Sen. Stevens Sells Property Amid Scrutiny

[Rose Siding]

snip>
Stevens announced last week he had sold his interest in Anchorage and Fairbanks real estate and directed the money into the blind trust. He said he did so in part to spare his former partners the scrutiny his involvement created.

"No one ever asks me about the losses, but they have really held up to public scorn the successes, and the scorn covered the people who allowed me to invest with them," Stevens told the Fairbanks News-Miner.
...
Stevens, who just wound up a six-year term as chairman of the Senate's powerful Appropriations Committee, has said his actions were motivated by a desire to help Alaskans, not by his own financial interests. But he said Friday he did not want to put his friends through any more stress.

"There's just no possibility of having any kind of investment of mine at home without bringing the wrath of the media on anyone who was involved in those investments," Stevens said.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-senator-investments,0,2221941.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines

[burythehatchet]

1. this persecution must end....no justice....no peace

[central scrutinizer]

2. Doh!

How stupid does this guy think we are? Let's see, Congress distributes money to pay for projects - you deal in real estate - some of the projects just happen to greatly increase the value of said real estate - and we are supposed to not notice or care?

[roguevalley]

3. He's such a skank. No wonder Alaska is fourth in corruption in USA

[DiverDave]

4. Helping Alaskans"??

Oh, you mean the Alaskans that donated BIG to you election campaigns?

Nothing to see here, no harm, no foul...move along.

Another repuke value, when you get caught, just say you were trying to "help" some folks.

[Tempest]

5. Senator's Way to Wealth Was Paved With Favors

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/1217-05.htm

He wielded extraordinary power in Washington for more than three decades, eventually holding sway over nearly $800 billion a year in federal spending.

But outside the halls of the U.S. Senate, which is a world of personal wealth so rarified some call it "the Millionaires' Club," Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) had struggled financially.

Then, in 1997, he got serious about making money. And in almost no time, he too was a millionaire — thanks to investments with businessmen who received government contracts or other benefits with his help.

Ted Stevens is chairman of the influential Senate Appropriations Committee.

Added together, Stevens' new partnerships and investments provide a step-by-step guide to building a personal fortune — if you happen to be one of the country's most influential senators.

They also illustrate how lax ethics rules allow members of Congress and their families to profit from personal business dealings with special interests.

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[pscot]

6. And this is the thanks he gets

for trying to do well by doing good.