It's good to be a friend of Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK). Just ask his busines partners, Leonard Hyde and Jonathan Rubini.
In 2004, two business partners of Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) sold an empty lot in Anchorage to the National Archives and Records Administration for just over $3.5 million, more than doubling their year-old investment in the property.
Stevens earmarked the appropriation for NARA to purchase a site, although there is no indication he received any direct benefit from the deal and his spokesman said the Senator had nothing to do with the selection of the specific property.
This land deal is just one of several lucrative federal contracts Hyde and Rubini benefited from while Stevens, a major investor, served as the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. According to Roll Call, these investments turned Stevens into a millionaire, where he once had been at the bottom of Senate wealth rankings.
Most of the Senate Appropriations Committee members distanced themselves from or severed ties with people and firms that might benefit from federal contracts once they took their seats. Not Stevens, though!
The sad thing, however, is that by weak Senate ethics rules, Senator Stevens was allowed to work on this deal using his official capacity; why not recuse himself for having a conflict of interest, instead? But then again, why pretend like he has an interest in transparency and accountability?
Sen. Stevens may not have done anything illegal, but this is just one more reason why Congress must implement stricter ethics rules and standards - now.
