Oil, Money and Politics on Display at Stevens Trial

Sept. 21, 2008— -- The government's case against Republican Sen. Ted Stevens, got underway Monday in Washington D.C. with jury selection, and could reveal details about politics in Alaska and connections between an oil company and Alaska's senior senator.

Stevens, who is in the middle of a re-election campaign, was hit with a seven-count indictment on July 29 that accused him of lying on financial disclosure forms he was required to file with the U.S. Senate and concealing things of value he received from the oil services firm Veco and company CEO Bill Allen, who a personal friend of the 84-year-old Stevens.

Allen and former Veco vice president of community affairs and government relations Richard L. Smith pleaded guilty in May 2007 to providing more than $400,000 in corrupt payments to public officials from the state of Alaska.

Stevens, who is the longest-serving Republican in the Senate, arrived at the courthouse just before 9 a.m.

The pool of 150 potential jurors filled out questionnaires designed to give them the opportunity to disclose any conflicts of interest or associations with potential witnesses listed by the judge. That list includes four U.S. Senators: Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, Ted Kennedy, D-Mass. and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., as well as former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Among other items, Stevens is accused of concealing $250,000 worth of gifts and renovations to his Girdwood, Alaska, home that were allegedly paid for by Veco.

The government alleges that Veco sought assistance from Stevens to obtain funding for oil projects including international projects in Pakistan and Russia and the establishment of a natural gas pipeline from Alaska's North Slope. Veco was acquired by global engineering firm CH2M Hill in September 2007.

Stevens' lawyers asked for a speedy trial so the senator could potentially clear his name before the November elections. The trial is expected to last three to four weeks.

At the time of his indictment, Stevens said in a statement, "I have never knowingly submitted a false disclosure form required by law as a U.S. senator. ... I am innocent of these charges and intend to prove that."

Stevens' defense team is expected to assert that Stevens did nothing wrong and seek to question the reliability of Allen's memory after he suffered a major head injury in a 2001 motorcycle accident when he was not wearing a helmet.

Stevens' defense already has lost a pre-trial battle, however -- a bid to get the case reassigned to a judge in Alaska.