Stevens mum on testifying at his trial

As Ted Stevens's criminal trial heads into its final days, defense attorneys have been mum on whether the pugnacious 84-year-old senator will testify.

Putting the Alaska Republican on the witness stand is a risk. He could provide powerful testimony showing that he believed he was paying a fair price for an elaborate home remodeling project, and was unaware he received a number of gifts that are central to his criminal charges.

{mosads}But the senator, who once described himself as "a mean, miserable SOB," could be combative during cross-examination, possibly jeopardizing the portrait his defense attorneys are trying to paint of a well-respected and likeable man devoted to his constituents.

To bolster the senator's image, jurors have heard from prominent character witnesses, like retired Gen. Colin Powell and Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), and they will hear from Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on Tuesday. Defense attorneys even called an Anchorage pediatrician to testify about an incident where Stevens arranged Air Force transport to save a baby's life.

But if he appears to be evasive, angry or curt, jurors may be less sympathetic to the senior senator when they begin deliberations, which could start at the end of the coming week.

Stevens is facing seven felony charges for failing to report more than $250,000 in gifts and home renovations mainly from Bill Allen, a long-time friend and former chief of the Veco oil-services firm. To avoid the appearance of impropriety, the government says Stevens deliberately refused to disclose the gifts, including an unpaid tab of $188,000 for his home improvements.

Stevens, who has pleaded not guilty to all seven charges, says he paid every bill, including $160,000 for the home remodeling, which he said was a fair price.

Any unpaid costs were the result of a scheme to conceal bills hatched up by Allen and Bob Persons, a friend and restaurant owner who oversaw the renovations when Stevens was in Washington, the defense argues.

The defense plans to call Persons to the witness stand Tuesday. Allen, the government's star witness, has already testified that Stevens was kept apprised of a number of the home improvements.

The senator's lawyers also contend that his wife Catherine, a Washington lobbyist, took the lead role in coordinating the renovations while Stevens was working 3,500 miles away on Capitol Hill.

Both the senator and his wife were on a preliminary list of witnesses, but it's unclear whether either will testify.

The trial has played out in the final weeks of his re-election campaign, and a verdict seems likely to be reached before Election Day. The longest-serving GOP senator in history is asking voters to send him back to the Senate for a seventh full term, instead of Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich (D). The race is proving remarkably close, and the state GOP reported registering thousands of new Republican voters, likely because of the addition of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as Sen. John McCain's running mate.

But Stevens's political fate could depend on what the jury finds in his criminal trial, and whether voters believe the senator is being held accountable for his actions.

"Alaskans want answers from Stevens, not a star-studded list of surrogates," said Bethany Lesser, a spokeswoman for the Alaska Democratic Party, challenging the senator to testify.