Key witness denies improper coaching in Stevens trial

The government's chief witness against Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) said Tuesday he was not receiving signals from his attorney in the audience when facing an intense series of questions during cross-examination.

The fight over whether attorney Bob Bundy shook his head to help Bill Allen, his client and the government's star witness, is becoming another sideshow in the criminal trial of the longest-running GOP senator in history.

{mosads}"Did you see him nodding his head when you gave certain answers?" asked Brendan Sullivan, Stevens's lead defense attorney.

"No, he did not do that," said Allen, 71, the former head of the now-defunct Veco Corp. oil-services firm.

Allen's testimony is the backbone of the government's case that Stevens knowingly and willingly accepted more than $250,000 in gifts and home renovations from Veco without disclosing them on his annual Senate financial forms. Stevens has pleaded not guilty to all seven charges. The defense argues that Allen refused to bill Stevens for the costs of the renovations, and is cooperating with the government in order to protect his family and business interests.

After the jury was dismissed following a grueling day of cross-examination Monday, Judge Emmet G. Sullivan erupted at Bundy for appearing to shake his head from left to right when Allen was answering questions.

"Don’t you ever do that again!" Judge Sullivan shouted at Bundy, kicking him out of the courtroom.

Before the jury returned to the trial Tuesday morning, the judge told attorneys from both parties that coaching from the audience is "borderline obstruction of justice."

"He’s fortunate he went out that door, not the back door with the marshal," Judge Sullivan said, pointing to the exit of the courtroom.

Bundy was not in the courtroom, but his partner, Creighton Magid, said Bundy did not make signals to Allen.

"I can tell you that Mr. Bundy is absolutely torn up by this," Magid said, "and vehemently denies there was any such action."

But Brendan Sullivan stoked the flames Tuesday, saying an attorney sitting in the audience saw Bundy "making so many signals and was so distressed at what he saw" that he took a defense attorney into the hallway to discuss the matter privately.

That seemed to confirm the judge's view, but he said he wanted to keep the trial progressing.

"I don’t want to get sidetracked to the ultimate objective to the court, which is to finish this trial," the judge said. He said the court would continue to look into the matter.

But there are other issues that could affect the trial's schedule, including another defense motion to dismiss the case over allegations that the government sat on evidence that could have been beneficial to Stevens's defense.