lkmcgann June 7, 2007, 11:24 AM

Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) has admitted he is involved in the FBI’s probe into Alaska lawmakers’ dealings with oil services company Veco Corp. In an interview with the Washington Post, tight-lipped Stevens said he is getting ready to hand over documents to investigators.

“They put me on notice to preserve some records,” Stevens said in a brief interview about his legal team’s discussions with the FBI. He declined to say what kinds of records were involved but confirmed that he had hired lawyers and that his son, former state Senate president Ben Stevens, “is also under investigation.”

It’s no surprise that the FBI has asked Stevens for records now that his home remodeling job overseen by Veco has caught investigators’ eye. But this does appear to be Stevens’ first official public comment about the federal probe. Stevens’ acknowledgment that his son in under investigation firms up what the press pieced together in May. Former Alaska Senate President Ben Stevens was identified by the press as “state senator B” described in the guilty pleas of two former Veco executives. The Veco executives admitted to giving Stevens about $240,000 in “consulting fees” that required no work in exchange for political favors. Stevens was the only lawmaker to fit the description.

Ted Stevens, Veco