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Sen. Murkowski Asked Bush for Stevens Pardon

Friends say former senator would rather clear name through courts anyway

By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff

Posted Jan 21, 2009 1:14 PM CST

(Newser) – Sen. Lisa Murkowski asked President Bush to pardon former Alaska Republican colleague Ted Stevens, the Anchorage Daily News reports. But Stevens would rather fight his corruption conviction in court, friends say, because he felt a pardon would taint his legacy. Murkowski wrote that she did not want to see Stevens, 85, spend the rest of his life involved in litigation.

“Senator Stevens has indicated that he does not intend to seek a pardon,” Murkowski wrote in the letter, released after Barack Obama took office yesterday. “I am pursuing this request, on my own initiative, in the interest of justice and out of compassion for a man who has served our Nation and the State of Alaska with great distinction for all of his adult life.”

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Ted Stevens stands next to fellow Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski as they watch election results at Stevens campaign headquarters in Anchorage. (AP Photo)

Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, leaves the Senate chamber after making his last formal speech on the Senate floor and listening to tributes from his colleagues, Nov. 20, 2008. (AP Photo)

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I would prefer to see Sen. Stevens devote his remaining years to chronicling his extraordinary life of public service than continue to pursue justice in an adversarial environment.
- Sen. Lisa Murkowski, in a letter to former President Bush

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Sen. Murkowski Asked Bush for Stevens Pardon