The corruption trial of Ted Stevens is almost finished and the result of the trial may decide whether or not Democrats can achieve a 60 vote super majority in the US Senate.
Stevens is the 84 year old Republican senior senator from Alaska of “bridge to nowhere fame.” He has been in the senate 40 years, the longest serving Republican senator. Stevens faces reelection on November 4 and if convicted of this corruption charge, his Democratic challenger, Mark Begich, is sure to win his senate seat. And if convicted, the earmark help Stevens gave to Sarah Palin will probably come under greater scrutiny.
Closing arguments in the trial are tomorrow. Federal prosecutors have accused Stevens of trying to hide more than $250,000 in renovations to his Alaska cabin and other gifts from Bill Allen, former head of the oil services company VECO Corp. The exhibits — such as e-mails, letters, notes, photographs — used by the government in developing its case can be seen here.
This is the cabin after its big renovation. Prosecutors claim that Stevens never paid for much of the work that was done.
During the trial, Colin Powell took the stand and gave high praise to Stevens’ honesty: “When defense attorney Brendan Sullivan asked Powell to describe Stevens’ reputation for honesty and integrity, Powell’s answer was simple: ‘In a word, sterling. … There was never any suggestion that he would do anything that was improper,’ said Powell, who told jurors he knows Stevens ‘extremely well’ after having worked with him on military appropriations issues for decades.”
During the trial, Democratic Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii called Stevens’ reputation for truthfulness and honesty “absolute.” Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch called Sen. Ted Stevens a hero, a legend, and one of the Senate’s greatest minds.
This AP article lays out the case against Stevens, “Did Sen. Stevens know about freebies,” in an article written by Matt Apuzzo:
“In the corruption trial of Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, prosecutors want jurors to ask themselves this question: Wouldn’t you realize it if your home-improvement contractor gave you tons of free stuff?
“The answer to that question could determine the fate of the Senate’s longest-serving Republican, now on trial and locked in a tight race for a Senate seat he has held since 1968.
“Stevens is charged with lying on Senate forms about receiving more than $250,000 in home renovations and other gifts. His defense is built on the argument that he thought he paid for everything and, because his wife handles the bills, he had no idea he got any freebies.
“For that defense to work, it needs to work again and again, for each of the many projects that prosecutors said Stevens never paid for: an upgraded electrical system, a balcony, a steel staircase with custom railings, a new roof and more.
“In order to convict Stevens, prosecutors must show that Stevens “knowingly” lied on his Senate documents. Authorities are counting on the sheer volume of work to persuade jurors that this could not have been a misunderstanding. It was an expert at work, they say, a cunning politician who has learned over four decades in Congress how to accept gifts without getting caught.”
