10-21-08__quotes and Clippings US v Stevens

8/14/2019 10-21-08__quotes and Clippings US v Stevens

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News clipping - October 21, 2008 US v. Ted Stevens 08-00231 page 1 of 50 pages

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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/22/washington/22stevens.html?hp

October 22, 2008

Closing Arguments in Stevens TrialBy NEIL A. LEWIS

WASHINGTON Government prosecutors and a defense lawyer for Senator Ted Stevens gavestarkly different accounts to a jury Tuesday over whether Mr. Stevens violated ethics laws by notdisclosing tens of thousands of dollars of gifts and services he received.

Joseph Bottini, a federal prosecutor, told the jurors that Mr. Stevens, Republican of Alaska, was wellaware that he received an array of gifts including a sled dog, a sculpture and a massage chair, as wellas the more valuable services of a longtime friend, Bill Allen , who used his company, Veco, to overseea big remodeling of Mr. Stevenss home in Alaska.

This is a simple case of an elected public official who received hundreds of thousands of dollars infree benefits and concealed those facts, Mr. Bottini said.


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Mr. Stevens is charged in seven felony counts with knowingly failing to list some $250,000 in giftsand services on Senate disclosure forms.

Mr. Bottini methodically tried to demolish Mr. Stevenss explanations for not disclosing the gifts andservices. He asserted that Mr. Stevens engaged in a classic cover-up with close and trusted friends to

prevent the public from learning about what he was being given, and to ensure that he would continueto get free benefits.

Brendan Sullivan, Mr. Stevenss chief defense lawyer, responded that the government had offered avery twisted interpretation of the evidence in order to prosecute a prominent lawmaker who hadserved in the Senate honorably for 40 years.

He said that if the evidence is seen through a filthy, dirty glass, then the whole world seems dirty.

Mr. Sullivan, whose style is renowned enough to have filled the courtroom with fellow lawyers towitness his performance, proved much the showman. As he railed against the government, he pacedthe courtroom, sometimes bent over to embrace the lectern, put both hands to the side of his head as if the charges were too painful to bear, and waved his arms incessantly.

In the lawyers telling, Mr. Stevens was the unwilling recipient of many of the gifts that Mr. Allen provided without his knowledge. And, he said, the Senators wife, Catherine Stevens, was really incharge of the renovation project, and had paid some $160,000 in bills believing that they accounted for the entire project.

The prosecutions case is crazy, Mr. Sullivan said. Theyre trying to convict an innocent man bysubmitting to this courtroom evidence that is so far from real life it should make you sick.

The jurors showed little emotion during either presentation. They were matched in their impassivity byMr. Stevens, who sat glumly at the defense table.

The jury will begin its deliberations on Wednesday.

Although closing arguments can have an influence on jurors, the impression they made of Mr. Stevenshimself during his three days testifying on his own behalf concluding Monday might weigh moreheavily. The issue will be whether the jury regarded Mr. Stevens, who openly displayed his temper, asa disagreeable and crotchety elderly man caught in wrongdoing, or as a veteran public servantappropriately indignant at having his integrity questioned.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/22/washington/22stevens.html?hp

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-stevens22-2008oct22,0,4038116.story


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Sen. Ted Stevens covered up gift-taking, prosecutor saysItems from Stevens' oilman friend came at the right price -- free -- the government alleges in hiscorruption trial. The Alaska senator's lawyers say he's the innocent victim of overzealous charges.By Richard B. Schmitt, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer 11:38 AM PDT, October 21, 2008Reporting from Washington -- Sen. Ted Stevens repeatedly turned to oilman Bill J. Allen for items hewanted, from a generator to a new bed for his wife, because "the price is always right when you knowit is free," a government attorney asserted today.

Prosecutor Joseph Bottini, in a closing statement to the jury at Stevens' corruption trial, said that theAlsaka Republican repeatedly made up false stories to cover up the things of value he got from Allen,once head of the state's largest private employer, because he knew that public disclosure of the itemswould be embarrassing and possibly damaging to him.

"Ted Stevens had a good friend, and his name was Bill Allen," Bottini said. "He knew Bill Allenwould give . . . and he was perfectly willing to receive."

Bottini said that Stevens also knew that Allen and others "were trusted associates and would cover for him," fabricating stories in e-mails and other documents that were designed to conceal the truth.

Stevens is charged with failing to report more than $250,000 in gifts and home improvements inviolation of Senate financial disclosure rules. Most of the gifts and improvements allegedly came fromAllen. Juror deliberations in the case are expected to begin Wednesday.


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Stevens' lawyer, Brendan V. Sullivan, in his closing remarks, said that Stevens was being victimized by an overzealous prosecution.

"We are trying to convict an innocent man in this courtroom on an interpretation of evidence that is sofar from real life that it should make you sick," Sullivan told the jury. He urged the jurors to accept atface value statements Stevens had made in e-mails and other correspondence when the gifts and homeimprovements were made, and not ascribe ulterior motives to them after the fact.

"If you look at life through a filthydirty glass that doesn't get washedfor five or 10 years, then the wholeworld looks dirty," Sullivan said."You've heard evidence that this is avery decent man. Would he beinvolved in a conspiracy in 2000 and2001, year after year covering it up?To believe the government, youwould have to ignore the written

record."

The government case, he said, restson the notion that Stevens "muststay awake all night long thinkingabout what to say in these letters andwhether it is going to look goodeight years out."

The government has charged that Stevens accepted a series of gifts, including a gas grill, bronze artwork, a generator and hand-crafted stained-glass, along with more than $100,000 in free labor on a

makeover of his home in Girdwood, Alaska.

Sullivan, in his remarks, cited appraisals of the home after the renovation, suggesting that theStevenses actually overpaid for the renovation even based on those bills they paid.

"Do you have any evidence he cares about a grill or a fish sculpture or the rest of that stuff?" Sullivansaid. "Just because it is foisted upon you doesn't mean you have to take it."

Sullivan said the intent of the disclosure rules Stevens is accused of violating is to ensure that the judgment of lawmakers is not unduly influenced, but that the government was trying to "dirty him up" by innuendo even though there was no evidence of improper influence.

Stevens testified that even though the items were delivered to and remained at his home, he did notconsider them to belong to him. His wife, Catherine, testified that she paid more than $160,000 in billson the renovation. She said she paid every bill she ever received for the project, although she andStevens both conceded that Allen may have withheld some bills.

Bottini, the prosecutor, said Stevens' explanation for the gifts was implausible. He said that theStevenses paid some of the bills only because they were owed to people whom they did not know welland who could not be relied upon to withhold bills.

" If you look at life throu gh afilthy dirty glass that doesn'tget wa shed for five or 10 years,then the w hole wor ld looksdirty," Sullivan said. "Y ou'vehea rd eviden ce that this is a

very decent man . W ould he beinvolved in a conspira cy in2000 and 2001, year after yearcover ing it up? To believe thegovernm ent, you wo uld have toi nore the wr itten record. "


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"Why would he ask Bill Allen and Veco to be involved in this home renovation?" Bottini said,referring to the oil firm that Allen once ran.

"They were the most improbable home contractor around," the prosecutor said. Stevens "knew hisfriend Bill Allen was wealthy and generous," was "willing to cover for him," and "knew how the pricewas right," Bottini said.

Bottini buttressed his case with a secretly recorded phone conversation involving a neighbor of Stevensin Girdwood, Bob Persons, in which Persons said that Stevens gets "hysterical when he has to spendmoney out of his own pocket."

Stevens and his wife have said that while some Veco employees may have worked on the renovation,they were moonlighting for a general contractor whom the Stevenses said they always paid.

Bottini said the Stevenses turned a blind eye to the work of the Veco employees, and the prosecutor identified 19 people from the company who had worked on the renovation, as the names of the workers

popped up on a video screen in the court room, one by one.

Concluding his morning remarks, Bottini played a phone conversation between Stevens and Allen inwhich Stevens raised the possibility of having to do jail time.

"Who talks about spending a little time in jail unless they have done something wrong?" Bottini said.

Sullivan is set to complete his closing argument after lunch; the government will then have theopportunity to respond.

U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan said he would instruct the jury Wednesday, after which itwould begin deliberating Stevens' fate.

Schmitt is a Times staff writer.

[email protected]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-stevens22-2008oct22,0,4038116.story

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5je6Pw1sViz24JRo9F0PNhoqMtzTwD93UTUFO0

Prosecutors: Ted Stevens had generous friendsBy MATT APUZZO and JESSE J. HOLLAND October 21, 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) Prosecutors say Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens surrounded himself with friendswho lavished gifts upon him and trusted him to keep quiet about it.

Prosecutor Joseph Bottini is delivering closing arguments in Stevens' corruption trial. Closings areexpected to continue through most of Tuesday. Jurors are to begin deliberating Wednesday.


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Stevens is charged with lying for years on Senate financial documents to conceal $250,000 in homerenovations and other gifts he received from oil services contractor VECO Corp.

Stevens has steadfastly maintained his innocence and asked for an unusually speedy trial, which hehopes will clear him before Election Day. He says he paid every bill he received for the renovationsand didn't know he got any freebies.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier storyis below.

WASHINGTON (AP) After two years under FBI scrutiny, a month on trial and three days on thewitness stand, Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens is about out of time to convince jurors of his innocence.

A lot is riding on Tuesday's closing arguments: the reputation of the Senate's longest-servingRepublican, the legacy of Alaska's political patriarch and perhaps the outcome of his close re-electionfight.

Stevens, 84, is charged with lying on Senate financial documents for years to conceal $250,000 inhome renovations and other gifts he received from oil services contractor VECO Corp. Stevens hassteadfastly maintained his innocence and asked for an unusually speedy trial, which he hopes will clear him before Election Day.

Neither Stevens nor the Justice Department has emerged from the trial unblemished. Stevens appearedcantankerous at times on the witness stand as he sought to explain one apparent freebie after another.Prosecutors, meanwhile, were repeatedly chastised for withholding evidence or otherwise manipulatingthe case against Stevens.

The heart of the case is a complicated home renovation project, in which Stevens' small A-frame housewas jacked up on stilts. A new first floor was built, complete with a wine cellar and sauna, and twowraparound porches added.

Prosecutors say Stevens relied on VECO Corp. employees to do the construction, knowing he'd get lotsof free work.

Stevens says he relied on his friend, VECO founder Bill Allen, to oversee the project. Stevens saysAllen was under strict orders to relay every bill for the job. If Allen covered some of those billshimself, the senator says, he didn't know about it.

During closing arguments, both sides are expected to return to the themes of their case.

Defense attorneys can remind jurors of Stevens' storied career and solid reputation in the Senate. If Stevens wanted to accept free home renovations, they say, why would he and his wife have paid$160,000 for the project? Why would he send repeated requests for bills?

Prosecutors will probably tell jurors that Stevens got so much free stuff, he simply must have knownabout it. Those notes requesting invoices, the government says, were part of a ruse.


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In Alaska, meanwhile, Democrat Mark Begich has sought to capitalize on Stevens' legal woes.Democrats are running a flurry of campaign ads highlighting the trial. One features excerpt from asecret FBI recording. Another features actors playing FBI agents listening in on Stevens' phone calls.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5je6Pw1sViz24JRo9F0PNhoqMtzTwD93UTUFO0

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/08/stevens.trial/index.html#cnnSTCText?iref=werecommend

From Paul CoursonCNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A federal judge again declined to declare a mistrial or throw out charges inthe corruption case against Sen. Ted Stevens on Wednesday, despite the defense's claims of

prosecutorial misconduct.


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Sen. Ted Stevens did not disclose to the U.S. Senate work done on his Alaska home, prosecutors say.

However, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan said some evidence will be stricken from the record and

jurors will not be allowed to consider it.

Lawyers for Stevens, R-Alaska, alleged that prosecutors concealed information that would have helpedthem defend the senator. Stevens is accused of failing to disclose in Senate finance reports more than$250,000 in gifts, most of which involved renovations to his Alaska chalet.

Sullivan began hearing arguments on the defense's motions seeking the mistrial declaration or chargedismissals on Wednesday afternoon, after the prosecution wound down its case.

But Sullivan ruled that the trial will proceed. Stevens' attorneys say they plan to call former Secretaryof State Colin Powell as a witness on the first day of their case.

The 84-year-old Stevens, the longest-serving senator in Congress, is seeking a seventh full term in November.

Some of the defense's allegations of prosecutorial misconduct relate to documentation of a swap of twovehicles between Stevens and Bill Allen, owner of Veco Corp.

Don't Miss

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Judge declines to dismiss charges against Stevens Star witness takes stand in Stevens trial

Prosecutors call the swap a "sweetheart deal." It was already known that Allen agreed to swap his new1999 Land Rover for Stevens' collectible 1964 Mustang convertible. Stevens gave Allen the car plus$5,000 to seal the deal, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors have disputed the value of the Mustang, portraying the difference as among the "gifts"Stevens was required to report.


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Lead defense attorney Brendan Sullivan, who is not related to the judge, told the jury during openingstatements that Stevens could not report a gift he didn't know about.

When Brendan Sullivan asked Allen why he failed to bill for all of the work, Allen testified that hethought his Veco workers had overcharged for the job and that he could not come up with a fair price.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/08/stevens.trial/index.html#cnnSTCText?iref=werecommend

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/washingtonpostinvestigations/2008/10/now_that_the_corruption_trial.html


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Testimony in the corruption trial of Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens has wrapped up, and closing statementsand jury deliberation are scheduled for the next two days.

The three-week trial featured a number of star witnesses, including wealthy oil executive Bill Allen ,Stevens's one-time friend; several character witnesses, including former Secretary of State ColinPowell , Sens. Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah); Stevens's wife, CatherineStevens ; and, of course, Stevens himself.

Here's a collection of the most memorable and notable quotes fromthe trial:

SEN. TED STEVENS

"I'm not going to get into a numbers game -- you tell me what year you're asking about."

Stevens, after lead government prosecutor Brenda K. Morris asked him when he found out Allen had provided a new deck for his

Alaska "chalet"

"That's just an absolute lie ."

Stevens, in response to testimony from Allen that Stevens wasasking about construction invoices to protect himself

"My bottom wasn't bare ."

Stevens, after he was asked if the e-mails he sent regarding billsfrom contractors were really just "covering your bottom"

"He bought that chair as a gift , but I refused it as a gift. He put it thereand said it was my chair. I told him I would not accept it as a gift. Wehave lots of things in our house that don't belong to us."

Stevens, answering questions about a chair he received from Allen

"VECO is not Bill Allen to me. Bill Allen is not VECO. You're the one bringing VECO in here. Bill Allen is my friend."


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Stevens, answering questions about furniture he received from Allen

"The worst that can happen to us is we run up a bunch of legal fees,and might lose and we might have to pay a fine, might have to serve

some time in jail. I hope to Christ it never gets to that...I don't think we have done anything wrong."

Stevens, speaking to Allen in a secretly-recorded phone call inOctober 2006 that was played for jurors

STEVENS'S FRIENDS

"No. That's crazy ."

Stevens's friend, Bob Persons , in response to whether he told Allen that home renovation bills for Stevens were just a "cover"

"If he gives you his word, he'll keep it. He's totally honest ."

Hatch, referring to Stevens

"He was someone whose word you could rely on. As we say in theinfantry, this is a guy you take on a long patrol ."

Powell, referring to Stevens

"I can assure you his word is good enough to take to the bank ."

Inouye, referring to Stevens

STEVENS'S ATTORNEYS

"The evidence will demonstrate that you are dealing here with a man who is honest and would not have intentionally violated the law."

Stevens's lead attorney, Br endan V. Sullivan Jr. , in his openingstatement


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"This is a criminal case with a career on the line here. The governmenthas responsibilities. Time and time again, they have not lived up tothem. Enough is enough ."

one of Stevens's defense attorneys, Robert Carey , referring to

allegations that government prosecutors purposely withheld evidencethat was favorable to Stevens. The judge denied several attempts todismiss the case in light of the withheld evidence.

"When it comes to things around the tepee, the wife controls."

Stevens's attorney, Sullivan, referring to Catherine Stevens and how she handled the home renovations

GOVERNMENT WITNESSES "I was shocked . I knew I was in a bind because I knew I couldn't really do anything."

contractor Augie Pao ne , referring to an alleged conversation with Allen, in which he told Paone to "eat" Stevens's bill

"I was concerned that the senator wasn't getting billed for some of that stuff, and I was concerned something like this might happen."

Paone, referring to the senator's corruption trial

"We really liked each other. Ted loved Alaska, and I loved Alaska. Weliked to go fishing."

Allen

PROSECUTORS

"You were the lion of the Senate, and yet you didn't know how to stopa man from putting big-ticket items in your home?"

Morris, speaking to Stevens


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"We reach for the Yellow Pages. He reached for Veco."

Morris, referring to Stevens's frequent calls to Allen for homerepairs and fix-ups.

"This is a case about a public official who took hundreds of thousandsof dollars' worth of free financial benefits and then took away thepublic's right to know the information."

Morris, referring to Stevens

THE JUDGE

"Something smells here ."

U.S. District Judge Em m et G. Sullivan , referring to two pieces of evidence that he said were tainted by prosecutors' bungling

"He's fortunate he w ent out that door an d not the back door with the m arshals ."

Sullivan, referr ing to Allen's lawyer, Robert Bundy , who w as accused o f ma king "secr et signals" to his client on thestand

By Derek Kravitz | October 21, 2008; 7:30 AM ET Stevens Trial

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/washingtonpostinvestigations/2008/10/now_that_the_corruption_trial.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/21/AR2008102101624.html?hpid=topnews

Prosecutor Says Sen. Stevens's Explanations Are 'Nonsense' By Del Quentin Wilber Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, October 21, 2008; 3:46 PM


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The explanations of Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) for why he did not report tens of thousands of dollarsin gifts and home renovations on financial disclosure forms are "nonsense," a federal prosecutor told

jurors today in the lawmaker's corruption trial.

Prosecutor Joseph Bottini said Stevens turned to an oil field services firm to do renovations on hisAlaska home in 2000 because he wanted to keep costs down.

"The price is always right when it's free," Bottini said in closing arguments.

Stevens, one of the most powerful Republicans in the Senate, is charged with lying on financialdisclosure forms to hide more than $250,000 in gifts and renovations to his Alaska home from 1999through 2006. Prosecutors allege that an oil services company, Veco, and its chief executive, BillAllen, paid for many of the gifts and most of the work.

"He was happy with Veco doing this even though they were the most improbable home contractor around," Bottini said. "He knew Bill Allen was wealthy. He knew Bill Allen was generous. . . . Thiscase is about an elected public official who made a conscious decision to hide the fact he was receivingsubstantial financial benefits."

Stevens's attorney, Brendan Sullivan, countered that the prosecution had indicted an innocent man andviewed the world through "dirty glass" that makes the "whole world look dirty."

"They are trying to convict an innocent man on the interpretation of evidence that is so far from reallife that it would make you sick," Sullivan said.

Sullivan and prosecutors sparred today in closing arguments over the meaning of much of the evidence presented to jurors in the month-long trial. Sullivan is expected to continue his closing arguments intothe afternoon, and prosecutors will be offered another opportunity to speak.

Jurors will get the case tomorrow. Stevens, 84, was indicted in July and requested a speedy trial inhopes of clearing his name before the November elections. He is running for a seventh full term.

Prosecutors allege that Stevens wanted to keep costs down and turned to Allen for help. Allen andVeco workers have testified in great detail about how they helped double the size of the house, whichStevens called the "chalet," between 2000 and 2002 by adding a new first floor, two wrap-arounddecks and a garage. A number of e-mails were introduced showing that Stevens was kept updated onthe work's progress by a friend who lived in town. In those e-mails, the neighbor lauded the work of Allen and one of his employees.

But Sullivan countered that those e-mails do not mention Veco and show only that the senator was

keeping track of the work and relying on friends 3,300 miles away. Sullivan repeatedly returned to aletter that Stevens wrote to Allen in 2002 in which he thanked him for work on the house and askedhim for a bill. Stevens wrote the note shortly after learning that Allen had decided, on his own, to add anew first-floor deck, Sullivan said.

The defense lawyer argued that the note was "at the heart of the case," saying that Stevens wasearnestly trying to get invoices. "If you believe the government's version of the evidence, he is amastermind of conspiracy," Sullivan said.


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Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, and his daughter Beth Stevens, arrive at U.S. District Court inWashington today as his trial on corruption charges prepares to go to the jury.(J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)

Brendan Sullivan Jr., who has a record of having very few clients face conviction by a jury, argued on behalf of Stevens who is accused of hiding $250,000 worth of home renovation costs and other gifts byomitting them on financial disclosure forms required by the U.S. Senate. Stevens, the longest-servingGOP senator, is up for re-election in November.

The prosecution claimed in court that the main supplier of the gifts was Bill Allen, the ex-CEO of shuttered oil services firm Veco. The defense countered that the Stevens family paid $160,000 for therenovation project carried out at their Girdwood, Alaska, home.

Sullivan concluded his closing argument by noting the letters that Stevens sent to Allen in 2002. In oneof them, Stevens asked Allen for a bill. "You owe me a bill ... remember Torricelli, my friend,"Stevens wrote, in reference to former Sen. Robert Torricelli, who was ousted from the U.S. Senateamid an ethics investigation. "Friendship is one thing Congressional ... ethics rules entirely different."Sullivan also claimed that Allen hid the bills from the Stevens.

Sullivan also pleaded with the jury to consider the character witness testimony from Sen. DanielInouye, D-Hawaii, and former Secretary of State Colin Powell. "Are you going to believe DanielInouye or Bill Allen?" Sullivan asked.

"If your conscience says not guilty, then it is your duty to say no," Sullivan added. "You have the power to do what's right ... I ask you to return seven not guilty verdicts."

Countering Sullivan's closing argument, lead prosecutor Brenda Morris exclaimed, "Wow! Were we at

the same trial?

"No one is above the law ... not a teacher, not a lawyer, not a sitting United States senator." Morrisasserted that, over the years, the evidence showed that Stevens was engaged in a pattern and practice of filing false and misleading financial disclosure forms.

In her closing, Morris chipped away at the defense, telling the jury, "The defendant's own witnessescontradicted each other. In an effort to undercut the defense argument that Stevens' wife handled all of the finances and paid all the bills relating to the home renovation," Morris told the jury of 11 women


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Saying that politicians always keep their guard up and have public personas they convey, Morris toldthe jurors, "None of the character witnesses know the private Ted Stevens ... Ladies and gentlemen,you know the real Ted Stevens.

"Behind all that growling and all those snappy comebacks and all that righteous indignations, he's justa man ... Find him guilty of scheming and filing false disclosure forms ... It's your job," Morrisconcluded.

Earlier in the day, Morris' colleague Joseph Bottini methodically laid out the government's case.

Laying out a series of gifts that Stevens has allegedly received over the years but has failed to disclose,Bottini told the jury, "The price is always right when it is free."

Bottini said that the evidence presented in the case showed that Allen showered Stevens with benefitsthat extended far beyond renovations on Stevens' home where 20 Veco employees worked.

The prosecution has highlighted a $2,700 massage chair, a $29,000 fish statue and the $1,000 price tagof a sled dog puppy purchased at a charity event to show that Stevens failed to report many things from2000 to 2006.

"There are gifts that should have been reported, and he knows it," Bottini said.

Bottini said of Stevens, he was trying to "cover and conceal things. ... If he was willing to cover up anddevise small things like his dog ... what does it tell you about what he may want to do with therenovations of his home."

Concerning the addition of a $6,000 generator to the home in preparation for Y2K, Bottini said Stevenshad "great difficulty explaining it away ... he knew if he was going to ask for a generator, he was goingto get one."

Stevens testified at the trial that he instructed Allen to get him a small pull-cord generator in preparations for power outages associated with Y2K, but his friend installed a permanent unit on hisGirdwood, Alaska, home. The government alleges that Stevens never claimed the item on his financialdisclosure forms. "The defendant says he doesn't want it ... but it's still there."

The prosecutor noted almost a dozen times that it was sheer "nonsense" that Stevens was unable to stopAllen and his generosity.

"Does anyone believe he could get rid of the stuff he received?" Bottini asked. "It was his obligation toreport this."

Emphasizing that the case was about the senator accurately filing his U.S. Senate financial disclosureforms, the prosecution summarized its evidence and told the jury that Stevens showed disdain for thereporting requirements in a 2004 e-mail to his friend. "In connection with this GD [goddamn]disclosure form," the document noted.

Listing all of the Veco employees that worked on the home, Bottini said Veco had to get ChristiansenBuilders, the main general contractor that the Stevens had paid, to do the work because it didn'tnormally build homes.


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While the defense has tried to portray that Allen, the Veco CEO, and Stevens were close friends, the prosecutor said that Veco was, "the most improbable home contractor around." Bottini noted that while both Stevens and his wife were attorneys, they never had a contract for the work on their home, andthey both seemed fine with having a Veco architect draw the blueprints for the home.

The prosecution's strongest evidence appeared to be the playing of Stevens' own voice on FBIsurveillance tapes saying, "These guys can't really hurt us. You know, they're not going shoot us. It'snot Iraq. What the hell? The worst that can be done, the worst that can happen to us is we round up a

bunch of legal fees and, and might lose and we might have to pay a fine, might have to serve a littletime in jail."

Bottini said to the jury, "Who talks about doing a little time in jail if they didn't do anything wrong?"

When Sullivan rose to speak and plead his case before the jurors, he said the FBI tapes show in fullcontext that Stevens and Allen were talking about campaign contributions. Sullivan noted that Allenwas a convicted felon, "a paid witness ... trying to get his $70 million holdout." Sullivan said inreference to possible inducements that Allen could get from his sale of Veco to the global engineeringfirm CH2M Hill. "How can you sleep on verdict night?" Sullivan dramatically said before the jurors.

Sullivan then showed the jurors the numerous checks Ted and Catherine Stevens submitted for payments to their home, which totaled about $160,000. "You can see the innocence in the documents.... They paid $160,000."

Sullivan said the prosecutors don't understand Stevens' frame of mind. "The government is beingMonday morning quarterback six and seven years out," he said. Sullivan said at the time that Stevenshad no idea his friend Allen would become enmeshed in a wide-ranging political scandal in Alaska."His friend was Bill Allen ... it was Bill Allen not Veco that used the chalet. ... It wasn't Veco that

pleaded guilty and was convicted."

Sullivan made sure to say Allen "pleaded guilty to campaign violations, none of which involved TedStevens."

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The government will make a brief rebuttal this afternoon.

Copyright 2008 ABC News Internet Ventures

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http://alaskacorruption.blogspot.com/

Monday, October 20, 2008

Last Chance: More on the Defense's Likely Closing Argument Live from the Ted Stevens Trial, between Day 19 and Day 20

Washington, D.C.

In addition to what this blog has already predicted regarding the closings, two points stand out as probable for the defense in the final argument tomorrow:

1. Wheres Rocky?

Lead defense lawyer Brendan Sullivan is sure to point out that much of the prosecutions case rests onthe work Rocky Williams provided in the remodeling of the Stevens chaletwork that Williams didon the VECO payroll that the Stevenses never paid for.

But due to either his illness or a questionable decision by the prosecution, Williams never testified atthe trial. Sullivan will cite that non-testimony as a failure of the prosecutions proof. The jury can onlyconvict Stevens if it finds him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and Stevens lawyer will argue thatthe governments failure to produce Williams creates reasonable doubt all by itself.

2. Nullify this Mouse

Sullivan will have to be careful with this argument, but the wily attorney will probably find some wayto suggest that in bringing these charges of non-disclosure that the government has spent too muchmoney chasing too small a case. If the prosecution could prove bribery or the acceptance of illegalgratuities, Sullivan could hint, the prosecution should have done so. Instead, Sullivan may suggest, thegovernment has brought a Mickey Mouse case which amounts at worst to mistaken paperwork over such things as the value of a dog. Sullivan would want the jury to think that these allegations should bein front of the Senate Ethics Committee, not a jury in a criminal trial. For Stevens attorney, it would

be great if the jury decided that no matter what the law says, the jury should nullify the law by refusingto convict based on what he would portray as at most paperwork screw-ups by a very busy anddedicated public servant.Posted by Cliff Groh at 9:30 PM 0 comments Labels: Ted Stevens Trial

It's a Sad Song, and the Music Hurts More than the Lyrics Live from the Ted Stevens Trial, Day 19

Washington, D.C.--

Ted Stevens finished his testimony today, and both the defense and the government have rested their cases.

Today was less fiery than last Fridays beginning of the cross-examination, but it was probably moredamaging to Stevens.


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http://alaskacorruption.blogspot.com/ CTD.

Chief prosecutor Brenda Morris today mostly focused on using precise questions to get Stevens toadmit unfavorable facts as opposed to trying to get him to adopt unflattering characterizations of his

behavior.

The Furniture Bill Allen Deposited in Stevens Girdwood Home

She started this morning with the single most specific and human vignette in the trial: The moment in2001 when Stevens and his wife Catherine came to their Girdwood home and discovered that their furniture is gone and replaced with furniture that Bill Allen has brought in.Morris gets Stevens to repeat what he and his wife have already said before in the trialthey wereunhappy because the furniture the long-time VECO chief has brought in is ugly, old, inappropriate for the chalet, and in at least one case has cigarette holes.

The prosecutor then pointed out that Stevens not only kept the furniture in his home, four years after itarrived he even discussed the possibility of giving it to his son and daughter-in-law.

You are actually trying to re-gift the furniture that is so hideous to your son. Is that correct?

Stevens denied that what he considering was re-gifting, because he did not see the furniture as a gift inthe first place and never owned it. He acknowledged that the furniture that Allen deposited in his homein 2001 is still there.

The prosecutor pounced later when Stevens volunteered that Bill Allen stole our furniture and put hisin the chalet. Morris responded by asking the Senator why he didnt call the police.It never crossed my mind to call the police at that time, Stevens said. I might now.

In its closing argument tomorrow, the prosecution will surely point out that the Senator went withAllen on their vacation-style Boot Camps for years even after the oil-services tycoon committed thisalleged theft.

The Big Generator Bill Allen Bought for Stevens Chalet

The prosecution put Stevens in another difficult place by making him walk through the story of howAllen arranged the installation at the chalet of a big back-up generator that Stevens never paid for.

In 1999, Stevens e-mailed his friend Bob Penney and told him I asked Bill Allen to hook up agenerator to our chalet for Y2KJUST IN CASE! Allen had a big generator with a transfer switch

put in at the house that is there today.

Stevens testified on cross-examination that this was another example of Bill Allen going overboard.The Senator said that he had asked Bill Allen to arrange for the rental of a small generator just tohandle any potential problem the Y2K threat could cause for the New Year, but Allen had instead

bought a big one. Stevens said that he had asked Allen to remove it, and that one problem Stevens hadin making this request was that the Senator was in Girdwood so little he didnt see for a substantial

period that it was still there.

The Role of Allen and VECO in the Chalets Renovation


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The questions about Allen and VECO that hurt Stevens the most this morning, however, came whenMorris walked the Senator through a series of e-mails that Stevens friend Bob Persons sent theSenator in 2000 during the renovations of Stevens chalet. Stevens had designated Persons as his eyesand ears on the ground in Girdwood while the Senator labored back in Washington, D.C. An essentialelement of Stevens defense is that the Senator and his wife understood that two VECO employees Rocky Williams and Dave Andersonwho worked extensively on the renovation and billed VECO for their time were instead working for a construction company run by Augie Paone, whose bills theStevenses paid when the invoices arrived.

The problem is that more than a half-dozen e-mailed progress reports Persons sent Stevens in thesummer and fall of 2000 describe the work of Williams, Anderson, and Allen in often glowing terms,

but do not mention Paone or his company. Stevens was forced to acknowledge that Williams oftenworked for VECO, but insisted that he appeared to work for Paones company while working onStevens remodeling job.

The prosecutor scored again by getting Stevens to admit that he had stated in a 1997 letter that he hadthought about raising the chalet to add a story to the home, but I just have not had the cash to do that.Morris got Stevens to concede that he had begun the raising projectand then went on to even moreextensive renovationsafter he discussed with Bill Allen and Bob Persons in 1999 his desires toexpand his home and his two friends volunteered their help.

Morris suggested that Allens association with Stevens seemed to make Stevens feel able to renovatehis home. Given that the announcement of the federal investigation into Stevens home renovation in2006 caused Allen to leave Stevens circle of friends, Morris suggested similarly that Allens break with Stevens led the Senator to stop taking care of the Girdwood home since he no longer had his richfriends assistance.

The Status of the Massage Chair in Stevens Home in Washington, D.C.

Questioning on the $2,700 Brookstone massage chair Persons put in Stevens home in Washington,D.C. in 2001 also gained ground for the government. Stevens said that while his friend Personsintended the chair as a gift, the Senator would not accept it as a gift. Instead, Stevens considers thechair as a loaneven though the chair is still in his home seven years later.

Morris asked Stevens if he had other furniture in this home owned by other people.

We have lots of furniture in our house that doesnt belong to us, the Senator replied.

The Emotions in the Courtroom

Jurors, particularly the younger members of the panel, showed a number of smiles today during thismornings cross-examination. It appeared that Friday they enjoyed the combat between the feistySenator and the peppery prosecutor; today it seemed more that the jurors were savoring what theyevidently perceived as the unintentional humor in some of Stevens statements.

Morris was better in exercising control of Stevens today, and that control created a mood andmomentum in the courtroom that went beyond the actual content of the words spoken.


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But if you must have the latest right away, check the wire services. This blog's built for insight, not for speed.

P.S. On a personal note, congratulations to my cousins Luanne and Zach for their Rays' terrific victoryover my Red Sox. All the best to the Rays in the World Series, and I only wish my Uncle Dick could

be here to see it.Posted by Cliff Groh at 8:51 PM Ted Stevens Trial

What the Prosecution and the Defense Might Do in the Rest of the Trial Live from the Ted Stevens Trial, Between Day 18 and Day 19

Washington, D.C.

Chief prosecutor Brenda Morris has told the judge that she expects to spend perhaps another hour cross-examining Ted Stevens on Monday morning. Depending on what comes up in the remainder of the cross-examination, lead defense attorney Brendan Sullivan may have some questions for his clienton redirect examination.

Following Stevens testimony, it appears that the trial will proceed to closing arguments on Monday.As the side carrying the burden of proof, the procedure is for the prosecution to go first. After thedefense makes its argument, the prosecution gets the last word to rebut the defenses closing.

What will the two sides do at the end of the trial?

Prosecution

In the remainder of the cross-examination, the prosecution will aim for the same goal it will seek inclosing: Hammer on the evidence most damaging to Stevens. Some of that evidence has already comeinto the record from chief prosecution witness Bill Allen's testimony, taped conversations betweenAllen and Stevens, and the cross-examinations of Stevens' wife Catherine and Stevens' friend BobPersons.

The government can do more during the cross-examination of Ted Stevens, however, to pound homeevidence favorable to the prosecution. The best evidence for the government that could be elicited oncross-examination of Stevens would come from making him set out:

The substantial improvements made to Stevens Girdwood home and the additional repairsmade there;

Stevens extensive opportunities to learn about those improvements and repairs between 1999and 2006; and

Stevens frequent contacts with Bill Allen during and after the making of those improvementsand repairs, particularly their annual vacation-style Boot Camps and other face-to-facemeetings together.

The best way the prosecution might demonstrate this evidence is to make a graphic during the cross-examination with four columns like this:


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Year / Improvements and Repairs Added / Days Stevens Spent in Girdwood / Days Stevens Spent withAllen

Although the courtroom is filled with state-of-the-art video technology, the best way to make thisgraphic would be the old-school method of using a marker pen on a simple pad mounted on an easel infront of the jury.

This graphic would be a timeline that could help summarize a flood of testimony and exhibits for the jury. Making Stevens help fill out that graphic by giving answers to a series of short, precise questionswould be like preparing a punchlist.

On closing argument, the prosecution could supplement that simple timeline/punchlist by adding one photograph of each improvement to illustrate the graphic. As one observer pointed out, the before andafter photographs of the home could constitute some of the most damning evidence against Stevens.

Defense

The defenses task is in some ways more psychological than presentational. The prosecution has got amountain of facts, but the defense wants to get the jury to focus on feelings. Lead defense attorneyBrendan Sullivan will likely try to get his client to calm down and stay in control during the remainder of cross-examination. The Senator and his lawyer will continue to do everything they can to get the

jury to zero in on Allens concealment of his role in providing valuable things to Stevens instead of onthe opportunities Stevens had to learn what Allen had done.

Stevens and his attorney need to show somehow that the Senator felt sorry for his brain-injured friend

Allen and let his sympathy cloud his judgment in dealing with the VECO chief. Its a tough task, butthats why Ted Stevens retained Brendan Sullivan and the top-flight Williams & Connolly firm.

The defense closing can probably be summarized by the acronym "BIBTOB." That is, BrendanSullivan will likely argue or imply that Ted Stevens was:

Betrayed by his former friend Allen and by his own inattentive wife CatherineIsolated by his long distance from Girdwood most of the year Busy from all his duties in the SenateToo honest to conceal anything knowingly, as his character witnesses testifiedO ld and distracted

Beneficient in allowing Allen and others to use the Girdwood chalet

Brendan Sullivan will likely rely on several matters revealed during the trial to bolster these themes.As summarized by Brent Kendall in an article in the Wall Street Journal , those points helpful to thedefense include the apparently excessive and unnecessary costs incurred in VECO's work renovatingthe chalet, the confusion Allen showed in his testimony, and Allen's potential motives to shade histestimony to help the prosecution. Sullivan will also argue that the prosecution can't be trusted, citingthe judge's instruction regarding evidence excluded from the case due to the prosecution's failure tomeet its obligations to give certain evidence to the defense. Sullivan may even ask the jury to discountAllen's testimony given that the judge angrily announced in open court that someone was sending


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signals from the audience while Allen testified.

If you want to see the closings, knowledgeable court personnel recommend getting in line by at least8:30 a.m. outside the courthouse.Posted by Cliff Groh at 3:34 PM 1 comments Labels: Ted Stevens Trial

A Legend Toughs It Out Under Another Lawyer's Lash Live from the Ted Stevens Trial, Day 18

Washington, D.C.

It was a different playing field for the dedicated athlete.

Ted Stevens testified all day Friday, and being on the witness stand had to be very strange for theveteran lawmaker.

The Senator has spent the last 40 years calling powerful people on the carpet, often while he wieldedthe gavel at the head of the committee table. Before he entered Congress, he spent years grillingwitnesses as a federal prosecutor and trial lawyer in private practice in Alaska.

So it must have been strange indeed for him to be the one answering the questions in his onlyopportunity to speak directly to the jury that will decide his fate.

The lifelong demon exerciser had a good base of fitness to handle the more than five hours on thestand as apparently the last witness in his criminal trial. But it was an excruciating experience for the84-year-old in ways that went way beyond the physical.

Sen. Stevens Goals in His Testimony

He had to thread the needle between detailing the awesome responsibilities of his Senate seat andshowing all the power he held as Chairman of the Senate Appropriations and Commerce Committees.Having the jury ponder his heavy responsibilities is good for him (because being extremely busysuggests that he was unable to monitor closely all the details of his home renovation project), whilehaving the jury contemplate his clout is bad for him (because a powerhouse should be able to stop afriendly businessman from showering him with valuable items the Senator didnt want).

Stevens had to claim strong and proactive maintenance of ethical standards that spurred a frequentdemands for bills for his home remodeling in 2000-2001 and later repairs, while simultaneouslyasserting detachment from the reality of receiving and paying those bills.

He had to distinguish sharply between the lion of the Senate his own colleague described in courtfrom the man who apparently couldnt get a key to his house away from a friend who kept leavingunwanted stuff in that house and even creeping out Stevens own daughter when she visited thehome.


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And Stevens was particularly vehement in denying Allens testimony that Stevens told him in Marchof 2006 that Stevens needed to get invoices from Allen to protect both Allen and the Senator from thescrutiny that had befallen Anchorage real estate developer Jon Rubini after his business dealings withStevens went under a microscope. An absolute lie was Stevens description of Allens account of that conversation at the two mens annual Boot Camp retreat in the desert.

What was murkier, however, was the nature of Stevens relationship with Allen before the FBIannounced its presence in their lives.

Stevens struggled to explain how the Harvard Law School graduate and Senate titan had become soclose to the high school dropout and oil-services tycoon that Allen would feel free to put a number of

big-ticket itemsincluding a steel staircase, a professional gas grille, a wraparound deck on theground floor, extensive rope lighting, a number of pieces of furnitureinto the Senators homewithout telling him or charging him.

Stevens offered three explanations in his testimony: He and Allen had become such close friends thatStevens trusted Allen; Allen and Stevens shared the Girdwood home Stevens owned, with Allen usingit more than Stevens did; and Allens brain injury in the summer of 2001 made him difficult to dealwith. It was only years after the completion of the remodeling and other repairs, Stevens said, that herecognized the extent of Allens contributions to the project: Now we realize theres a lot moreintersection with Bill Allen on this than we ever knew before.

The prosecution will contend in closing arguments, however, that the documentary evidence of theSenators thank you notes and e-mails to Allen show gratitude, not complaints, from Stevens aboutwhat he knew that Allen had done at the chalet.

The Senators testimony suggested a different world on the Last Frontier, where a handshake and areputation for honor are more important in getting work done than business formalities. You dont ask for somebodys rate or get a fixed price before you get something done: You ask to do something, theydo it, you pay their bill, and you never use them again if they dont treat you right.

Similarly, an easygoing lifestyle prevailed at the Girdwood chalet, so it was no surprise that Allen hada keyStevens pointed out that at one point there were probably 22 keys out to that small-town home.It is on this point where Stevens is again disadvantaged by facing a jury in Washington, D.C. rather than in Anchorage, where the Senators invocation of the Alaska way would have more resonance.

The dog that hasnt barked so far, however, is testimony by Stevens to explain why he and Allen keptgoing on the annual just-the-two-of-them guys trips after Allen sustained his brain injury and Allenkept forcing big-ticket items on Stevens against the Senators will. The jury has heard substantialtestimony from Allen about those annual Boot Camps in California or Arizona where the two menretreated for dieting, walks in the desert, and enjoyment of wine, and Stevens has acknowledged thatthose vacations occurred. There would seem to have been plenty of time face-to-face, the prosecutionwill surely argue on closing, for Stevens to straighten Allen out on bills and behavior at the chalet.

Throughout the direct examination, Brendan Sullivan keeps control of his client, a man used to beingin control. Showing his skill as one of the countrys best lawyers, Sullivans questions are clear and


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forceful, and he issues orders to Stevens on the stand in a way that less experienced or less assured counsel might be afraid to.

Cross-Examination Puts Two Short Strivers in the Ring

Ted Stevens is very smart, and he has forgotten more than most people in the courtroom will ever know. At this point in his life, however, he is poorly suited to serve as a witness at his own criminaltrial, and his cross-examination by chief federal prosecutor Brenda Morris shows why.

The problem is that Ted Stevens is not used to dealing with people who do not love him, owe him, or fear him. Brenda Morris is not a junior Congressional staff aide dazzled by his stature. She is not amayor of a small Alaska town grateful for federal funding for a capital project. And she is not afreshman Congressman desperate to save a threatened Air Force base back in his swing district.

Ted Stevens popularity in Alaska is based on respect for his analytical ability, hard work, anddedication to fighting for his constituents. He has never in his life been the kind of smooth gladhander so many politicians are, and it is no accident that he lost two races for the U.S. Senate before gettinginto that body through appointment. Ted Stevens has never pretended to be some kind of genial Mr.Rogers; on the Senate floor he frequently wears ties showing the Incredible Hulk and the TasmanianDevil.

The fireworks blazed in the cross-examination in part because the questioner and the questioned sharesome similarities. Ted Stevens and Brenda Morris are both short people who have parlayed sharpintelligence and fierce drive into impressive careers.

Ted Stevens grew up poor and in difficult emotional circumstances to become Chairman of the SenateAppropriations Committee, the longest-serving Republican Senator ever, and the man Alaskas biggestairport is named after. Brenda Morris is a black woman who became Principal Deputy Chief of theDepartment of Justices Public Integrity Section. Neither of these powerful personalities got wherethey are by backing down.

Stevens is full of anger and even contempt towards the federal prosecutor, as those who have watchedhim in the Capitol could predict. He is not shy about raising his voice in the Senate, where he hasannounced that he is a mean, miserable S.O.B. Stevens has signaled that his frequent flashes of feeling are for effect: He has told Alaskans that he has a trial lawyers temperhe uses it, but hedoesnt lose it.

Stevens was known to be a good trial lawyer as a vice-fighting federal prosecutor himself in territorialFairbanks and as a private attorney in Anchorage in the 1960s, but he clearly struggles to keep controlas Morris fires questions at him.

Stevens fights back repeatedly, and cant resist criticizing the questions he is supposed to beanswering.

I think you better rephrase your question. That question is tautological.Is that a question? I thoughtit was a statement.Youre making a lot of assumptions that arent warranted.Im not going to get


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into a numbers gameyou tell me what year youre asking about.Youre not listening to me. Ianswered it twice.

When Morris asked if VECO served as the general contractor for the remodeling of his home, Stevenssaid They were not. You know that.

Asked whether the notes and e-mails he sent asking for bills from Allen were really just coveringyour bottom, the Senator shot back My bottom wasnt bare.

The cross-examination late Friday afternoon did not follow the usual script from a trial advocacyhandbook. Morris did not exercise complete control over Stevens and force him to make a number of damaging admissions. But the dramatic sparring might still hurt Stevens if the jury decides thatStevens feistiness and righteous attitude actually reflects the kind of arrogance that would lead a manto think that his record of service and achievement entitles him to gifts and freebies from rich friends.

Once again, the demographics of the jury that came with holding the trial in Washington, D.C. mighthurt Stevens, as a jury that is mostly composed of black women might resent the disdain the Senator displays towards Morris, an African-American female.

(To get more coverage of Stevens' testimony, you will gain additional insights--as I did--from MartinKady IIs article Stevens faces challenges to win case in Politico and Tom Ramstacks pieceStevens: Cabin done the Alaska way in the Washington Times .)

This Is a Sad Spectacle

Fridays court session was almost unrelievedly grim and hostile, and the difficulty of the day matched

the stony face Stevens has maintained virtually throughout a trial already four weeks long.

Its hard not to feel sorry for him. Facing his 85th birthday next month, Stevens has done a lot in a lifewhose end he repeatedly referenced on the witness stand. U.S. Attorney in territorial days, Interior Department Solicitor, state legislator, and U.S. Senator for four decades, Ted Stevens helped bringstatehood, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), major fishing legislation, and billionsof dollars in capital projects and operating expenditures to the state.

As the Almanac of American Politics said, No other senator fills so central a place in his states publicand economic life as Ted Stevens of Alaska; quite possibly no other senator ever has.

Even Stevens worst enemies would acknowledge his intelligence, hard work, determination, and pride.

His contributions and longevity have been recognized and rewarded repeatedly in Alaska and theSenate. He needed to be appointed to get into the Senate, but once in he came to enjoy great success atthe polls. Stevens was re-elected once by winning every precinct in the state.

Until this yearwhen he garnered a tough challenge from Anchorage Mayor Mark BegichUncleTed was in recent years seen as so impregnable that he scared away any kind of stiff competition. Onecommentator observed that the Democratic nominees in the two previous election cycles suffered from


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mental illness. In 2002, Stevens essentially kept his fellow Alaska Senator in office, as RepublicanSen. Lisa Murkowski was behind late in the campaign until Stevens announced in a blizzard of commercials that he needed to have her in Washington with him as his partner in fighting for Alaska.

A civic group named Stevens Alaskan of the Century in 2000, and his state's newspapers refer tofederal funding in Alaska as Stevens money without attaching those quotation marks.

Stevens rose to become one of a handful of the most powerful people in Congress, and as Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee perhaps the most powerful over the purse. He served asPresident Pro Tempore of the Senate, third in line for the Presidency.

After all that success and all that power, however, Stevens has seen much of his life turn to ashes in thetwo years since the FBI launched its raids on August 31, 2006 and made the long-running federalinvestigation into Alaska public corruption public.

He has been indicted on multiple felony counts and now endures a month-long trial. His attorneys arerunning up legal bills that have got to be well over $1 million by now. His old friend Bill Allen hastestified against him.

Stevens is reportedly under federal criminal investigation for matters separate from those in this trial.Allen and another VECO executive have pleaded guilty to bribing his son Ben, the former President of the Alaska State Senate who has not been charged with wrongdoing but has publicly acknowledged

being under investigation by several federal agencies.

Stevens has had his wife and his oldest daughter come in and testify as witnesses for him, and he

narrowly escaped having his youngest daughter do the same before the prosecution's errors led to theelimination from the case of the charges involving that daughter.

And unless the judge somehow stops the trial, Stevens fate will be in the hands of jurors whose livesare very different from his.

Next up: Speculation on the Remaining Cross-Examination and the Closing Arguments Posted by Cliff Groh at 12:34 PM Labels: Ted Stevens Trial http://alaskacorruption.blogspot.com/


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http://www.alaskadispatch.com/tundra-talk/1-talk-of-the-tundra/231-as-stevens-trial-winds-down-what-will-happen-next.html

UPDATED: Stevens case headedto jury

By Cliff Groh

Ted Stevens is off the stand, and both the defense and the prosecution have rested their cases. The lawyers and the judge areworking this afternoon on the jury instructions and the finalization of what exhibits go to the jury in what form (redactions arevery important in some of these items).

Jury has gone home and is coming back Tuesday for closings to start 9:30 a.m. Closing arguments will consume all of tomorrow. The judge will read the instructions to the jury Wednesday morning, and then the jury will begin deliberations.

****

Washington, D.C. Chief prosecutor Brenda Morris has told the judge that she expects to spend perhaps another hour cross-examining Ted Stevens on Monday morning. Depending on what comes up in the remainder of the cross-examination, leaddefense attorney Brendan Sullivan may have some questions for his client on redirect examination.

Following Stevens testimony, it appears that the trial will proceed to closing arguments on Monday (SEE UPDATE ABOVE). Asthe side carrying the burden of proof, the procedure is for the prosecution to go first. After the defense makes its argument, the

prosecution gets the last word to rebut the defenses closing.

What will the two sides do at the end of the trial?

Prosecution

In the remainder of the cross-examination, the prosecution will aim for the same goal it will seek in closing: Hammer on theevidence most damaging to Stevens. Some of that evidence has already come into the record from chief prosecution witness BillAllen's testimony, taped conversations between Allen and Stevens, and the cross-examinations of Stevens' wife Catherine andStevens' friend Bob Persons.

The government can do more during the cross-examination of Ted Stevens, however, to pound home evidence favorable to the prosecution. The best evidence for the government that could be elicited on cross-examination of Stevens would come frommaking him set out:

The substantial improvements made to Stevens Girdwood home and the additional repairs made there;

Stevens extensive opportunities to learn about those improvements and repairs between 1999 and 2006; and

Stevens frequent contacts with Bill Allen during and after the making of those improvements and repairs, particularly their annual vacation-style Boot Camps and other face-to-face meetings together.

The best way the prosecution might demonstrate this evidence is to make a graphic during the cross-examination with four columns like this:

Year / Improvements and Repairs Added / Days Stevens Spent in Girdwood / Days Stevens Spent with Allen

Although the courtroom is filled with state-of-the-art video technology, the best way to make this graphic would be the old-schoolmethod of using a marker pen on a simple pad mounted on an easel in front of the jury.

This graphic would be a timeline that could help summarize a flood of testimony and exhibits for the jury. Making Stevens helpfill out that graphic by giving answers to a series of short, precise questions would be like preparing a punchlist.


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On closing argument, the prosecution could supplement that simple timeline/punchlist by adding one photograph of eachimprovement to illustrate the graphic. As one observer pointed out, the before and after photographs of the home could constitutesome of the most damning evidence against Stevens.

Defense

The defenses task is in some ways more psychological than presentational. The prosecution has got a mountain of facts, but thedefense wants to get the jury to focus on feelings. Lead defense attorney Brendan Sullivan will likely try to get his client to calm

down and stay in control during the remainder of cross-examination. The Senator and his lawyer will continue to do everythingthey can to get the jury to zero in on Allens concealment of his role in providing valuable things to Stevens instead of on theopportunities Stevens had to learn what Allen had done.

Stevens and his attorney need to show somehow that the Senator felt sorry for his brain-injured friend Allen and let his sympathycloud his judgment in dealing with the VECO chief. Its a tough task, but thats why Ted Stevens retained Brendan Sullivan andthe top-flight Williams & Connolly firm.

The defense closing can probably be summarized by the acronym "BIBTOB." That is, Brendan Sullivan will likely argue or implythat Ted Stevens was:

Betrayed by his former friend Allen and by his own inattentive wife CatherineIsolated by his long distance from Girdwood most of the year Busy from all his duties in the Senate

Too honest to conceal anything knowingly, as his character witnesses testifiedO ld and distractedBeneficient in allowing Allen and others to use the Girdwood chalet

Brendan Sullivan will likely rely on several matters revealed during the trial to bolster these themes. As summarized by BrentKendall in an article in the Wall Street Journal, those points helpful to the defense include the apparently excessive andunnecessary costs incurred in VECO's work renovating the chalet, the confusion Allen showed in his testimony, and Allen's

potential motives to shade his testimony to help the prosecution. Sullivan will also argue that the prosecution can't be trusted,citing the judge's instruction regarding evidence excluded from the case due to the prosecution's failure to meet its obligations togive certain evidence to the defense. Sullivan may even ask the jury to discount Allen's testimony given that the judge angrilyannounced in open court that someone was sending signals from the audience while Allen testified.

If you want to see the closings, knowledgeable court personnel recommend getting in line by at least by 8:30 a.m. outside thecourthouse.

Cliff Groh is reporting on Ted Stevens trial at his blog, www.alaskacorruption.blogspot.com , where these entries firstappeared. Groh is a lifelong Alaskan and attorney with a private practice in Anchorage. Groh worked as a prosecutor for theAlaska Department of Law, and he has conducted jury trials in Anchorage, Unalaska, St. Paul, Sitka and Sand Point. He has alsoserved as the Special Assistant to the Commissioner of Revenue, where he worked successfully for the revision of oil taxesenacted in 1989 that raised taxes on the Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk fields. He was the principal legislative staff member when thePermanent Fund Dividend was created. He is conducting research for a book on public corruption in Alaska.


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Alaska Sen. Stevens Takes Stand -- Will It Pay Off?

Joe Palazzolo and Mike ScarcellaLegal Times October 20, 2008

Alaska Sen. Stevens Takes Stand -- Will It Pay Off? Joe Palazzolo and Mike Scarcella10-20-2008

During jury selection, Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens and his lawyers heard prospective jurors say, over andover again, that criminal defendants should testify. "Of course," one woman said. "Everyone should."

Not surprisingly, those who voiced this conviction loudest were bounced from the jury pool. And yetStevens, confident and at times agitated, took the stand last week to defend himself against charges thathe lied on his Senate financial disclosure forms to conceal more than $250,000 in gifts and homerenovations.

Leading up to his testimony, trial spectators made a parlor game of guessing whether Williams &Connolly partner Brendan Sullivan Jr. would put the famously blunt-spoken senator on the stand.

Notwithstanding his orthopedic sneakers and avuncular appearance, the 84-year-old senator is knownto be a strong and at times intemperate personality. After 40 years in the Senate, Stevens is moreaccustomed to commanding respect than betraying humility, and that showed as he challenged thegovernment's chief prosecutor for more than an hour on cross-examination Friday afternoon.

A series of blunders by the government -- U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan sanctioned prosecutorstwice in as many weeks for withholding evidence and discovery material -- made Stevens' decision totestify even more fraught, defense lawyers say.

Why hazard an uneven performance when the momentum is swinging in his favor? Why distract the judge and jury from the government's self-inflicted wounds?

The answer, defense lawyers and jury experts say, points to an aggressive defense, an inviolate rule of juror psychology, and a trial that, improbably, is unfolding in the space of the defendant's own re-election campaign.

In any event, the calculus of the trial changed dramatically when Stevens took his seat between the judge and jury.

"Once the defendant testifies, then he becomes the center of the universe, and the jury is either going to believe him or not believe him," says Steven Braga, a partner at Ropes & Gray 's Washington office.

UNEVEN STEVENS?


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not bare."

Stevens, who serves on the Senate Commerce and Appropriations committees, said he never askedupfront how much the renovation work would cost because that's not the "Alaskan way." In Alaska,Stevens explained, work is performed, a bill is submitted, and it is paid. Contracts, he said, are not partof the deal in Alaska.

Stevens was on the stand Friday for more than an hour before the trial recessed. Cross-examinationresumes Monday; government lawyers do not plan to call any rebuttal witnesses.

RISKY BUSINESS

Trial experts disagree over the wisdom of putting Stevens on the stand.

"The absolute rule is that jurors want to hear the defendant testify," says Arthur Patterson, a Florida- based social psychologist and jury consultant. "Unless the problem is that your client is a double axmurderer, put him on and let him make nice with the jury."

Barbara "Biz" Van Gelder, a partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius , says the risks were profound butnotes that, in false statements cases, it's difficult to shield the defendant from the jury.

"When intent is an essential element of the crime, it's very difficult not to put the witness on the stand,"Van Gelder says. "I think the jury expects to hear that side of the story."

David Schertler of Schertler & Onorato , a former federal prosecutor, says he was surprised Stevenstook the stand, given the strength of the defense's case leading up to his testimony.

With the character witnesses and the cross-examination of Allen, "the defense has laid the basis for itscase that Senator Stevens did not lie," Schertler says.

On the stand, Stevens raised and lowered his voice and appeared flustered at one point -- taking a drink of water after an intense 10-minute back-and-forth with Morris. When Stevens made members of thecourtroom gallery laugh, few jurors cracked a smile.

But some measure of churlishness could strike the jury as authentic, says Patterson, a senior vice president with DecisionQuest , a litigation consulting firm.

"If they perceive that you're acting, then you lose credibility. So there's a fine line where you have toget a little feisty in defense of your good name. But it's a very fine line," he says.

Stevens' testimony comes at an inauspicious time. Congress' persistently low approval rating hasdipped amid the financial crisis, and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who enjoyed broad support shortly after her debut as the Republican vice presidential nominee, has seen her popularity drop in polls. None of this will be lost on the jury in the District -- the city carries a well-earned reputation for being hard on

politicians accused of crimes, Patterson says.

"A defendant's testimony is a very complicated moment in any trial, but this is wildly complicated," hesays.

But Stevens' testimony also presents a political opportunity for the senator, who has been absent from


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his re-election campaign during the trial. (He is in a dead heat with Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich , 49 percent to 48 percent, according to the latest Rasmussen poll.)

In addressing the jury, Stevens has a chance to connect with his constituents. "In this case theconventional wisdom is turned on its head," says David Bartlett, a specialist in crisis communication.

Normally, defendants project different personas in their public life and their criminal trial. But Stevenshas blended the two amid a tight re-election campaign, says Bartlett, a senior vice president at Levick Strategic Communications . "He's trying to make a case in trial that will play equally well in the courtof public opinion."

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202425389144


Judge Lambastes Prosecution in Stevens Case, but Refuses toDismiss Case

Federal judge says he has no confidence that the Justice Department will followprocedural rules for exculpatory information

Mike ScarcellaLegal Times

October 3, 2008A federal judge Thursday lambasted government prosecutors in the trial of Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens for violating criminal procedural rules, but refused to declare a mistrial or dismiss charges that Stevensfiled false financial disclosure reports.

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan postponed the trial until Monday to give Stevens' defense lawyersa chance to review unredacted FBI reports the government was ordered to turn over Thursday.

Calling the Brady violation both intentional and troubling, Sullivan said he has no confidence that theJustice Department will follow rules requiring that they turn over favorable information to the defense.

"It's difficult for the court to believe the government overlooked this exculpatory information,"Sullivan declared. "I find it unbelievable that this was just an error."

Justice Department prosecutors say they mistakenly redacted an FBI report that contained favorableinformation for Stevens and his lawyers at the firm Williams & Connolly . Prosecutors handed over thedocuments Wednesday at 11:30 p.m. following a review of FBI reports for an upcoming witness.

At issue are conflicting statements from the government's chief witness, Bill Allen, former owner of anoil services company in Alaska. In the new information the defense received, Allen told an FBI agent


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that he thought Stevens would have paid for renovations at his home if Stevens had been given aninvoice. Allen was under direct examination before Sullivan postponed the trial .

The defense can use the information for cross-examination. But Stevens' lawyers say the informationwould have been included in their opening statement.

"I've been denied the use of a powerful piece of information I should have had," Williams & Connollysenior partner Brendan Sullivan Jr. said.

Judge Sullivan said he would allow the defense to redo their opening statement if they chose. Defenselawyers say they are still weighing their options.

Prosecutors denied that the redactions hurt Stevens' case. They noted that before trial, the defense teamwas given records in which Allen told investigators that "Ted Stevens wanted to pay for everything hegot."

The Justice Department Office of Professional Responsibility , which reports to the attorney general,will investigate the misconduct allegation stemming from the Brady violation. Lead prosecutor BrendaMorris , principal deputy chief in the Public Integrity Section, refused to identify in court the personresponsible for the violation.

Prosecutors who play fast and loose with rules of procedure -- and ignore court orders -- should resign,Judge Sullivan said.

Jurors in the case were sent home Thursday morning and will be told not to return to U.S. DistrictCourt for the District of Columbia until Monday.

Stevens, 84, is the longest-serving Republican in the Senate and is up for re-election in November. Herequested a speedy trial .



Federal Judge Rejects Challenge to Sen. Stevens Indictment

Mike Scarcella Legal Times September 18, 2008

The criminal charges against Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, accused of filing false financial reports toobscure hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts and home renovations, do not violate constitutionally

protected legislative activity, a federal judge ruled Tuesday in dismissing an attack on the indictment.

Williams & Connolly lawyers, representing Stevens, argued in briefs and in court this month to JudgeEmmet Sullivan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that government prosecutorsimproperly pitched protected legislative activity to grand jurors. Stevens, indicted on seven felonycounts in July, has requested a speedy trial in the hope to clear his name before the November generalelection.


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The Constitution's speech or debate clause protects lawmakers from prosecution rooted in legislativeactivity. The scope of that protection, attorneys in the white-collar criminal defense bar say, is narrowand centered largely in drafting, debating and voting on legislation. Run-of-the-mill constituentservices -- for instance, the steps leading up to a vote -- are not protected, government lawyers say.

Government prosecutors say Stevens, the longest-serving Republican in the Senate, wrote letters andmade calls on behalf of employees of VECO, the former Alaska-based oil services company. Stevensreportedly vowed to take steps to expedite the review and permitting process for a gas pipeline inAlaska. Former VECO employees are expected to testify against Stevens at trial.

Justice Department prosecutors, led by Brenda Morris, the principal deputy chief in the Public IntegritySection, say the government made an effort not to cross the line and introduce protected legislativeactivity. Prosecutors argue the evidence is central to the case and goes to motive and intent in showingthat Stevens had reason to hide or otherwise fail to report the receipt of gifts and other items fromVECO.

Williams & Connolly lawyers, including Brendan Sullivan Jr., argue the information is unrelated to thegovernment's case and will be prejudicial. The defense lawyers say the government wants to infer athis-for-that exchange when such an arrangement was never in place.

The defense team has a chance to appeal Judge Sullivan's order. Brendan Sullivan, lead counsel, couldnot be reached for comment. A status conference is set for Thursday morning. The trial is scheduled to

begin Sept. 22 with jury selection.

First reported in The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times


WALL STREET JOURNAL LAW BLOGSOctober 21, 2008, 6:06 pm

Life Through a Dirty Glass: The Ted Stevens Trial, a Retrospective Posted by Dan Slater

The trial of Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, Tuesday, Oct. 21,2008, at U.S. District Court in Washington.From left: Stevens, his defense attorney Brendan Sullivan addressing the jury, and Judge Emmet G.


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Sullivan, at the bench. (AP/Dana Verkouteren)

Over its month-long span, the Ted Stevens trial acquired several themes and hallmarks: Prosecutorial blundering, allegations of shady lawyering, the continued dissolution of a longtime friendship, andseemingly petty spats over design taste and the giving (or loaning?) of gas grills.

Today, the trial provided one final twist before the verdict: According to ABC News , the day openedwith Judge Emmet Sullivan telling lawyers that, in their closings, mention of Colin Powells Meet thePress endorsement of Barack Obama was verboten. (At trial, Powell, a key defense witness, calledStevens character sterling.)

Otherwise, the day apparently provided little surprise. Prosecutors reportedly ridiculed Stevenssexplanation of alleged gifts as nonsense. Prosecutor Joseph Bottini told jurors that Stevenssurrounded himself with wealthy, generous friends who could be counted on to give gifts and whocould be trusted to keep it quiet.

Stevens lead lawyer, Williams & Connollys Brendan Sullivan, reportedly told jurors that to

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