Sen. Stevens dealt setbacks by court

Sen. Ted Stevens suffered a series of setbacks Wednesday as a federal judge rebuffed his lawyers’ attempts to weaken a corruption case that has put his political career in peril.

Judge Emmet G. Sullivan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia rejected Stevens’s (R-Alaska) motion to dismiss the case on constitutional grounds. Stevens’s team had argued the Senate, not the Justice Department, has the authority to enforce questions over financial disclosure forms under the Constitution’s separation-of-powers clause.

{mosads}The judge also allowed the government to keep language in the indictment that suggests the senator traded legislative action for the gifts — something he is not charged with. Additionally, Sullivan rejected an attempt by Stevens to drop one count of his indictment because he said it occurred in 1999, exceeding a five-year statute of limitations.

Sullivan said he would reject arguments that the evidence brought forth in the indictment is “unconstitutionally vague” and does not meet a sufficient legal standard.

“I’m going to deny these motions for the reasons stated by the government,” Sullivan said at a pre-trial hearing.

The longest-serving Senate Republican has pleaded not guilty to charges of concealing more than $250,000 of gifts from the now-defunct Veco Corp., an oil-services company. He did not attend Wednesday’s hearing.

Despite the setbacks, Stevens succeeded in winning access to some evidence, including taped phone calls, as well as a speedy trial — something Judge Sullivan promised on Wednesday. The trial is set to begin on Sept. 22, leaving time for Stevens to possibly be exonerated before Election Day and improve his chances of defeating Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, the Democratic challenger, for a seventh full term.

But Edward Sullivan of the Justice Department said Stevens’s team was making a quick trial difficult by filing “very substantive” motions.

For instance, Stevens is seeking medical records for Bill Allen, the former head of Veco and the government’s star witness. Citing previous testimony, Stevens’s team said Allen sustained substantial brain damage following a motorcycle accident — stating that “one-quarter of his brain had died.” But the Justice Department said he only suffered damage to a portion the size of a 25-cent piece, and that his cognitive ability is sound, since he has testified twice in corruption trials in Alaska.

The judge also deferred a ruling on Stevens’s arguments that some of the government’s case is a violation of the Speech and Debate clause of the Constitution, which is intended to protect lawmakers from prosecution based on their legislative activity. The government said it would appeal if the judge accepts Stevens’s motion.

The judge suggested he would allow a host of evidence to be introduced in the trial, even though Stevens sought to limit the amount.

Stevens’s attorney Robert Cary argued that the government was trying to “stink up the courtroom” with allegations of “quid pro quo” even though Stevens was not charged with trading legislative favors for gifts. He said allowing that argument to be advanced would delay the court proceedings by about a week since the defense would be forced to respond in kind.

“We are going to have to prove to Alaskans that this is not for Veco,” Cary said.

In response, Joseph Bottini of the Justice Department argued that actions Stevens took on Veco’s behalf — such as helping Veco win government contracts and writing letters on its behalf — are central to the case because they explain Stevens’s motive of not reporting the gifts.

“If he puts that on his financial disclosure form, somebody is going to go, ‘Uh-huh,’” Bottini said.