than $250,000 in house renovations and gifts from contractors but didn’t disclose them on Senate financial records.
