"In our legal system, a man is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. That is fundamental in our democracy. As far as I am concerned, Ted Stevens remains my friend. I believe in him."

-- Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii

"Is that sufficiently heinous to sort of like erase his name from the history books -- you know, take his name off the airport and that stuff? Geez, I don't know. Let's see kind of what happens here before we make that decision. You know, he's only been charged."

-- State Rep. Mike Doogan, D-Anchorage

"I think for his re-election, it looks like a pretty hefty blow, unless he can quickly show that all the allegations are unsubstantiated."

-- State Rep. John Coghill, R-North Pole

"With this indictment, members of Congress have been put on notice that the Justice Department, on behalf of the American people, will not tolerate members abusing their positions for private personal gain."

-- Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group.

"I was shocked to learn of today's announcement. I know Ted Stevens to be an honorable, hard-working Alaskan who has served our state well for as long as we have been a state. As to the charges, we are at the beginning of the criminal process and there is a judicial procedure in place that will be followed."

-- Statement from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska

"Ted is one of the most effective and honest legislators I have ever worked with. He has worked diligently to serve Alaska and has fought to make life better for people in every region of our state. I hope people will not rush to judgment and will let the judicial process work. The process is based on being innocent until proven guilty."

-- U.S. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska