Stevens mistrial bid fails, judge angry: Top Stori... http://www.adn.com/front/story/541189.

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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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and accused prosecutors of failing to Letters, legal documents, etc. submitted as
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tell them everything they knew evidence.
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about Robert "Rocky" Williams, once
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an employee of former Veco chief
Digg this executive Bill Allen and the man who
Seed Newsvine oversaw renovations to Stevens' Related Links
Send link via AIM Girdwood home in 2000. Photos: Historical photos of Sen. Ted
Stevens
Scolding prosecutors from his bench, Photos: Sen. Ted Stevens gallery
Yahoo! Buzz
U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan Complete Alaska election coverage
Font size : A | A | A said there was no basis for a mistrial,
Alaska Politics blog: More ex-Veco
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
Stevens mistrial bid fails, judge angry: Top Stori... http://www.adn.com/front/story/541189.html 9/30/2008 05:19

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