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Alaska senator trial in disarray

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Americas
A US judge has halted the A D V E R T IS E ME NT

corruption trial of Alaska Senator

Asia-Pacific
Ted Stevens after defence
Europe lawyers said prosecutors had
Middle East withheld vital evidence.
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Judge Emmet Sullivan sent the jury
UK home while he decided whether to
Business dismiss the charges and declare a
mistrial.
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Science & Environment Mr Stevens is accused of lying on Mr Stevens has been in the US Senate
Technology Senate financial disclosure forms since 1968
about gifts from an oil firm.
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Also in the news Mr Stevens, who is the longest-serving Republican in the Senate, has denied
----------------- the charges.
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----------------- Defence lawyer Brendan Sullivan asked the judge on Thursday morning to
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A D V E R T IS E ME NT dismiss the charges against his client.
Profile: Senator Ted Stevens
He said that prosecution lawyers had not turned over FBI reports about their 24 Sep 08 | Americas

star witness, Bill Allen, who had already testified, until late on Wednesday Alaska senator charged over gifts
night. 29 Jul 08 | Americas
FBI searches US senator's house
Prosecutor Brenda Morris admitted a mistake had been made, but said it was 31 Jul 07 | Americas
not sufficient to declare a mistrial.

"We are human and we made an error," she said.

Visibly annoyed, Judge Emmet said that was "unbelievable" and "very
troubling", and told the prosecution to hand over to the defence all FBI TOP AMERICAS STORIES
interviews with witnesses.
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Mr Stevens is accused of failing to disclose $250,000 (£135,000) of work
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done on his house free of charge by employees of the Veco oil company that MOST POPULAR STORIES NOW
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normally builds pipelines and processing equipment. E-MAILED READ WATCHED/LISTENED
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The interview showed that Mr Allen believed Mr Stevens, his long-time
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Mr Stevens has pleaded not guilty, saying he has "never knowingly
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submitted a false disclosure form required by law as a US senator".
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Most popular now, in detail
About the versions Mr Stevens has continued to campaign since he was indicted in July.

Languages His Senate seat is up for grabs in November's election and polls suggest he is
facing a tough battle against his Democratic challenger, Mark Begich, if he is
to secure an eighth term.

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Dana Milbank - The Aw-Shucks Defense - wash... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content... 9/26/2008 14:24

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The Aw-Shucks Defense

By Dana Milbank
Friday, September 26, 2008; Page A03

Sen. Ted Stevens, his career and his

freedom in jeopardy, did the honorable
thing as he went on trial yesterday on
corruption-related charges. He blamed
his wife.

THIS STORY
The Aw-Shucks Defense
Attorney for Stevens Tells Jurors
Alaska Senator 'Is Honest,' Did Not Lie

Average guy Ted Stevens, arriving at court with daughter Beth. (By Jose
Luis Magana -- Associated Press)
Yes, Stevens, the first sitting senator to
be indicted in a generation, failed to TOOLBOX
report a home renovation and other pricey gifts from a Resize Print E-mail
pipeline company. But, his lawyer told the jury yesterday, it
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was his wife who reviewed the bills and took care of the
finances.
COMMENT

"You have to look at the relationship between Ted and washingtonpost.com readers have posted 69
Catherine, because it says something about what happened comments about this item.
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here," superlawyer Brendan Sullivan declared. In fact, he
said, the Stevens family has a saying: "When it comes to POST A COMMENT
things around the tepee, the wife controls. That might seem You must be logged in to leave a comment.
old-fashioned, but Ted Stevens is old-fashioned." Log in | Register
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And rather ungallant.

The 84-year-old senator left his lawyers the unenviable task

of explaining away all the goodies he took but didn't report.
"He didn't want these things," Sullivan said of the gifts. The
tool cabinet? "He wanted it out of there." The furniture?
"Used! Big cigarette hole in it." The garage? "It snows six
feet a year." The $20,000 worth of Christmas lights? "I
Discussion Policy
suppose Ted Stevens, the senator, should go home and get
some climbing shoes on, go up and take them down, and WHO'S BLOGGING
send 'em back?" » Links to this article

Actually, all he had to do was report them to the Senate on his disclosure forms. But instead,
Stevens, caught up in a sprawling Alaska corruption scandal, sat scowling and grumbling in the
defendant's chair yesterday as he listened to opening arguments that, in a way, echoed the class-
warfare themes of the campaign trail. Prosecutor Brenda Morris portrayed Stevens as a man of
privileged tastes foreign to the 16 jurors. In response, Sullivan, counsel to Ollie North and Henry
Cisneros, portrayed the former Senate president pro tempore as the very model of the average guy.

"The defendant is a career politician; he has been a United States senator for 40 years," Morris told
the jurors. "You do not survive politics in this town for that long without . . . knowing how to fly
under the radar."

"Excuse me!" Sullivan, leaping to his feet, complained to the judge, who ignored the objection.

Morris spoke to the jurors, 10 of whom are women, as if chatting with girlfriends. Stevens "denied
the public its right to know," she said, "so he could keep the flow of benies coming." The
renovation was expensive, she taunted, "but, hey, the cost is always good when the price is free."
She had contempt for Stevens's "expensive massage chair from Brookstone -- you know, that
gadget store you see in all the malls." She ridiculed the free services done for him by Veco, the
pipeline company: "We reach for the Yellow Pages -- he reached for Veco."
Dana Milbank - The Aw-Shucks Defense - wash... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content... 9/26/2008 14:24

Morris deplored his "sheer extravagance," his "house near Georgetown," his "racehorse
partnership" and the Alaska home Stevens unwisely called his chalet. "The chalet was
transformed," Morris exulted. "The hammers were swingin' at the chalet."

For the occasion, Stevens left his Incredible Hulk necktie at home in favor of a somber blue
number, and he traded his usual orthopedic sneakers for traditional black shoes. Using a court-
provided hearing device and sticking out his lower lip in a perma-scowl, he muttered a protest
when the prosecutor spoke of his failure to pay for the renovations, grumbled when she mentioned
all the add-ons at his home, and tossed his pen down when she mentioned the Land Rover he got
in a sweetheart vehicle swap.

With some difficulty, Sullivan tried to portray his client, and himself, as humble commoners,
giving aw-shucks accounting of the "strange story about the remodel" that landed Stevens in court.
"I'm not used to wearing a microphone," the superlawyer said sheepishly as he began his
argument. And Stevens, though representing "pretty far away" Alaska, "lives here with us in the
District of Columbia because he works up on Capitol Hill."

"You won't find him at the art gallery" on days off, Sullivan assured the jurors. "He'll put on boots
and go out in the woods." Sullivan even tried the creative argument that his client sided with labor
unions over big oil. "To heck with them!" Sullivan recalled the former Senate Commerce
Committee chairman saying of his beloved energy companies.

Sullivan also said he would call to the witness stand "some people you will recognize," specifically
mentioning Daniel Inouye, Orrin Hatch and the ailing Ted Kennedy. But that doesn't mean the
defendant isn't an ordinary guy. "Those are the people he lives with," Sullivan said.

Another person Stevens lives with came in for rougher treatment. Catherine, his wife, was the one
supposed to "keep track" of paying for the home renovation, Sullivan said. She took a "more
substantive" role in the project. The scope of the work expanded when "the wife came in."
Catherine "ran the financial part of the renovations," and the bills "were sent basically to
Catherine."

And how about Uncle Ted? "The workhorse of the Senate," Sullivan said. "You don't get a title
like that unless you're at the job every moment." Or at least every moment when you're not
throwing your wife under the bus.

Staff writer Del Quentin Wilber contributed to this report.

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A Dual Fight for Stevens http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content... 9/20/2008 20:53

A Dual Fight for Stevens

Senator's Trial Begins Monday as He Campaigns to Keep Seat
By Del Quentin Wilber and Paul Kane
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, September 21, 2008; A04

Embattled Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska goes on trial tomorrow in a historic public corruption case, bucking conventional legal wisdom in the hope of winning acquittal in time to be
reelected to a seventh full term.

The first sitting senator to face a federal trial in more than two decades, Stevens, an 84-year-old Republican icon of both the Senate and his home state, was indicted eight weeks ago
on charges that he failed to disclose lavish gifts he received from executives of an oil services company. If convicted, Stevens could face prison time, his 40-year Senate career
would meet an ignominious end, and Republicans would probably lose a normally reliable Senate seat.

While battling prosecutors in what is expected to be a month-long trial, Stevens also will be running an uphill reelection campaign from the same Washington courthouse -- 3,500
miles from Anchorage. He may have to debate his Democratic opponent well after midnight by teleconference and make arduous red-eye flights to attend weekend campaign events.

It's a risky strategy but perhaps the only one that could result in his reelection, analysts say.

"We have an Alaska Senate race that's about to be decided by 12 residents of the District of Columbia," said Jennifer Duffy, a senior editor of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.
"If he's acquitted, he goes home, and it becomes more of a victory lap than a campaign."

Prosecutors have said their case is simple. In a 28-page indictment and other court filings, the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section alleges that Stevens repeatedly lied on
Senate financial disclosure forms about gifts and $250,000 in home renovations he received from executives of the now-defunct oil services company Veco.

Prosecutors say Stevens never attempted to pay Bill Allen, Veco's chief executive, for the cost of the renovations or other gifts. Allen pleaded guilty to bribery and conspiracy
charges in a long-running federal investigation of corruption in Alaska's government, and he has provided critical testimony that already has helped convict two Alaska state
legislators.

In hearings and court filings, prosecutors allege that Veco, Allen or friends gave Stevens a Viking grill, a discounted Land Rover, a $29,000 bronze statue of a fish, a $2,700 vibrating
massage chair, a $3,200 stained-glass window and a sled dog -- none of which the senator reported.

Those gifts were in addition to extensive renovations to Stevens's Girdwood, Alaska, home by Veco employees and contractors, who installed a wrap-around deck and raised the
home on stilts to add a new floor, prosecutors allege. They say Stevens interacted with the workers, discussed the project with Allen and suggested improvements to the renovation
plans.

In exchange, the government says, Stevens helped or promised to help Veco on various matters, including prodding officials to build a natural gas pipeline in Alaska and requesting
that the World Bank get involved in a dispute between Veco and Pakistan over delays in a project. At the time, Stevens chaired two of the most powerful committees on Capitol Hill,
the Senate's Appropriations and Commerce panels.

Prosecutors have described those favors as Stevens's motive for lying on the disclosure forms. "He knows someone is going to look at that and say, 'Wait a second, he's getting stuff
from Veco and Allen and he wrote a letter on their behalf,' " prosecutor Joseph Bottini said at a recent hearing.

But prosecutors stopped short of charging Stevens with corruption. By limiting the charges to failing to report gifts, some legal experts said, the prosecution can introduce Stevens's
alleged favors as context and motive, not a required element of the crime.

"The case is devastating in its simplicity," said Victoria Toensing, a former top Justice Department official who is now a criminal defense lawyer.

Stevens's lawyer, Brendan Sullivan, does not speak to the media about ongoing cases and did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

Several criminal defense lawyers and former prosecutors said Stevens's defense has several ways to counter the charges. His lawyers are likely to argue that he never tried to hide his
friendship with Allen. The senator is well known for his ability to obtain federal funds for Alaska, and the things he did for Veco benefited other companies and Alaska residents,
the lawyers are expected to tell jurors.

"Stevens's lawyers are going to argue that if the government had a case where prosecutors thought Senator Stevens had done something wrong, they would have charged him with
bribery," said Steven Tabackman, a criminal defense lawyer. "Instead, they will argue that the government is trying to back-door this by saying he didn't put these things in his
disclosure forms."

Tabackman said he would be surprised if defense lawyers didn't try to introduce evidence that aides, not Stevens, filled out the forms.

Some criminal defense lawyers criticized Stevens's rush to trial, saying it is better for defendants to delay as long as possible. Memories are more likely to fade, and witnesses can get
in trouble or even die, they said. But others said the early trial date was a brilliant tactic that put the government in the unexpected position of having to hurry to prepare.

But the senator didn't ask for the early trial date just to pressure prosecutors. He also is fighting for his political life. Even before his indictment, he faced a tough race against
Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, who is ahead in recent polls.

Stevens is embarking on an unprecedented political effort in the modern era of multimillion-dollar campaigns. From Monday through Friday in the final weeks of his bid, he will be
a continent away from his home base outside Anchorage.

On some weekends his aides will have to weigh the physical toll of putting Stevens on a Friday night flight for about eight hours to the Alaska airport that bears his name, so he can
spend the weekend campaigning before returning on a red-eye flight to appear here at trial on Monday morning.

Begich's campaign, which is hoping for about five debates with Stevens, expects that some will involve the senator appearing via teleconference on weeknights. If local television
hopes to broadcast those debates live in prime time in Alaska, the four-hour time difference would require Stevens to appear near midnight in Washington.

Stevens has yet to agree to any specific debates, and some observers question whether he can afford to do so without reinforcing his legal predicament in voters' minds.

While Begich runs ads about his positions on issues, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Alaska Democratic Party have pounded away at Stevens. A DSCC ad
began airing last week accusing him of steering more than $100 million in earmarked funds to lobbying clients of his son Ben Stevens, a former state senator who has been accused
A Dual Fight for Stevens http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content... 9/20/2008 20:53

in court documents of accepting consulting payments from Veco in exchange for legislative favors.

But the coordinators of the anti-Stevens effort are careful that the past service of a man who helped Alaska enter the union and went on to be named "Alaskan of the Century" is not
dismissed. Rather, the focus is on his most recent years in the Senate. "He's no longer the same person we sent there 40 years ago," said Bethany Lesser, spokeswoman for the state
Democratic Party.

Despite his legal woes, Stevens, who remains a senior member of the Appropriations and Commerce committees, has raised $4 million in campaign funds. National Republicans
appear to be gearing up to defend him. The National Republican Senatorial Committee has paid for staff members to follow Begich to public events with video equipment, usually a
sign of a TV advertising campaign to come.

There is even the prospect of Stevens winning reelection despite a conviction. William Canfield, an ethics lawyer who has advised the senator for more than two decades, said he
might win if he is convicted of only one or two of the seven counts against him. If that were to happen, Stevens could resign, or the Senate ethics committee would have to consider
expelling him.

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Contractor, wife blamed in Stevens corruption c... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080925/ap_on_g... 9/26/2008 00:43

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Contractor, wife blamed in Stevens corruption case

By MATT APUZZO and TOM HAYS, Associated Press Writers
Thu Sep 25, 6:33 PM ET

WASHINGTON - Sen. Ted Stevens was clueless about the cost and scope of a pricey makeover
of his Alaska cabin that led to federal corruption charges and threatened his lengthy career, his
lawyer said Thursday at the opening of his trial.

Federal prosecutors allege that Stevens ADVERTISEMENT

AP Photo: Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska,
and his daughter Beth Stevens, arrive at
the U.S. Distrit Court...
— one of Congress' most powerful
Republicans and a patriarch of Alaska
politics for generations — lied on Senate forms about more than $250,000 in home renovations
and gifts from a wealthy oil contractor and close friend, Bill Allen, who expected political favors in
return.

But defense attorney Brendan Sullivan, in making the first public defense of the 84-year-old
Rescuing the senator, shifted blame to Allen and responsibility to Stevens' wife, Catherine.
bailout
Reuters "You cannot report what you don't know," Sullivan said. "You can't fill out a form and say what's been
kept from you by the deviousness of someone like Bill Allen."
Preparations
continue for Sullivan said the senator's wife handled all the project's finances and was the driving force behind
Presidential the renovations. When Stevens had a message for her, he communicated through his Senate
debate staffers.
AP
"They have a saying in their house that when it comes to things in and around the teepee, the wife
» All news video
controls," Sullivan said.
NEWS SEARCH A longtime Senate powerhouse, Stevens has been highly successful in steering billions of federal
"VECO Corp" dollars to his home state. But he now is such a political liability that the Republican vice presidential
nominee, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, has not endorsed him in his unusually tight re-election race.
Related Searches:
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin "Ted Stevens' trial started a couple of days ago," Palin said Thursday. "We'll see where that goes."
Ted Stevens' trial
The Senate's longest-serving Republican sat grim-faced at the defense table in a packed
sweetheart deal
courtroom as prosecutor Brenda Morris dismissed the theory that he was oblivious to what went on
Sen. Ted Stevens around him.

Morris portrayed Stevens as a crafty politician whose decades in office schooled him in the art of
cultivating cronies and concealing gifts and favors.

"You do not survive politics in this town for that long without being very, very smart, very, very
deliberate, very forceful and, at the same time, knowing how to fly under the radar," Morris said in
her opening statement.

At the heart of the case is a complicated 2000 home remodeling project in which Stevens' small
chalet in the woods outside Anchorage was jacked up on stilts and a new first-floor was built. Rather
than hiring a home contractor, Stevens relied on Allen, the chairman of oil services firm VECO
Corp., to manage the project, hire the carpenters and review the bills.

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Prosecutors say Stevens never paid Allen or VECO employees for their services, part of a long
pattern of freebies he is accused of concealing. Allen gave Stevens a gas grill, a generator, an
elaborate rope lighting system and a sweetheart deal on a car.

Politico: Times puzzle is clueless "We reach for the yellow pages, he reached for VECO," Morris said, "and the defendant never paid
about McCain a dime."

ABC News: Bailout Talks Go On Sullivan countered that Stevens' wife promptly paid every bill received — $160,00 in all — for the
Amid Presidential Scuffle home project that was to make room for visits by his 11 grandchildren. He described Allen regularly
going overboard with his giving, and at one point pressuring a local contractor to "eat" a $19,000 bill
rather than send it to Stevens.

A potential witness in the case, Catherine Stevens was not in court Thursday.

Just as Stevens relied on Allen for favors, prosecutors say Allen tapped the senator for help
winning government grants and navigating Washington's bureaucracy. Citing Stevens' reputation for
steering money and business to Alaska, Sullivan embraced the suggestion.

"If you hear evidence that he assisted Bill Allen or VECO in any way so those 4,000 employees
could continue to work, they're right," Sullivan said. "There's absolutely nothing wrong with it. He's
proud of it. Bring it on."

As for the grill, rope lighting and other unreported gifts including a sled dog, Sullivan said Stevens
"didn't want these things, he didn't need these things and he didn't ask for these things."

The lawyer also cited e-mails he claimed would show that the senator had no intent to deceive the
public. One to Allen read in part: "Thanks for the work. You owe me a bill."

The trial's first witness, a VECO project manager who met with Stevens about the home project and
prepared the plans, testified that he received a note from the senator saying, "Under Senate rules, I
must pay you for what you've done."
Contractor, wife blamed in Stevens corruption c... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080925/ap_on_g... 9/26/2008 00:43

The manager testified that he instructed Stevens to pay VECO. But prosecutors say the senator
never covered the $3,000 job.

Another VECO worker testified that he was dispatched by Allen to the Stevens cabin to shovel
snow and install a $6,000 backup generator while the senator was away. On cross-examination, he
said his boss was "very generous" with many people.

Allen has pleaded guilty to bribing Alaska lawmakers and is the government's star witness against
Stevens. He is expected to testify soon but was not due to take the stand Friday.

___

On the Web:

Justice Department documents: http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/us-v-stevens/

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Stevens mistrial bid fails,

judge angry
DEFENSE COMPLAINS: Prosecution is scolded for
releasing witness.
By ERIKA BOLSTAD and RICHARD MAUER
Anchorage Daily News
Published: September 29th, 2008 11:32 PM
Last Modified: September 29th, 2008 11:42 PM

WASHINGTON -- Prosecutors on Monday drew ire from the

federal judge hearing the corruption case against Sen. Ted
Stevens for sending home to Alaska a potential witness who has
figured prominently in other people's testimony but so far has
not testified himself.
enlarge
J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE / The Associated Press
Sen. Ted Stevens, accompanied by his daughter,
Beth, arrives at federal court in Washington Sept.
29, 2008, for his trial on corruption charges.

Stevens' lawyers asked for a mistrial Document exhibits

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but he said he was "flabbergasted" employees set to testify today
that they had sent Williams home without alerting him or
The Ted Stevens investigation
defense attorneys that Williams was no longer scheduled to
Photos: Exhibits submitted as evidence
testify.

More Top stories »

The contentious issue weaved through Stevens' trial all day,
boiling up at every recess just before the jury entered the Stevens mistrial bid fails, judge angry
courtroom or just after it left. By the end of the day it was Bush costs prompt exodus to cities
unclear how serious the row would be to the outcome of the Congress listens to voters on financial
case. rescue
Troopergate suit heads to court
Stevens, 84, faces seven felony counts of failing to report on his
With new lungs, cystic fibrosis sufferer
U.S. Senate disclosure forms more than $250,000 worth of gifts looks forward to hikes
and home renovations, chiefly from Veco and Allen. The Alaska
Republican, who is up for re-election Nov. 4, asked for a speedy
trial so he'd have the opportunity to clear his name before then.

Prosecutors explained sending Williams home to the judge and the defense in hushed tones in a
morning conference at the bench. No information was made public aside from a reference in the
defense motion that Williams suffered from a serious cough and had health issues.

Whatever it was, the judge was openly skeptical, suggesting the government might have decided
that Williams, who has been voluntarily cooperating with the FBI for more than a year, might not
help its case.

"I find it very, very disturbing that this has happened, and concerned about the appearance of
propriety, or impropriety," Sullivan said. He stopped short of accusing prosecutors of misconduct or
a lapse in ethics, but threatened sanctions.

"After all, this is the search for the truth and people ought not to forget about that," said Sullivan,
who asked lawyers to give him a sworn declaration of what had happened under penalty of perjury.
"This is a serious one; we're all officers of the court."

WILLIAMS' WORK

Despite all the talk and court filings, Williams appeared to be able to contradict only one piece of
evidence presented so far.

On Friday, Veco accounts manager Cheryl Boomershine submitted a report that the 2000-2001
renovations amounted to a $188,929 gift by Veco to Stevens. Among her backup documents
submitted for jury consideration were timecards from Williams showing he worked as much as 60
or 70 hours a week. She applied all those hours when calculating Veco's cost on the house.

When the government sent Williams home, they told him to call the defense after he arrived. He
did just that on Friday, lawyers for both sides told the judge. The call led to his first interview by the
Judge Considers Mistrial in Stevens Case - Was... http://voices.washingtonpost.com/washingtonpos... 10/2/2008 17:37

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Judge Considers Mistrial in Stevens Case
POSTED: 04:56 PM ET, 10/ 2/2008 by Derek Kravitz
Post Investigations TAGS: Ted Stevens, congress, corruption trial
In-depth investigative news
and multimedia from The
A federal judge is deciding whether he should throw out corruption
Washington Post.
• Full Projects Archive charges against Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens after the Republican
lawmaker's attorneys accused government prosecutors of hiding FBI
Reporters' Notebook
An insider's guide to reports favorable to Stevens.
investigative news: reporters
offer insights on their stories. U.S. District Court Judge Emmet G. Sullivan suspended the
two-week-long trial for the day after Stevens's lead attorney, Brendan
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A weekly review of the best
in-depth and investigative appeared to show Stevens did not willingly approve $250,000 in
reports from across the remodeling on his home near Anchorage.
nation.
Stevens, 84, is fighting for his political life in a corruption trial over
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potentially improper gifts and home renovations he received from his
news of note across the longtime friend, former Veco Corp. oil executive Bill Allen.
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At one point, the judge said Stevens "would not be getting a fair trial if it
D.C. Region were up to the government," The Post's Del Quentin Wilber and Carol
Post coverage of investigative
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and the District.
Erika Bolstad and Richard Mauer, writing for the Anchorage Daily
Washington Watchdogs News, described a heated exchange between Stevens's attorney,
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Help! What Is RSS?
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away. Then, clutching his chest, he said, "My heart's
HOT COMMENTS beating twice as fast as it should be for a 66-year-old
man. This can't happen in court."
We can spend a
trillion dollars on a As he accused the prosecution of misconduct, the chief
useless war, prosecutor, Brenda Morris, leaped to her feet and got
another trillion dollars on within inches of Stevens' lawyer, her voiced raised as well.
bailing out rich stupid people,
but "God forbid" we are "He called me out," she told the judge as he tried to calm
spending too much money on
the situation.
health care. We are. The rest
of the G7 has universal health
Walking back to the defense table, Sullivan said, "I called
care, we are the only
first-world country that does her up, not out."
not. We spend more and
have the worst outcomes. The Morris admitted she violated the judge's orders in not
system is broken. To just turning over the document, but not Stevens' rights. She
tighten reimbursement is said the defense was told Allen had said that very thing in
putting lipstick on a pig.
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The Am Law Litigation Daily: October 3, 2008

Posted by Dimitra Kessenides

Edited by Andrew Longstreth

Litigator of the Week: David Harvin of Vinson & Elkins

If you were reading Dealbook's early coverage of the Delaware Chancery Court showdown between Hexion Specialty Chemicals and Huntsman, you might have concluded--as we
confess we did--that Huntsman's lawyers from Vinson & Elkins were being schooled by Hexion's high-powered Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz team. The case, as you'll recall, was
about Hexion's attempt to get out of the multibillion deal it signed with Huntsman back in July 2007, before the credit markets froze up. In the first days of the trial, the New York
Times's Deal Professor wrote that he had been "underwhelmed" by the performance of V&E senior statesman Harry Reasoner. And when Vinson & Elkins partner David Harvin
concluded his cross-examination of Hexion CEO Craig Morrison, the Deal Professor (aka Steven Davidoff, a professor at the University of Connecticut School of Law) wrote that,
on the whole, the Hexion CEO "got the better" of Harvin.

Ahem. You know that old saying about he who laughs last?

As we all know, trials are not decided by bloggers. And in fairness to the Deal Professor, he eventually predicted that Huntsman would win the case. On that point, he was absolutely
right: Vice Chancellor Stephen Lamb ruled on Monday that Hexion must fulfill its obligations to V&E's client. Lamb's 89-page opinion was pretty much all that V&E and Huntsman
could have hoped for. He concluded that Hexion had knowingly and intentionally violated the terms of the merger agreement, exposing Hexion to potential damages far in excess of
the deal's $325 million breakup fee if the merger doesn't go through. We should note that Lamb cited the very testimony that Dealbook originally dismissed: Harvin's cross-
examination of Hexion CEO Morrison.

And so we've chose Harvin, who was Huntsman's lead trial lawyer, as our Litigator of the Week. When we spoke to the 63-year-old Houstonian yesterday, he was quick to heap
praise on his team, including Reasoner, James Reeder, John Taurman, and Michael Holmes. Harvin told us that he thought Vice Chancellor Lamb was most impressed by
Huntsman's evidence that Hexion and its investors at Apollo had schemed to create a situation that would keep the deal from closing. In particular, Harvin said, Lamb seemed to be
swayed by Hexion's engagement of Duff & Phelps to provide it with an opinion that declared the combined company would be insolvent. Lamb found the opinion letter "unduly
pessimistic," Harvin told us.

Harvin was a true Texas gentleman when we asked him about Dealbook's critiques of his team, offering a polite demurral. We did our own two-step and asked him if at any time
during the six-day trial or the two-week wait for Lamb's ruling he thought things weren't going Huntman's way.

"Every trial has its ups and its downs," Harvin said. "But on balance I thought frankly we had more ups than downs."

WHITE-COLLAR
Stevens's Trial Judge Blasts Prosecutors, But Does Not Declare Mistrial
The government's public corruption prosecution of Alaska Senator Ted Stevens teetered on the brink of disaster yesterday after the federal judge overseeing the case harshly
criticized prosecutors for failing to turn over critical evidence to the defense until Wednesday night. Washington, D.C., federal district court judge Emmet Sullivan went so far as to
suspend the trial yesterday morning as he pondered whether to grant a motion by Stevens's Williams & Connolly lawyers to either dismiss the case or declare a mistrial.

Yesterday evening, Judge Sullivan denied both requests. But not before lambasting the prosecutors and questioning their integrity. "It's difficult for the court to believe the
government overlooked this exculpatory information," he said, according to Legal Times's account of the late-afternoon hearing. "I find it unbelievable that this was just an error."

The document that prosecutors failed to turn over was an unredacted FBI report of an interview with key government witness Bill Allen, whose company renovated the senator's
home without receiving payment for its work. The unredacted version of the report says that Allen believed Stevens would have paid for the improvements if he had received a bill.

Williams & Connolly partner Brendan Sullivan will be able to make full use of the report when he cross-examines Allen, which will likely be on Monday when the trial is scheduled
to resume.

W&C's Sullivan, who is famous for his deadpan style, was, by most accounts, uncharacteristically theatrical yesterday. The New York Times reported that he began the day by
throwing down papers and declaring that he had never seen such incompetence from the government in his 40 years of practice. According to the Anchorage Daily News, he said:
"My heart's beating twice as fast as it should be for a 66-year-old man." The Williams & Connolly partner also had a run-in with the government's lead prosector, Brenda Morris.
The Am Law Litigation Daily: October 3, 2008 http://amlawdaily.typepad.com/amlawdaily/200... 10/3/2008 12:15

After Sullivan repeated his line about 40 years of experience, Morris reportedly got up from her seat and and came within inches of him.

"He called me out," she told the judge.

Sullivan, walking back to the defense table, said, "I called her up, not out."

CONSUMER
Wiley Rein Wins Dismissal of Class Action Against Verizon
At the Litigation Daily, we're routinely annoyed with our phone bill's many obscure itemized costs, so we're somewhat sympathetic to plaintiffs who filed a class action against
Verizon Wireless. In that case, filed in New Jersey federal district court, the plaintiffs alleged that Verizon had deceived them about their bills. They claimed that Verizon made it
seem as though one administrative fee that showed up on its bills was a government-imposed surcharge when, in fact, the fee was used to defray Verizon's own costs.

But earlier this week, Judge Freda Wolfson granted Verizon's motion to compel arbitration and dismissed the case. The plaintiffs had argued that the arbitration provisions in
Verizon's customer agreements were unconscionable under New Jersey law. Judge Wolfson disagreed, holding that the Federal Arbitration Act, which requires enforcement of the
arbitration clause, preempted New Jersey state law.

Wiley Rein partner Andrew McBride called Wolfson's decision a "landmark ruling." He said that the Ninth Circuit came out on the opposite side of Judge Wolfson on the same issue,
which makes the Federal Arbitration Act and preemption of state law a potentially attractive issue for the Supreme Court. (McBride should know; he's a former clerk for Justice
Sandra Day O'Connor.) McBride also told us that if Judge Wolfson's ruling is upheld by the Third Circuit, it will spell trouble for the plaintiffs bar.

"Individual arbitration is like kryptonite for plaintiffs lawyers," he said.

William Weinstein of Sanford Wittels & Heisler, who represents the plaintiffs, told us he filed a notice of appeal yesterday. "We thought that we had given the judge sufficient
reasons why the class waiver should not have been enforced in this case and why the enforcement of the class waiver would not run afoul of the Federal Arbitration Act," he said.

IP
EMI Gets Split Ruling From New York Judge in MP3tunes Copyright Case
Has there ever been a better time to be an IP entertainment lawyer? We told you earlier this week about the Hollywood studios filing a copyright suit against RealNetworks to block
its new DVD software, but that's just one example of technology that threatens the entertainment biz ending up as the subject of litigation. Today we have news from another such
case, in which 14 record labels and publishers affiliated with EMI filed a copyright suit against MP3tunes and its CEO, Michael Robertson, for allegedly enabling its users to listen to
infringing music. In a decision issued this week, Manhattan federal district court judge William Pauley III dismissed the claims against Robertson on procedural grounds--but
permitted the case against the company to proceed.

MP3tunes, located in San Diego, operates two websites: mp3tunes.com and sideload.com. According to Judge Pauley's opinion, "Plaintiffs allege that MP3tunes [enables] users to
listen to infringing music through sideload.com, to make copies of infringing music to store in a 'locker,' and to download copies to multiple locations and to multiple individuals."

Judge Pauley didn't make any determinations about the validity of the claims of the record labels, which are represented by Jenner & Block. He dismissed their claims against
Robertson on personal jurisdiction grounds but denied MP3tunes's motion to dismiss. Both Robertson and his company are represented by Duane Morris partner Gregory Gulia.

Robertson issued a fiery statement following the ruling: "Suing CEOs personally is a nasty tactic media companies are engaging in to intimidate individuals, forcing them to either
enter into a settlement or face the possibility of losing their homes, cars, and all their personal belongings," he said. "I chose to fight instead of run, because I believe consumers
should be able to listen to their music everywhere. We look forward to explaining what we do, and we do it in a responsible and legal manner." Well, okay. We look forward to the
explanation, too.

Duane Morris's Gulia did not immediately return a call for comment. Neither did plaintiffs counsel Andrew Bart of Jenner & Block.

PRO BONO
U.S. Concedes Bingham Clients Not Enemy Combatants
Bingham McCutchen is putting together an impressive run in cases against the Bush administration on behalf of Chinese Muslims held as prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. In June it
won a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit that its client Huzaifa Parhat, an ethnic Uighur, had been improperly designated as an enemy combatant. In August,
a Washington, D.C., federal district court judge ruled that four additional Uighurs were also not enemy combatants. This week the firm won its biggest Guantanamo victory yet. The
Am Law Daily reports that on Tuesday, in anticipation of an October 7 hearing on the status of all 17 Uighurs still held at Guantanamo, the government has conceded that none of
the Uighurs is considered an enemy combatant.

At next week's hearing, Bingham's P. Sabin Willett now intends to argue that the Uighurs should be paroled in the U.S. while they await the outcome of their habeas cases. "Given
[that] these men have never been charged with any crime, and they are not enemy combatants, there is simply no reason for their continued confinement," Willett told The Am Law
Daily's David Bario.

Willett also said that by last night the government had transferred six Uighurs from solitary confinement to a lower-security facility after Bingham lawyers complained that the
solitary conditions created "a regimen of psychological cruelty."

"We're obviously gratified that they're out today," he said. Working with Willett on the cases have been partners Neil McGaraghan and Susan Baker Manning, of counsel Rheba
Rutkowski, and associates Francesca Miceli, Jason Pinney, Sam Rowley, and Catherine Murphy.

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FOX News' Ian McCaleb was on hand Thursday for opening statements in the corruption trial of
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WASHINGTON — Alaska Republican Sen. Ted Stevens stands accused of seven counts of false
HOUSE OF statements in an alleged "conspiracy" to cover up hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts and REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION
REPRESENTATIVES services received from the Alaska-based oil services firm VECO from 1999 through 2006. RCP AVERAGE: MCCAIN +30.4%

SUPREME COURT The jury of 12, with 4 alternates, was seated at 9:25 a.m., and was read a list of specific instructions McCain 56.7%
by Federal Judge Emmet Sullivan. The instructions phase lasted some 30 minutes, and government Huckabee 26.3%
STATE & LOCAL prosecutor Brenda K. Morris launched into her opening remarks, which she ripped through in forceful,
GOVERNMENT Paul 6.5%
street-wise tones, finishing 30 minutes short of her allotted time.
POLL DETAILS >
U.S. MILITARY
Morris told the D.C.-based jury that this case is "simple," in that Senator Stevens is a "public official
DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION
NEWS ARCHIVE who took hundreds of thousands of dollars in financial benefits, and took away the people's right to RCP AVERAGE: OBAMA +12.2%
know this information."
HOT TOPICS Obama 52.8%
FOX NEWS "He did these things so the free financial benefits he received wouldn't stop, and the public wouldn't
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have to know," Morris said.
COVERAGE POLL DETAILS >
CELEBRITY Stevens is a "career politician," she said. "You don't survive in this town without being very smart,
GOSSIP PRESIDENT BUSH JOB APPROVAL
very deliberate, very forceful, and without knowing how to fly under the radar." RCP AVERAGE: SPREAD -35.4%
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"He knows how to get things done without saying much," Morris added. Approve 30.4%
SECTION MAP Disapprove 65.8%
Continuing, she said Stevens "personally signed" his yearly Senate financial disclosure forms, and
in doing so, "he decided to violate the law." POLL DETAILS >
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The bulk of the government's case focuses on the alleged "near-doubling" of the size of Stevens'
Disapprove 73.8%
Girdwood, Ark., residence, which was once a small A-frame ski chalet but following two rounds of
extensive renovations is now much larger. POLL DETAILS >

The government contends that Stevens did not pay $188,000 for the work done by VECO
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company was paid by the senator and his wife, Catherine.
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"The cost is always good when the price is free," Morris said of that allegedly unpaid $188,000. "He Steve Fossett's
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was obligated to disclose it. Instead, he chose not to."
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"VECO spent thousands of [labor] hours on this project," Morris said. "There was no accident or
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Morris also pledged to look further at other items of value Stevens is accused of receiving, including: Suicide
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• A $2700 massage chair that was shipped to his Washington, D.C., home

• A $6000 generator for the Girdwood chalet

• A $20,000 worth of decorative rope lighting at the chalet ADVERTISEMENT

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• Several pieces of furniture ONLY ON FOX

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• A Viking gas grill 2007-2008 term

• A stained glass window for the chalet

• A "sweetheart deal" where he traded a beat-up 1964 Mustang for a new Land Rover Discovery, 2008 Primary Schedule
valued at $44,000. The Land Rover was for his daughter, who had just gotten her license. Stevens A handy list of who voted when
threw in an extra $5000 with the Mustang, but the government contends the car was still worth many
thousands less than the Land Rover.

"The single, simple issue of this case," Morris concluded, "is knowledge. What did the defendant
know." Leaving Congress: The Changing
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Lead Defense Attorney Brendan Sullivan, a soft-spoken man who has a reputation for viciousness Click here to see the updated list of
when he is in the courtroom, chose a measured tact today that subtly focused on Stevens' wife lawmakers not returning to their seats
Catherine and former VECO CEO and Stevens' friend, Bill Allen. Those two, intentionally or not, after the 2008 elections
appear to be the source of the trouble here, Sullivan told the jury.

"He had no intent to violate the law," Sullivan said of Sen. Stevens. "He had no intent to conceal
anything."

Catherine Stevens, Sullivan said, was in charge of the financing of the renovation, and made design
recommendations that upped the cost. Stevens had arranged for a mortgage on the chalet to cover the
construction costs, but that mortgage only amounted to some $100,000. All bills from the previously
mentioned local construction contractor were paid, Sullivan asserted, save for the last one (amounting
FOXNews.com - Reporter's Notebook: Jury Hea... http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,428242,... 10/2/2008 15:43

to $19,000), which VECO told the contractor to "eat."

"We have to look, somewhat uncomfortably, at the relationship between Stevens and Catherine,
because it is at the heart of what happened here," Sullivan cryptically told the members of the jury.
"Catherine was the one who decided what should be done."

In addition, Sullivan said, VECO never billed Stevens for the $188,000 additional, choosing instead to
absorb that figure into its own books. Stevens, he said, could not pay what he did not know he owed.
The money he did pay out of his mortgage looked, on the surface, to be sufficient to cover the costs of
the job, Sullivan said

And, he said, Stevens could not possibly have been fully apprised of what was going on the with the
renovation, because he lived in Washington.

"It is hard to do things so far away from the renovation site," he said. "There was no [formal] contract."

Bill Allen's intent, Sullivan said, will have to be looked at in-depth, because Stevens asked for bills
several times, but never received any from VECO.

As for the other items of value, Sullivan claims Stevens did not want or was not interested in nor did he
ask for the $2700 massage chair, the $20,000 worth of decorative rope lighting at the chalet, the
furniture, the tool chest or the Viking gas grill, an item his wife reportedly feared would blow up the
house.

Sullivan also said that the champion Huskey puppy's value was based on his own purchase of the dogs
sibling, that he was unaware of the stained-glass window provided for the chalet and that the trade of
the Mustang car for the new Land Rover was an "even deal."

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CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS

Oct. 2, 2008 – 9:33 a.m.

Jury to Hear Sen. Stevens, in His Own Words

By Kathleen Hunter, CQ Staff

Prosecutors plan to play audiotapes for jurors Thursday of conversations between Sen. Ted Stevens and the executive who
dramatically upgraded the senator’s Alaska home.

The three recordings are expected to be the highlight of the remaining part of the prosecution’s direct examination of former
VECO Corp. CEO Bill Allen, the star witness in the federal case against Stevens, the Senate’s longest-serving Republican.

Prosecutors want to play segments of the tapes — about 16 minutes in total — rather than full conversations, but the defense is
asking U.S. District Court Judge Emmet G. Sullivan to require that the tapes are played in their entirety.

“What they want to do is to cut it right off at the point they want to emphasize,” said defense attorney Robert Cary, arguing that
the uncut tapes would take up only about 30 minutes of court time and tell a different story than the redacted versions.

Once prosecutors finish their direct examination, Stevens’ lawyers are expected to spend several hours cross-examining Allen in
an attempt to poke holes in his account of events.

Stevens is accused of concealing more than $250,000 worth of gifts, much of it in the form of a full-story addition to his Girdwood,
Alaska home.

CQ © 2007 All Rights Reserved | Congressional Quarterly Inc. 1255 22nd Street N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037 | 202-419-8500
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Defense attorneys have demanded a mistrial in the government corruption FONT SIZE
case against Alaska Republican Sen. Ted Stevens, claiming that federal
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the lawmaker.
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Stevens' attorneys
made the request after
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prosecutors."

Stevens' defense team claims key details Slideshows

from Allen's interview were redacted in the
Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, arrives at the U.S. District Court paperwork the prosecutors handed over to
in Washington Thursday Oct. 2, 2008. the defense, but Morris said the defense
(Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo)
received the missing information through
other memos.
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Lead defense attorney Brendan Sullivan challenged the prosecutors on their claims, saying, "Their Golden Kate Ronson on New Look: Brit
Moss Vacation Wigs Out!
argument is disingenuous and possibly dishonest. ... I can't believe this is rectifiable." He went on
to demand that the government dismiss the case.

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"I find this unbelievable," said U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan. "This is the
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government's chief witness." on Republican

The court is in recess until 4:30 p.m., when Sullivan could announce his decision on the mistrial
request.
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Morris insisted Stevens is getting "a very fair trial," a statement that apparently infuriated the
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"It's because of me he's getting a fair trial. Thank goodness we don't have to rely on the United
States for giving him a fair trial," the judge said.

Stevens, 84, was indicted for allegedly lying on financial

disclosure forms required by the U.S. Senate. Prosecutors
claim Stevens omitted $250,000 in gifts, including a massive renovation project carried out at his
Girdwood, Alaska, home, which they say Allen and his company funded.

Allen, the former CEO of now-defunct oil services firm Veco, took the stand Tuesday and
Wednesday and testified that he had never sent the senator a bill for the extensive home
renovations.

Payment for the renovation project is at the heart of the case; prosecutors say that Stevens
never paid a dime and that Allen and Veco footed the bill, but the defense says the lawmaker's
family paid every bill it received.
Stevens Defense Alleges U.S. Withheld Evidence... http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122270778906... 9/30/2008 00:37
Stevens Defense Alleges U.S. Withheld Evidence... http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122270778906... 9/30/2008 00:37
Charges against Alaska senator could be dismiss... http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/02/ste... 10/2/2008 14:02

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Charges against Alaska senator STORY HIGHLIGHTS

NEW: Judge accuses prosecutors of "gross negligence" in not sharing documents
Sen. Ted Stevens pleads not guilty to failing to report substantial gifts, services
could be dismissed Oil contractor did building work on home of Republican senator
Defense says Stevens paid all bills he knew of

Next Article in Politics »

From Paul Courson

CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Government prosecutors in the corruption trial of Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens waited
until Wednesday night to give the defense documents that could help the senator's case, drawing a stern
rebuke from the trial judge.

A hearing set for 4:30 p.m. ET Thursday could

result in the dismissal of charges against the
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Senate's longest serving Republican in the first
week of his corruption trial. 1 Sheriff: Fossett plane found

Stevens has pleaded not guilty to a seven-count

indictment for filing false statements on mandatory
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financial disclosure forms.

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Prosecutors say the annual forms should have

included hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts
4 TV's 'Mr. Clean' dies at 92

from Bill Allen, founder of the Veco Corp. -- an oil

5 Commentary: Chilling future
field contractor and at that time Alaska's biggest
employer. 6 How to be a bad patient

Although the company was not known for

Sen. Ted Stevens did not disclose to the U.S. Senate work
done on his Alaska home, prosecutors say.
outside Anchorage, Alaska.
residential construction, former employees have
testified Allen and top aides directly asked them to
work on Stevens' home in Girdwood, a ski town
7 Stevens case could be dismissed
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Allen himself is the government's star witness, and has been on the stand since Tuesday. 10 The story of 'Tim & Tom'

But Stevens' defense attorneys said prosecutors waited till Wednesday night to turn over crucial FBI notes on more most popular »
Allen. Those indicate that Allen believed that, had Stevens received invoices from the foreman or others for
the Veco work, Stevens would have paid them.

Allen has testified he did not bill Stevens for some of the work.

The notes from the investigator indicate Allen did not fully bill for Veco's work because he felt the costs were
higher than they need to be, and "partly because he did not want the defendant to have to pay." Quick Job Search

On Wednesday, Allen acknowledged in testimony he failed to ask Stevens to pay for some work simply
"because I like Ted."
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A visibly angry federal Judge Emmet Sullivan agreed, saying, "It was
gross negligence on the part of the government."
more options »
Prosecutors acknowledged the error but said it was unintentional.
"It was a human error," said prosecutor Brenda Morris. But "by the luck of
God, Mr. Allen is still on the stand and they can cross-examine him."
"It shouldn't have to be lucky," Sullivan replied. Stories you may be interested in based on past browsing

Defense attorney Brendan Sullivan told the judge that the prosecution's argument is "disingenuous and
Straight from the House's mouth: Why the
perhaps dishonest."
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The judge said he found the mistake unbelievable. "I told the government what to do, and it didn't do it," he
thundered. "Why shouldn't I dismiss the indictment?" CNNMoney: Bush wants OK to spend $700B

Morris maintained that Stevens is still receiving a fair trial, but the judge said, "the only reason he's (Stevens)
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getting a fair trial is because I'm here to see to it he's getting a fair trial. Thank goodness we don't have to rely
on the United States to give him a fair trial."
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The judge told jurors the trial would not proceed Thursday because "the attorneys and I need to address some Agreement Reached
issues that have come up. It has nothing to do with your job ... just go enjoy your day."
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Prosecutors did not speak to reporters as they left the courthouse.

The government's attorneys have been in trouble with the judge three times during the trial.

The first time, the judge threatened to declare the government's case concluded when they ran out of
available witnesses before the court's day was done.

The second time was over the unresolved decision by prosecutors to send a subpoenaed witness back to
Alaska without telling the judge or defense attorneys.
Judge in Stevens Trial Weighs Dismissing Charg... http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/03/us/03steve... 10/2/2008 13:51

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Brenda Morris, the chief prosecutor,
apologized for what she said was a
afternoon hearing on whether he should dismiss the seven
felony counts Mr. Stevens faces.
“It’s very troubling,” said a clearly angry Judge Sullivan, who
questioned whether someone in the department deliberately
concealed the information. “If it wasn’t deliberate, it was gross
negligence.”
The surprise development came after prosecutors late
Wednesday sent to the defense team a copy of an F.B.I. report of
an agent’s interview with Bill Allen, an Alaska oil services
magnate. Mr. Allen, who is the prosecution’s chief witness, has
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serious error. been on the stand this week.

In addition to the scolding of the government by the judge, the

nytimes.com/politics
revelation produced a heated and sometimes personal confrontation between the chief defense
lawyer, Brendan Sullivan, and the chief prosecutor, Brenda Morris, outside the presence of the Complete coverage of tonight's debate
jury. Also in Politics:
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Mr. Stevens is charged with failing to list on Senate disclosure forms some $250,000 in gifts and Presidential polls over time
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services he received from Mr. Allen and his company, Veco, for renovations of the senator’s home
in Girdwood, Alaska.

At the heart of the trial is the issue of whether Mr. Stevens knowingly failed to list the gifts and
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explicitly told not to do so by the senator’s personally designated liaison to him. Get 50% off home delivery of The Times.

The belatedly disclosed document is the agent’s handwritten report of an interview of Mr. Allen in
which Mr. Allen said he believed that Mr. Stevens would have paid the bills had they been sent to
him.

Mr. Sullivan offered a theatrical protest, throwing down papers at the lectern and saying that in
his 40 years of practice he had never encountered such blatant government ineptitude.

“The integrity of this process has been breached,” he asserted in asking for a dismissal. “I’ve
never seen anything like it.”

Mr. Sullivan’s argument is that had he known of the agent’s report of the interview it would have
fundamentally altered his approach to the case and would have figured in his opening statement.
It could buttress the principal defense argument that Mr. Stevens thought had always fully
intended to pay any bills for home renovation and thus did not conceal any gifts.

Judge Sullivan seemed persuaded that the offense was grave but remained uncertain as to the
remedy. He asked Mr. Sullivan if he would accept partial solutions like new instructions to the
jury about the document.

But Mr. Sullivan held out for a sanction like a mistrial or dismissal. “I can’t believe this is
rectifiable,” he said, arguing that he could not go back and redo his opening statement.

Ms. Morris, the chief prosecutor, apologized for what she acknowledged was a serious mistake by
Judge in Stevens Trial Weighs Dismissing Charg... http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/03/us/03steve... 10/2/2008 13:51

someone on her team but said that Mr. Sullivan had exaggerated the damage. She said the INSIDE NYTIMES.COM
information about Mr. Allen’s views was relayed to the defense lawyers in a Sept. 9 letter.

“It was an error,” Ms. Morris said. “I’m not going to conceal that.” But she added that it
amounted to “nothing; it is form over substance.” The revelation, she said, “doesn’t make the
defense case any better or the government’s case any worse.”

Underlying the dispute is a 1963 Supreme Court ruling, Brady v. Maryland, that requires
prosecutors to make available to the accused any information it has that may help in the defense.

The dispute involves the prosecution’s second mistake during the trial; Judge Sullivan had earlier
admonished the government for its handling of a witness. The judge declined a defense request
for a mistrial in that matter but said prosecutors had behaved badly in sending home to Alaska a
witness who might have helped the defense.

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Past Coverage
Witness at Alaska Senator’s Trial Describes Gifts to Family (October 1, 2008)
In Trial of Alaska Senator, a Story of Oil, Money and Politics (September 22, 2008)
Court Records Detail Link From Contractor to Senator (August 16, 2008)
Executive Describes Work on Senator's Home (September 16, 2007)

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Judge Blasts Prosecutors in Stevens Case http://www.abcnews.go.com/print?id=5909449 9/29/2008 18:35

Judge Blasts Prosecutors in Ted Stevens Case

Defense Claimed Prosecutors Withheld a Key Witness Who Might Help Case

By JASON RYAN

Sept. 29, 2008 —

A federal judge blasted prosecutors in the corruption case of Sen. Ted Stevens Monday and said he will consider sanctions against them if warranted, after defense attorneys said
that the government withheld information about a possible witness who they say could bolster the Alaska Republican's claim of innocence.

U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan denied a request filed overnight by Stevens' attorneys to declare a mistrial and dismiss the indictment against the lawmaker, but he
cautioned that "[t]he government is treading in very shallow water here."

Stevens, 84, is the longest-serving Republican senator. He is accused of lying on financial disclosure forms required by the U.S. Senate and concealing $250,000 worth of gifts
including a massive renovation project carried out at his Girdwood, Alaska, home. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

This weekend the Stevens defense team discovered that Robert "Rocky" Williams, who reportedly worked as the supervisor on the home renovation, had returned to Alaska last
week after speaking with prosecutors.

The defense has suggested that he has critical information about payments Stevens made for the renovations of his home.

The home renovation project is key to the prosecution's case, as government lawyers have claimed in court that Stevens worked with now-defunct oil services firm Veco to carry the
work out off the books so he wouldn't have to pay the full cost of the project.

After speaking with Williams by phone this weekend, the defense says that he was prepared to testify that he did not spend as much time working on the house as the government
has asserted at trial. The defense has argued in opening statements that Stevens paid $160,000 for the home renovations and did nothing wrong.

"I'm not suggesting misconduct by the government, but I want briefs on this issue," Sullivan told the lawyers after a lunch break. Earlier Monday, Sullivan had scolded prosecutors
for "unilaterally" making the decision to send Williams home.

"If it is sanctionable, I will impose sanctions," Sullivan said of the situation.

Before the trial started Monday morning, Prosecutor Nicholas Marsh told the judge that Williams' testimony was not central to the case because it "is about the financial disclosure
forms."

But defense attorney Robert Cary told the judge if the defense had the information before trial, its ability to cross-examine witnesses and opening statement would have been
different. "Our defense is that he [Sen. Stevens] paid a fair price," he said.

Cary said that Williams initially did not want to speak with the defense and told the judge, "We got lucky that we were able to speak with him."

The fact prosecutors had allowed Williams to return to Alaska without informing the defense or the judge apparently infuriated Sullivan.

"I'm flabbergasted why you'd do this. ... Get on a plane and call the defense attorneys when you get back to Alaska," Sullivan said. "Why wasn't I consulted? I'm peeved now. It's a
federal subpoena to appear in my court."

Marsh told Sullivan that Williams was not under subpoena until Oct. 6, but that "[l]ooking back on it, we understand where the court's coming from."

The judge ruled to allow the defense to reexamine several witnesses that have already testified. The defense has been able to recall former Veco accountant Cheryl Boomershine so it
can address invoices and documents submitted by Williams.

After a two-hour delay, the jury reentered the courtroom, ready to hear defense attorneys reexamine several prosecution witnesses.

Copyright © 2008 ABC News Internet Ventures

Prosecutor: Sen. Stevens did not report statue | R... http://www.reuters.com/articlePrint?articleId... 9/18/2008 17:21

Print | Close this window

Prosecutor: Sen. Stevens did not report

statue
Thu Sep 18, 2008 3:57pm EDT

By James Vicini

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republican Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska,

facing trial next week on corruption charges for leaving out more than
$250,000 in gifts from his financial disclosure forms, also failed to report a
$29,000 statue of a fish, a prosecutor said on Thursday.

Justice Department prosecutor Edward Sullivan told a hearing the bronzed,

sculpted statue "is sitting on his front porch," an apparent reference to
Stevens' home in Alaska. A defense lawyer said the statue depicted
migrating salmon.

Stevens is set to go on trial next week on seven counts of filing false Senate
financial disclosure forms by leaving out extensive renovations to his house
in the ski resort town of Girdwood and other gifts from an Alaska oil
services company, VECO Corp.

Sullivan did not give further details about who gave the statue or when it
was given. But defense lawyer Robert Cary said the statue was really
destined for Stevens' official congressional library that has yet to be built by
a foundation.

Stevens, 84, faces a close race for re-election in November against a

Democratic challenger in what has long been a safe Republican seat.
Stevens has been in the Senate for 40 years and is the longest-serving
Republican senator in U.S. history.

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan said a group of potential jurors would fill
out a questionnaire on Monday. Prosecutors and defense lawyers would
begin questioning potential jurors on Tuesday, a process that could take a
couple of days. Opening arguments are expected later next week.

Sullivan also ruled that defense lawyers can get the medical records of the
prosecutor's star witness in the case, Bill Allen, VECO's former chief
executive, involving his 2001 motorcycle accident.

Allen suffered some brain damage in the accident. The defense wants the
records in an effort to discredit Allen's testimony.

(Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

© Thomson Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. Users may download and print extracts of content from
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Thomson Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the
prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters and its logo are registered trademarks or
trademarks of the Thomson Reuters group of companies around the world.

Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and
disclosure of relevant interests.
Prosecutor Says Senator Knowingly Hid Gifts -... http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/26/washingto... 9/25/2008 23:21

September 26, 2008

Prosecutor Says Senator Knowingly Hid Gifts

By NEIL A. LEWIS

WASHINGTON — A Justice Department prosecutor told a jury Thursday that Ted Stevens, who has represented Alaska in the Senate for 40 years, engaged in “a
scheme to conceal from the public” a variety of gifts and home renovation services he received.

In her opening statement of what is expected to be a nearly monthlong trial, the prosecutor, Brenda Morris, said Mr. Stevens knowingly did not list on Senate
disclosure forms goods and services totaling $250,000 that he received from an Alaska contractor, Bill Allen. Mr. Stevens, 84, the longest-serving Republican in the
Senate’s history, has pleaded not guilty to seven felony counts of filing false statements.

Ms. Morris listed several items she said Mr. Stevens had received in recent years, including a sled dog and a massage chair, but at the heart of the case, she noted,
was the makeover of the Stevens family home in Girdwood, Alaska. She said Mr. Allen, a freewheeling oil services contractor and onetime friend of Mr. Stevens, paid
for most of the renovations, which included a new first floor built after jacking up the house, along with two new decks, a garage, lighting and a built-in gas grill.

In his opening statement, Mr. Stevens’s lawyer, Brendan Sullivan, told the jury that the senator did not “intentionally violate the law” and was misled by Mr. Allen
about the exact costs. But Mr. Sullivan also offered a new and striking assertion: that Mr. Stevens had not been familiar with the details of the project and could not
have knowingly concealed the costs, because Mr. Stevens’s wife of 28 years, Catherine Stevens, had the principal responsibility to look after the details of the
renovation.

Mr. Sullivan said that although it might be uncomfortable to talk about their relationship and how they divided chores, he would introduce evidence that Mrs.
Stevens, a prominent Washington lawyer, was the family’s designated overseer of the project.

“Catherine ran the financial part of the renovation,” Mr. Sullivan said. “Ted devoted all of his time and energy to what he had always done,” serving in the Senate.

Mr. Sullivan also said it had been Mrs. Stevens’s wish to have such an elaborate home expansion. Mr. Stevens, he said, had wanted to build only a room to serve as a
bunkhouse for his 11 grandchildren.

In addition to offering up Mrs. Stevens’s role as an explanation for the senator’s failing to list the goods and services on the disclosure forms, Mr. Sullivan laid out to
the jury an elaborate counternarrative. A “devious” Mr. Allen did lots of extra and unwanted work on the house, he said. Mr. Allen, who is awaiting sentencing on a
conviction for bribing Alaska state lawmakers, is expected to be the principal prosecution witness.

In all, Mr. Sullivan said, the Stevenses paid about $160,000 toward the home renovation, a figure they could have believed was an accurate cost.

Ms. Morris, the prosecutor, said that while Mr. Stevens paid some of the contractors who worked on the house, he never paid Mr. Allen or his company, Veco, which
she said performed $188,000 worth of work.

Mr. Stevens used Veco and its owner as “his own personal handyman service,” with a clear understanding that he would not have to pay for anything done by Veco,
the prosecutor told the jury.

“We reach for the Yellow Pages,” Ms. Morris said. “He reaches for Veco.”

Mr. Stevens, regarded as a formidable legislative player in the Senate, sat quietly at the defense table throughout the day.

The criminal case will turn heavily on the issue of intent, a question of whether Mr. Stevens knowingly omitted the receipt of the goods and services from his Senate
form.

Ms. Morris said testimony from Mr. Allen and secretly taped telephone conversations would demonstrate that Mr. Stevens fully understood he was getting “lots of
stuff for free.” She said that in one conversation, Mr. Stevens told Mr. Allen that if things went badly, “no one’s going to be killed, just some legal bills and a little jail
time.”

Mr. Sullivan said he would present e-mail messages Mr. Stevens sent to aides, Mr. Allen and others that stressed he wanted all bills to be sent to him.

Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

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"The government will prove to you that over a seven-year period, the defendant border
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"The defendant is a career politician. He has been a member of the United States
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Morris also described the relationship between Stevens and a now-defunct but some are
Alaska-based oilfield services concern, VECO Corp., which oversaw the home installing cable,
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renovations, and whose former chief executive, Bill J. Allen, is alleged to have flat-screen TVs, new
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Sullivan said Stevens paid fair value for the home improvements, which he said ended
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Prosecutor says Sen. Stevens knowingly hid gifts
By Neil A. Lewis, New York Times
Article Launched: 09/25/2008 08:03:12 PM PDT
WASHINGTON — A Justice Department prosecutor told a jury on Thursday that Ted Stevens, who has represented
Alaska in the Senate for 40 years, engaged in "a scheme to conceal from the public" a variety of gifts and home
renovation services he received.
In her opening statement of what is expected to be a nearly monthlong trial, the prosecutor, Brenda Morris, said
Stevens knowingly did not list on Senate disclosure forms goods and services totaling $250,000 that he received from
an Alaska contractor, Bill Allen. Stevens, 84, the longest-serving Republican in the Senate's history, has pleaded not
guilty to seven felony counts of filing false statements.
Morris listed several items she said Stevens had received in recent years, including a sled dog and a massage chair,
but at the heart of the case, she noted, was the makeover of the Stevens family home in Girdwood, Alaska. She said
Allen, a freewheeling oil services contractor and one-time friend of Stevens, paid for most of the renovations, which
included a new first floor built after jacking up the house, along with two new decks, a garage, lighting and a built-in
gas grill.
In his opening statement, Stevens' lawyer, Brendan Sullivan, told the jury that the senator did not "intentionally violate
the law" and was misled by Allen about the exact costs. But Sullivan also offered a new and striking assertion: that
Stevens had not been familiar with the details of the project and could
not have knowingly concealed the costs, because
Stevens' wife of 28 years, Catherine Stevens, had the
Advertisement principal responsibility to look after the details of the
renovation.
Sullivan said that although it might be uncomfortable to talk about their relationship and how they divided chores, he
would introduce evidence that Catherine Stevens, a prominent Washington lawyer, was the family's designated
overseer of the project.
"Catherine ran the financial part of the renovation," Sullivan said. "Ted devoted all of his time and energy to what he
had always done," serving in the Senate.
Sullivan also said it had been Catherine Stevens' wish to have such an elaborate home expansion. Stevens, he said,
had wanted to build only a room to serve as a bunkhouse for his 11 grandchildren.
In addition to offering up Catherine Stevens' role as an explanation for the senator's failing to list the goods and
services on the disclosure forms, Sullivan laid out to the jury an elaborate counternarrative. A "devious" Allen did lots of
extra and unwanted work on the house, he said. Allen, who is awaiting sentencing on a conviction for bribing Alaska
state lawmakers, is expected to be the principal prosecution witness.
In all, Sullivan said, the Stevenses paid about $160,000 toward the home renovation, a figure they could have believed
was an accurate cost.
Morris, the prosecutor, said that while Stevens paid some of the contractors who worked on the house, he never paid
Allen or his company, Veco, which she said performed $188,000 worth of work.
Stevens used Veco and its owner as "his own personal handyman service," with a clear understanding that he would
not have to pay for anything done by Veco, the prosecutor told the jury.
"We reach for the Yellow Pages," Morris said. "He reaches for Veco."
Stevens, regarded as a formidable legislative player in the Senate, sat quietly at the defense table throughout the day.
The criminal case will turn heavily on the issue of intent, a question of whether Stevens knowingly omitted the receipt
of the goods and services from his Senate form.
Morris said testimony from Allen and secretly taped telephone conversations would demonstrate that Stevens fully
understood he was getting "lots of stuff for free." She said that in one conversation, Stevens told Allen that if things
went badly, "no one's going to be killed, just some legal bills and a little jail time."
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McClatchy Washington Bureau | 09/26/2008 | Co... http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/... 9/26/2008 15:19

Posted on Friday, September 26, 2008 email | print | advertisement

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WASHINGTON -- Tradesmen who renovated Sen. Ted Stevens' home in Alaska McCain reverses course, decides to debate tonight
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S ff
Associated Press: Judge considers mistrial in St... http://license.icopyright.net/user/viewFreeUse.a... 10/2/2008 12:22

October 2, 2008

Judge considers mistrial in Stevens case

By TOM HAYS
Associated Press Writer

A federal judge angrily halted the corruption trial of Sen. Ted Stevens on Thursday after the Alaska lawmaker's attorney accused prosecutors of withholding evidence that would help
their case.

U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan sent the jury home for the day so he could consider arguments about whether to declare a mistrial.

Earlier, with jurors out of the courtroom, he lashed out at prosecutors for not turning over FBI reports about their star witness, Bill Allen, until late Wednesday night.

"This is not about prosecution by any means necessary," he said. "It's not about hiding the ball. ... Why shouldn't I dismiss this indictment? I find it unbelievable that this was just an
error."

It was the second time Sullivan has scolded prosecutors over their case against Stevens, who's accused of lying on Senate forms about more than $250,000 in home renovations and
other gifts from Allen's oil pipeline firm, VECO Corp.

Earlier this week, the judge rebuked prosecutors for sending another witness — the foreman of the renovation project — back to Alaska without notifying Stevens' lawyers.

The trial, now in its second week, was thrown into disarray Thursday morning when veteran defense attorney Brendan Sullivan demanded the judge either declare a mistrial or throw out
the charges. The lawyer argued that prosecutors violated evidence rules by not turning over the FBI reports far sooner.

The reports, the defense lawyer said, showed that Allen believed his longtime friend Stevens was willing to pay for the renovations — a point he would have made in his opening
statement if he had known.

"The integrity of this proceeding has been breached," Sullivan said, his voice rising.

Prosecutor Brenda Morris admitted her team had made a mistake, but insisted it was not serious enough to hurt the defense case or cause a mistrial.

"It wasn't done intentionally," she said. "It was human error."

The jury had been expected on Thursday to hear secretly recorded audiotapes of phone conversations between Allen and Stevens, the longest-serving Senate Republican.

Prosecutors say the tapes back up testimony earlier this week by Allen that he never billed Stevens for work by VECO employees that helped turn a modest A-frame into a two-story
home with a garage, sauna, wine cellar and wraparound porches. Allen told the jury he didn't want his fishing and drinking buddy to pay "because I liked him."

On Wednesday, prosecutors introduced e-mails and handwritten thank-you notes from the Alaska senator, including one in 2002 telling Allen, "You owe me a bill," and citing ethics rules.

Stevens went on to say he'd asked a mutual friend to speak with Allen about the topic. But Allen said that when he spoke to the friend, Bob Persons, the message was quite different.

"Bill, don't worry about getting a bill," Allen claimed Persons said. "Ted's just covering his ass."

The senator acknowledges that, because he was working in Washington, he asked Allen to oversee the project. But Stevens says he was adamant that he pay all the bills and had no
idea Allen was paying many of the costs himself.

Stevens, a patriarch of Alaska politics for generations, has been stuck in the courtroom as a Democratic opponent back home mounts a strong challenge to the seat Stevens, 84, has
held for 40 years.

His opponent, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, accused the senator on Thursday of ducking debates and challenged him to square off, "any day, any schedule."

___

On the Net:

Justice Department documents: http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/us-v-stevens/ [http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/us-v-stevens/]

Associated Press: Judge considers mistrial in St... http://license.icopyright.net/user/viewFreeUse.a... 10/2/2008 12:22

Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, waves to the media as he leaves the

U.S. District Court in Washington after his trial Wednesday Oct. 1,
2008. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

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