We can read about Alaska from our homes

For the first time since that pesky oil spill unpleasantness (which, of course, is still generating legal headlines almost 20 years on), Alaska-related news dominated discussion from Wasilla to D.C. last night.  As the dust settles this morning, Sen. Ted Stevens’ corruption trial marches on despite the exposure of two major ethical blunders by government prosecutors over the past week.

As the involved parties met behind closed doors in a D.C. federal courthouse late yesterday, the future of the feds’ case against “Series of Tubes” Stevens appeared as tenuous as the octogenarian statesman’s command of new-fangled technology: Following the disclosure that the prosecution had withheld potentially useful evidence, U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan suspended the case yesterday morning, with Williams & Connolly partner Brendan Sullivan (no relation…we sincerely hope) pushing for dismissal.  No dice: Despite conceding that he has “no confidence in the ability of the government to discharge its Brady obligations to either the defendant or the court,” the judge was not persuaded “that dismissal of the indictment or mistrial is the appropriate remedy” to the dilemma.

The prosecution’s tardy procurement of evidence—the trial began in mid-September—marked   its second acknowledged ethical gaffe in recent days (a subpoenaed witness was flown back to Alaska last week without the defense’s knowledge, leaving Judge Sullivan “just flabbergasted” on Monday).  As we noted in August, Stevens is accused of failing to report some $250,000 in gifts (an extensive home remodel and a loaded Range Rover top the list) he received from Anchorage oil services firm Veco Corporation; Bill Allen, the former Veco CEO popularly described as Stevens’ “longtime fishing and drinking buddy,” pleaded guilty last year to bribing a number of Alaska officials and turned government witness, aiding in the recent convictions of two state legislators.  Yesterday’s flap centered on the feds’ disclosure late Wednesday of notes from an FBI interview of Allen that arguably display the senator’s willingness to pay for Veco’s residential facelift.  Judge Sullivan didn’t buy the lead prosecutor’s attribution of the documents’ withholding to “human error” and called for yesterday’s review of the case, with Partner Sullivan—of Ollie North and, more recently, Henry Nicholas fame—subtly suggesting that he “dismiss it!”  

A mistrial, while falling short of the pre-November vindication Stevens sought when his legal team pushed for an early trial date, would surely have been welcomed by his political team, which has been running a full-throttle campaign without a full-fledged candidate for the past two weeks (Stevens’ request to relocate the trial to Alaska was rejected).  For all the courtroom dramatics, the longest-serving Republican on Capitol Hill may not need to clear his name to protect his seat: While he’s still trailing in the polls, the , with the article suggesting that the catalyst for the boost is a woman whose political ascension within the state was marked by her branding as an alternative to Stevens and the status quo—Sarah Palin.

                                                            - posted by ben fuchs