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Stevens' Request to Attend to Senate Business Could Give Jury "Negative Impressions," Judge Warns

With Congress working around the clock to stave off the collapse of the U.S. financial market, indicted Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) doesn't want his constituents to think he's not representing them in the midst of crisis.

So even though Stevens is in a crisis of his own -- the federal trial to determine whether he failed to report over $250,000 in gifts and home repairs on his financial disclosure forms began yesterday -- he asked permission from the judge to be excused from courtroom appearances so he can attend to Senate business on the bailout.

Judge Emmet Sullivan warned Stevens and his attorneys that this might give the jurors the idea that Stevens didn't care about his trial.

"We don't want to have any negative impressions going on," Sullivan told Stevens, according to an article by The Hill. "People reach the wrong impressions for the wrong reasons."

From the AP:

Being absent as Congress considers a historic $700 billion bailout of the financial market could make it look like the corruption charges have made it impossible for Stevens to do his job.

Prosecutors didn't oppose Stevens' plan to leave court but they said Stevens shouldn't be able to use the crisis to cast himself as a dedicated senator in front of jurors. The judge said Stevens could leave court but jurors would not be told why.


9 Comments

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I see a retrial excuse coming up if he doesn't win this first round...

BTW: Stevens will absolutely fight this until...
1. He wins or
2. He dies.

He will never need to spend a day in jail, where many previous days should have been spent already...

Too bad the Reps and Dems would never catagory these crimes against the United States as serious enough to have mandatory enhanced convictions, with extra time...

That would only occur in a democracy where the common folk are also important... something we haven't had in a long time... IMHO

retrial for what ???

cuz he wasn't allowed to grab some pork while he was on trial ???

if I read this correctly, the defendant was ordered to be present ...

can't get a retrial if you were at the fookin trial

he wasn't ordered present, but he ain't allowed to offer a reason for his absence

good enough for me

we're talking about a DC jury here, not some jury in podunk alaska

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Sorry folks... an error message said no such address..

Inside Uncle Ted's reptilian brain:

"They're giving away $750 Beelion, and I won't be there to rake in my pork? Nooooooooooooooooo!!!!!"

Since the fix is already in, ie a pardon, there's really no need to waste time at the trial.

Before the trial started, he wanted to move it to Alaska to allow him to campaign, and now he wants to be excused to do Senate business.

I think Uncle Ted wants to be anywhere but where he is now!

Before the trial started, he wanted to move it to Alaska to allow him to campaign, and now he wants to be excused to do Senate business.

I think Uncle Ted wants to be anywhere but where he is now!

Alaska keeps electing an insane, corrupt man to the Senate and we wonder how in the hell hockey mom, Sarah Palin got elected Governor against the most corrupt Governor in Alaska history? They do set quite a low bar up there. A very cold, very low bar....

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