Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest serving Republican in the United States Senate, has been found guilty by a Washington, D.C. jury on all seven counts of making false statements on Senate financial disclosure forms.

“Jurors found that Stevens willfully filed false financial disclosure forms that hid such gifts as the renovations that doubled his home in size,” the Anchorage Daily News reported. “Those gifts, valued at as much as $250,000 over seven years, came mostly from his former friend Bill Allen, the star prosecution witness in Stevens’ trial and the former owner of Veco Corp. The oil-field services company was one of Alaska’s largest private employers before Allen, caught up in the federal corruption probe, was forced to sell it last year.”

“The corruption trial, which began Sept. 22, featured 24 government witnesses and 28 defense witnesses,” the Anchorage Daily News reported. “Stevens himself took the stand in his own defense, a tactic that appeared to hurt him after he was painted by prosecutors as a disagreeable and mean-spirited man who considered himself above the law.”

Allen plead guilty to bribing Alaska state lawmakers in another case and was a cooperating witness for the prosecution.

Stevens, 84, will be sentenced Jan. 26. He faces up to five years in federal prison on each of the seven counts.

Stevens said the he is “disappointed” in the verdict but not surprised “given the repeated instances of prosecutorial misconduct in this case.”

“I will fight this unjust verdict with every ounce of energy I have. I am innocent. This verdict is the result of the unconscionable manner in which the Justice Department lawyers conducted this trial. I ask that Alaskans and my Senate colleagues stand with me as I pursue my rights. I remain a candidate for the United States Senate,” Stevens said.

On Tuesday, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Republican presidential candidate John McCain called for Stevens to resign. 

Monday afternoon’s jury verdict comes eight days before the general election. Stevens is up for reelection and has been locked in a fierce campaign with against Mark Begich, the Democratic mayor of Anchorage. The jury verdict may very well destroy Stevens’s chances of securing another term in the U.S. Senate.

“Despite being a convicted felon, he is not required to drop out of the race or resign from the Senate,” the Associated Press reported. “If he wins re-election, he can continue to hold his seat because there is no rule barring felons from serving in Congress. The Senate could vote to expel Stevens on a two-thirds vote.”

However, his Republican colleagues can vote to expel him before his term ends in January, although that is an unlikely scenario. Alternatively, Stevens can be pardoned by President George W. Bush at the end of Bush’s term.

Stevens, who was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1968, was indicted in July and charged with seven felony counts of making false statements on his Senate financial disclosure forms in connection with $250,0000 in gifts he received from the VECO Corporation and Allen. Stevens plead not guilty to the charges. He asked for a speedy trial hoping to be exonerated of the charges before the Nov. 4 election.

Patti Higgins, the chair of the Alaska Democratic Party, called on Stevens to immediately resign from the senate, saying Stevens “lied” to Alaskans.

“Senator Stevens’ felony convictions are very serious and he should immediately resign from the United States Senate,” Higgins said. “He knew what he was doing was wrong, but he did it anyway and lied to Alaskans about it.”

McHugh Pierre, a spokesman for the Alaska Republican Party, however, said it’s crucial for Alaskans to rally behind Stevens and elect him to another term on Nov. 4. 

“We need to continue to support Sen. Stevens,” Pierre said. “We need to vote for him because a vote for him is a vote for a conservative candidate, a Republican who best represents the interests and beliefs of Alaskans.”

Stevens, who testified in his own defense during the four-week trial, said he had no idea that Allen had given his family gifts. Stevens said he counted on his wife, Catherine, to pay the bills and report their financial holdings.

The senator’s wife also testified and her testimony was marred by contradictory statements that appeared to persuade jurors that either she or Sen. Stevens was lying about the gifts they received from VECO and Allen.

The jury verdict was returned less than 24 hours after the judge presiding over the trial replaced a juror with an alternate juror and ordered deliberations to restart.

Juror No. 4 was excused Sunday night due to the death of her father.

The alternate juror, a woman, attended the four-week trial and was dismissed before the jury began deliberations on Oct. 22. She was briefed Monday morning before deliberations restarted.

Stevens told his wife “it’s not over yet” after the jury rendered a verdict.

The four-year federal investigation resulted in 11 people being charged with corruption related crimes, including five former and current state legislators in Alaska.

“Other than Stevens, five pleaded guilty, three were convicted by juries in Alaska, and two await trial,” the Anchorage Daily News reported.