Alaska Politics Blog : Stevens pleads not guilty, asks for trial before election

Stevens pleads not guilty, asks for trial before election

Posted by Alaska_Politics

Anchorage Daily News

Posted: July 31, 2008 - 9:08 am

Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens arrives at federal court in Washington, D.C. this morning. Stevens' wife Catherine is at left.(Chuck Kennedy/McClatchy Tribune)

From Erika Bolstad in Washington --

Sen. Ted Stevens was arraigned this afternoon in federal District Court in Washington, D.C., where his lawyer entered a not guyilty plea to seven counts of failing to disclose gifts he received from an oil services executive.

Stevens' lawyer, Brendan Sullivan, asked for the trail to be moved to Alaska and heard well in advance of the Nov. 4 general election.

Stevens was not required to post bond, only to surrender his passport.

U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan seemed willing to consider the expedited schedule, and prosecutors said they would be quick to turn over discovery materials in the case.

Those materials include video and audio tapes and "consentual monitoring." Prosecutors said as soon as Stevens lawyers' could give them a 500GB hard drive, they would copy over those materials.

The 84-year-old Alaska Republican, a former U.S. Attorney, has filed briefs with the Supreme Court and prosecuted wrongdoers, but in his career as a lawyer, today's court appearance was his first as a defendant in a federal criminal case.

Stevens is charged with making false statements about "things of value" he received over the past eight years from Veco Corp., the now-defunct Anchorage-based oil services and construction company, and from its chairman, Bill Allen.

The indictment accuses him of receiving substantial benefits from his relationship with Veco that he never disclosed, including improvements to his home in Girdwood, household appliances and an automobile exchange in which he received a new Land Rover worth far more than his 35-year-old Mustang.

Stevens said earlier in the week that he is innocent of the charges and has "never knowingly submitted a false disclosure form required by law as a U.S. Senator." He has said in the past that he paid every bill that was given to him for the house work.

Stevens, who waved to television cameras on his way into the courthouse, left the hearing with his arms around his wife and daughter.

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Stevens pleads not guilty, asks for trial before election

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