Stevens Defense Could Drag Out TrialIndicted Alaska senator Ted Stevens has said he wants his trial to be completed before he stands for reelection in November. But his lawyers are seeking materials that, according to legal experts, are likely to drag out the case.
The Politico lists some of the materials requested by the Stevens team:
• Secret grand jury transcripts, including testimony from a Stevens aide called before the panel, to find out whether the Justice Department used information that may be privileged under the Constitution’s “speech or debate” clause.• Reports from FBI agents who listened in on 105 of the senator’s telephone calls — a fraction of the more than 2,800 calls agents monitored as part of their Alaska corruption probe.
• Medical records to show whether former VECO Chairman Bill Allen, whose company allegedly provided more than $250,000 in “things of value to Stevens,” has suffered from a head injury or any other “cognitive impairments” that might affect his testimony.
• Detailed information on all potential government witnesses: their criminal histories, plea deals and immunity agreements, as well as any information the Justice Department may have about their abuse of drugs or alcohol.
• The photographs of Stevens’ Girdwood, Alaska, home taken by FBI agents during a search in July 2007. Stevens’ lawyers are suggesting that photos the government wants to introduce into evidence were taken with “wide angle lenses or other optics that distorted the perspective in the photos” to make some of the rooms in the house look larger than they really are.
Politico notes the contradiction at the heart of Stevens’ defesne: “While Stevens has put a priority on getting the case done quickly, his lawyers seem determined to present the most aggressive defense possible. Those two interests may collide as the trial date draws near.”
Stevens is charged with failing to report gifts from supporters worth hundreds of thousands of dollars on financial disclosure forms.