"Though he has rejected four motions for mistrial, the judge on Wednesday threw out disputed portions of the prosecution's case, including misleading records saying that VECO welder Dave Anderson logged hundreds of hours on the cabin project. Anderson left for Oregon for a few weeks in the middle of the job, something jurors were not told when VECO accounting records were introduced as evidence earlier in the trial"
What is with the unprofessional incompetency?
"Inouye attests to Stevens's honesty" by Tom Hays and Jesse J. Holland, Associated Press | October 10, 2008
WASHINGTON - Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii strongly defended the honor of Senator Ted Stevens at the Alaska senator's corruption trial yesterday, saying he has never heard of his friend telling a lie.
"His reputation for truthfulness and honesty is what, sir?" defense attorney Brendan Sullivan asked. "Absolute," Inouye answered emphatically.
Stevens, 84, is accused of lying on Senate forms to conceal more than $250,000 in renovations on his cabin and other gifts from Bill Allen, his close friend and former chief of a major Alaska oil services and construction company, VECO Corp.
Inouye, who said he is so close to Stevens and his family that the Alaska senator's daughter calls him "Uncle Dan," told prosecutors that he has "never heard of him lying under oath. I've never known of him to lie, and I wouldn't expect him to."
The two have traveled the world together and are the top two senators on the panel controlling the Pentagon budget. For years, they've used the post to deliver federal money to their states. They are also the chairman and top Republican, respectively, on the influential Senate Commerce Committee. The Pentagon budget gets done quickly in the Senate because of Stevens' reputation for honesty among senators, Inouye said.
Behind the scenes at the trial, Stevens's attorneys have complained repeatedly to the judge that prosecutors have improperly withheld information that was favorable to Stevens and used records they knew were faulty to try to sway the jury.
Though he has rejected four motions for mistrial, the judge on Wednesday threw out disputed portions of the prosecution's case, including misleading records saying that VECO welder Dave Anderson logged hundreds of hours on the cabin project. Anderson left for Oregon for a few weeks in the middle of the job, something jurors were not told when VECO accounting records were introduced as evidence earlier in the trial. --more--"
