Stevens Gets Hot Under Cross Examination

By Martin Kady II

(The Politico)  Ted Stevens is getting flustered now that the prosecution has started drilling him with questions.

For five hours today, Stevens' defense team has allowed him to gently walked through invoices, bills and old e-mails aimed at showing he's innocent of receiving any improper gifts and that he always follows Senate rules. They have touted his influence in the Senate on several occasions.

Now lead prosecutor Brenda Morris is peppering the senator with one question after another, asking him why he knew so little about his Alaska chalet reservations, and why he let a friend, Veco Corp. CEO Bill Allen, run roughshod over him in using the house.

"You were a lion of the Senate but you didn't know how to prevent another man from putting items in your house?" Morris asked.

"You’re making a lot of assumptions that are unwarranted. There are no gifts there ma’am," Stevens said.

Morris is asking questions quickly, acting somewhat incredulous that expensive items like a steel staircase, a gas grill and a massive fish statue could appear in his house without his knowledge.

Stevens isn't happy.

"I’m not going to get in the middle of this game with you," Stevens said. "You ask me questions and I’ll give you answers."

Stevens also doesn't like answering similar questions that are phrased in different ways -- a classic prosecutorial technique designed to trip up witnesses.

"You’re not listening to me," Stevens told the prosecutor.

Adjournment time -- 4:45 p.m. -- can't come fast enough for the Stevens defense team.