Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) said on Saturday that he was certain Stevens’s conviction would be overturned on appeal and that he would be allowed to remain in the Senate.

The Democrat’s statement of support was e-mailed to reporters by Stevens’s reelection campaign. The two senators, both World War II veterans, served together on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and have long been friends and Inouye testified on Stevens’s behalf during his trial.

But Reid rejected any notion that Stevens could stay in the Senate.

“While I respect the opinion of Sen. Daniel Inouye, the reality is that a convicted felon is not going to be able to serve in the United States Senate,” Reid said in a statement. “And as precedent shows us, Sen. Stevens will face an ethics committee investigation and expulsion, regardless of his appeals process.”

Reid noted that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has also said that a convicted felon would not be allowed to serve. Reid then chastised Stevens for looking to Inouye to defend him.

“This is not a partisan issue and it is unfortunate that Sen. Stevens has used his long time friendship with Sen. Inouye for partisan political gain,” Reid said.

Both parties’ presidential nominees, Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.), plus McConnell and Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) have called on Stevens to step down. Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.), the chairman of the 2008 Senate GOP campaign efforts, said that Stevens’s career has ended “in disgrace.”

A federal jury on Monday found Stevens guilty for taking gifts from an Alaska businessman and failing to report them. Stevens has vowed to win a seventh full Senate term, but he is trailing his challenger, Democrat Mark Begich, in polls.

Senate rules do not prohibit a convicted felon from serving. But the Senate could expel a member by a two-thirds vote.