Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) doesn’t buy that he’s been convicted, even though a jury found him guilty of corruption charges Monday.
“I’ve not been convicted yet,” Stevens told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner on Thursday. “There’s not a black mark by my name yet, until the appeal is over and I am finally convicted, if that happens. If that happens, of course I’ll do what’s right for Alaska and for the Senate. … I don’t anticipate it happening, and until it happens I do not have a black mark.”
Stevens is continuing to campaign for an eight Senate term. He trails Democrat Mark Begich in polls.
He was convicted Monday of seven felony charges for accepting gifts from an Alaska businessman and failing to report them to the Senate.