The Fact That Was Never Disputed – VECO Built Stevens’ Girdwood ChaletMEMORANDUM For the past month, we’ve heard from witnesses for the Department of Justice and the defense, we’ve seen emails, hand written notes, and printouts from the chalet banking account, and we’ve heard FBI recordings. And after everything is said and done the case against Senator Ted Stevens is still pretty simple and straightforward – he knowingly received gifts from VECO, never paid for them, and refused to disclose them. Throughout this trial it’s rather amazing what Alaskans have learned about Stevens’ rationale. He doesn’t deny having accepted items from friends and special interests, in fact, he thinks it’s okay. Stevens rationalized that it was absolutely fine to have VECO remodel his home. He concluded he had done nothing wrong to the point that he never bothered to dispute that his home was in fact renovated by VECO. The undeniable fact to come out of Stevens’ corruption case is that VECO rebuilt Stevens home, and that in itself is enough for Alaska voters to retire Stevens. Forty years of working in Washington, DC and catering to special interests have clouded his judgment. Stevens lives in a world where it’s just fine to take extravagant gifts from special interests regardless of the law and anything can be explained away, regardless of how ridiculous the explanation. 1. I have no clue what is going on in my own house. This trial has proven that VECO remodeled Stevens’ Girdwood chalet for free, and Stevens never disputes that Bill Allen, former Chief Executive for VECO, worked on his home. Rather, we are to believe that Stevens, the former Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, who managed upwards of a trillion dollars through the budget process, had no idea what was going on at his own home and with his own finances. 2. It’s not gift, it’s a permanent loan. Stevens claims that the massage chair given by Bob Persons was a loan, not a gift, yet there it still sits in his Washington, DC home seven years later. The Viking gas grill still sits on the deck at Stevens’ Girdwood chalet, and the power generator is still out back just in case. Stevens has a lot of item on loan – he testified that, “We have lots of things in our house that don’t belong to us…” Maybe in Senator Stevens’ world seven year interest free loans are common, but Alaskans know that something loaned indefinitely is clearly a gift. 3. I was against it before I accepted it. Whether it’s a bronze fish migration statue, stained glass window, or leather furniture, according to Stevens, if you don’t like it, it’s not a gift. You can have thousands of dollars in home renovations done for free – you don’t like it anyways. Stevens said his furniture was “stolen” and replaced by Allen, but it remains in the Girdwood chalet. Stevens hated the rope lights in his tree, but they stayed up for six years. Apparently Stevens thinks he can make up his own definition of gift. According to Stevens, a gift is when you’re given something you really like. 4. If I didn’t like the gift, I don’t need to report it. As a Senator, Stevens was required to report every single gift he received every single year, regardless of if he liked it or asked for it. Senate Rule defines a gift as, “any gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, forbearance, or other item having monetary value.” All gifts, especially from the Chief Executive of VECO, need to be paid for and reported. Asking for a bill is not sufficient. The rules are clear – in order to keep the public’s trust, Stevens needed to disclose. |
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