Senator Is Granted Pre-Election Trial
By Del Quentin Wilber
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 1, 2008
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) pleaded not guilty yesterday to federal charges of making false statements about more than $250,000 in renovations to his Anchorage-area home and was granted an unusually early trial date after requesting the chance to win acquittal before this fall's election.
Stevens's lawyer, Brendan Sullivan, requested the accelerated schedule to allow the 84-year-old senator to "clear his name" before the general election on Nov. 4. "This is not a complex case, and it should move quickly," he said.
With no objection from prosecutors, U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan set Stevens's trial date for Sept. 24.
A federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted Stevens on seven counts of concealing information on his financial disclosure forms about lucrative home renovations and gifts, including a wraparound deck and a Viking gas grill, that he allegedly received from executives of a now-defunct oil services company, Veco.
Randall Eliason, a former head of the public corruption unit at the U.S. attorney's office in the District who now teaches white-collar criminal law at local universities, said defense attorneys rarely make such a request. He said, however, that Brendan Sullivan is probably prepared for trial because the investigation has gone on for several years.
"They have had a lot of time during the grand jury investigation to be preparing," Eliason said.
Prosecutor Brenda K. Morris, an attorney with the Justice Department's public integrity section, said her team has wiretap evidence and will take about three weeks to present its case at trial.
Jennifer Duffy, a Senate analyst for the Cook Political Report, said the indictment had made the race favorable for Stevens's Democratic opponent. But she noted that an acquittal before Election Day would produce a huge "sympathy vote" for Stevens.
But Stuart Rothenberg, founder of the Rothenberg Political Report, said that prospect is too uncertain and that GOP leaders should try to move Stevens out of the race by the mid-September deadline for replacing candidates for reasons other than death or incapacity.
"The Republicans can't take that roll of the dice," Rothenberg said.
Yesterday afternoon, Stevens brushed past reporters and entered the courthouse wearing a gray suit, blue shirt and a tie decorated with small American flags. He and his attorney declined to comment before and after the hearing.
When the arraignment began, Stevens, 84, stood briefly with Brendan Sullivan, who answered "not guilty" for him.
Stevens then sat quietly at the defense table as his lawyer asked for a speedy trial date and told the judge he intended to file a motion seeking to move the case to Alaska, where, he said, "90 percent" of the witnesses reside. Judge Sullivan indicated he probably would not grant that request.
The longest-serving Republican in the Senate, Stevens faces a five-year maximum prison term on each of the seven counts in the indictment. He is a larger-than-life figure in Alaska, where he is revered for bringing the state billions of dollars in federal aid.
Stevens is the highest-profile lawmaker to be indicted in an Alaska political corruption investigation that began in 2004 and has resulted in seven convictions.
Last year, federal agents searched Stevens's home in Girdwood, Alaska, which he affectionately called the "chalet," according to the indictment. The papers allege that Veco employees and contractors jacked up the senator's mountainside house on stilts and added a new floor.
Former Veco chief executive Bill J. Allen, who pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy and bribing public officials, figured prominently in the indictment. In 1999, Allen transferred a new Land Rover worth $44,000 to Stevens in exchange for the senator's 1964 Ford Mustang and $5,000 in cash, according to the indictment.
In exchange for the gifts, Allen and other unnamed Veco officials sought the senator's help with partnerships in Pakistan and Russia, with grants from the National Science Foundation and other federal agencies, and with a variety of other issues, the indictment said.
The indictment charges Stevens with make false statements in financial disclosure forms required under the Ethics in Government Act. The law mandates that elected officials disclose gifts that exceed a few hundred dollars and debts that exceed $10,000 at any time during the year.
Staff writer Paul Kane contributed to this report.
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