Stevens’s attorneys file request to move trial to Alaska

Lawyers for indicted Sen. Ted Stevens requested Monday to move the Alaska senator’s criminal case to his home state, a request that could have significant ramifications on his long political career.

Facing the toughest reelection bid of his four-decade Senate career, Stevens hopes to be acquitted in time for Alaska voters to decide to send him back to Washington for a seventh full term. Stevens has nearly universal name recognition in Alaska, where he is known for steering billions of dollars back home.

{mosads}Stevens's lawyers filed papers Monday to move the case to the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, saying the "center of gravity" in the case lies within the senior Republican's home state.

The government opposes the motion and wants the case to stay in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Justice Department has until Aug. 11 to respond to the transfer motion, and a hearing is set for Aug. 19.

If Judge Emmet G. Sullivan refuses his request, Stevens will likely be stuck in Washington and not able to campaign in Alaska in October.

"This factor weighs heavily in favor of transfer," Stevens’s court filings say, citing the Senate's Sept. 26 target adjournment date.

Stevens, the longest serving Senate Republican in history, is charged with concealing $250,000 in gifts and home renovations from a now-defunct oil services company, VECO Corp. He has pleaded not guilty to all seven charges.

Stevens's attorneys say the majority of the witnesses and evidence are in Alaska, making it the easiest place to hold his criminal trial.

The government has not specified an exact number of witnesses it wants to call, but has signaled that "multiple witnesses" will hail from Alaska, as well as the District of Columbia and other regions. Most witnesses are from Stevens's home state, according to an Aug. 1 letter by Brenda K. Morris of the Justice Department.

The Justice Department says it has 500 gigabytes worth of evidence against Stevens, most of which the defense says originated in Alaska.

Stevens's attorneys question the government's timing of the indictment. In the court papers, the defense says the government "surprisingly" chose to indict the senator "a mere 28 days" before Alaska's Aug. 26 primary and just 98 days before the general election.

Stevens faces six GOP primary challengers, two of them well-financed, and if he prevails, he will face upstart Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich (D) in November.

Jury selection for the trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 24. The government says it will take three weeks to make its case, and the defense expects to need one week. That means a verdict could be reached close to the day Alaskans head to the polls.