A combative Sen. Ted Stevens is expected to bump heads today during cross examination by prosecutors. The case should go to the jury this week.
By Neil Lewis
New York Times
WASHINGTON – The ethics trial of Senator Ted Stevens heads to what should be a dramatic climax on Monday: a courtroom confrontation between Mr. Stevens and a Justice Department prosecutor that features a crucial telephone conversation.
Jurors are expected to begin deliberations this week in the trial of Senator Ted Stevens, an Alaska Republican who is charged with concealing gifts and services from a once-close friend.
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Over the last three weeks, a federal jury has heard testimony and seen evidence from both sides. But all of that could become secondary to what the jurors make of Mr. Stevens, who has made a calculated gamble in taking the stand as the trial’s final witness.
Mr. Stevens, Republican of Alaska, is charged in seven felony counts with deliberately concealing $250,000 in gifts and services from a once-close friend, Bill Allen, to renovate his house in Girdwood, Alaska. The government has asserted that Mr. Allen deployed his oil services company, Veco, to help remake the Stevens home from a modest A-frame cabin to a two-story residence with wraparound porches, a garage and amenities like an expensive gas grill, a workshop and a whirlpool.
UPDATED 4:05 p.m. Monday: Testimony In Trial Comes To An End (Anchorage Daily News)
