How Much Has Sen. Stevens Spent on Lawyers?Anchorage – Sen. Ted Stevens should answer questions about the legal fees he has incurred due to the ongoing federal corruption investigations, the Alaska Democratic Party said today. “Congressman Don Young disclosed that he has spent $1.1 million on criminal defense lawyers,” Higgins said. “In roughly the same period of time that Don Young spent a million dollars of his campaign money on lawyers, Stevens also has had criminal lawyers working for him. How much has Stevens spent on his legal defense and where is he getting the money? These are some of the unanswered questions that Sen. Stevens needs to answer. Alaskans have questions of their U.S. Senator that deserve answers.” In June 2007, Stevens said he hired lawyers and was instructed by the FBI to preserve records relevant to a federal investigation in corruption in Alaska. [AP, 06/07/07] The day after the FBI and IRS searched Stevens’ home, the Anchorage Daily News reported that Stevens was represented by Brendan Sullivan, one of the best-known criminal defense lawyers in Washington. Sullivan represented Lt. Col. Oliver North, the central figure in the Iran-Contra scandal in the late 1980s. [Anchorage Daily News, 7/31/2007] On October 16, 2007, the Anchorage Daily News reported that Stevens has not used any of his campaign money on criminal lawyers, according to Tim McKeever, Stevens’ campaign treasurer. [Anchorage Daily News, 10/16/07] Federal investigators are probing whether Stevens directly took bribes, illegal gratuities or unreported gifts from VECO Corp. One example being examined is the Stevens’ Girdwood home remodel that doubled the size of his home and was overseen by VECO’s Bill Allen, who pleaded guilty to bribing Alaska legislators, including Ted Stevens’ son, Ben Stevens. |
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