FBI, IRS Raid Sen. Stevens's HomeBy Dan Eggen and Paul Kane
Washington Post Staff Writer and Washingtonpost.com Staff Writer
Monday, July 30, 2007; 8:20 PM
Agents from the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service yesterday raided the Alaska home of Sen. Ted Stevens (R), as part of a broad federal investigation of political corruption in the state that has also swept up his son and one of his closest financial backers, officials said.
Stevens, a 39-year veteran who is the longest-serving Republican senator in U.S. history, is under scrutiny from the Justice Department for his ties to an Alaska energy services company, VECO, whose CEO pleaded guilty in early May to a bribery scheme involving state lawmakers.
Contractors have told a federal grand jury that in 2000, VECO executives oversaw a lavish remodeling of Stevens' home in Girdwood, an area on the outskirts of Anchorage, according to statements by the contractors.
Stevens said in a statement that his attorneys were advised of the impending search yesterday morning. He said he would not comment on details of the probe to avoid "any appearance that I have attempted to influence its outcome."
"I urge Alaskans not to form conclusions based upon incomplete and sometimes incorrect reports in the media," Stevens said. "The legal process should be allowed to proceed so that all the facts can be established and the truth determined." Brendan Sullivan, a prominent white-collar defense attorney representing Stevens, declined to comment.
The afternoon raid was conducted by FBI and IRS agents as part of a "court-authorized search warrant," according to FBI spokesman Richard Kolko in Washington, who declined to provide further details.
Stevens, 83, has been considered one of the most powerful members of Congress for more than a decade, including six years in which he held wide sway over nearly $1 trillion in federal spending as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He is now the top Republican on the Commerce committee, which has oversight of fisheries and other industries critical to his home state.
Earlier this spring, both Republicans and Democrats celebrated on the Senate floor when Stevens, who joined the chamber in 1968, became the longest serving Republican in chamber history. He has said he planned to run in 2008 for another six-year term.
A few weeks after that celebration, one of Stevens's closest political allies--Bill Allen, formerly the CEO of VECO--pleaded guilty to bribing several members of the state legislature, including an unidentified former state senator whose consulting payments cited in the plea agreement specifically matched payments reported by Ben Stevens, a state lawmaker who is the senator's son. He left the state Senate last year.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/30/AR2007073001427_pf.html
