Anchorage Daily News

Oct. 18, 2006, phone call between ex-Veco chief Bill Allen and U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens. It was played for the jury Monday in Stevens' trial.

TED STEVENS: I'm not going to let these guys get us in a position where they can charge us with something just because we didn't do what they think we should do. They've got to go out make the case that we did something that is against the law. I don't think we have violated the law."

BILL ALLEN: I don't think we have either, Ted. But ... that lawyer has grilled me and grilled me on what they think they can do. He talks to them, I don't."

STEVENS: That's, that's the way it should be. But as a practical matter, the question is, what can they convince the jury, uh grand jury, to charge us with? That's the problem. But when I was a district attorney, I handled grand juries, lots of them. They're funny people, but they also are people from within the community. And your reputation and everything else comes into play, as far as grand juries are concerned ... We ought to just cool it. I told Ben the same thing: just cool it, you know, go about our business and smile and have a happy face ... Do the things you used to do and just keep going. If it's a violation of the elections law, that's a corporate violation. This thing, it shouldn't, it shouldn't get to your mind, old buddy."

ALLEN: Well it has been, I'll tell you."

STEVENS: ... You've got to get a mental attitude that these guys can't really hurt us. You know, they're not going shoot us. It's not Iraq. What the hell? The worst that can be done, the worst that can happen to us is we round up a bunch of legal fees and might lose and we might have to pay a fine, might have to serve a little time in jail. I hope to Christ it never gets to that ... So I'm going to go right through my life and keep doing what I think is right.

More phone call excerpts

Sept. 10, 2006

STEVENS: Keep your heart going, keep yourself going, 'cause we got a fight out there ahead of us. And we’re gonna win it because we didn’t do anything wrong. You’ve got a right to spend all the money you got to support the party you believe in.

ALLEN: Yeah, I know.

STEVENS: You remember that. No one can tell you you spent too much money.

ALLEN: Right.

STEVENS: The question is whether you did something illegal and I don’t think you did. I have a little problem about Rick Smith from some of the things I’m hearing. I don’t know if you’re hearing that, but the things he’s done down in Juneau may have been a little bit on the edge. But we’ll stick with him. I’m not tossing him to the wolves, don’t misunderstand me.

Oct. 18, 2006

STEVENS: When I was talking to my lawyers, they told me that we, we ought to avoid trying to look like we’re meeting in a situation where we wouldn’t be overheard or having no one with us. They point out that, what’s her name, that woman that uh, who went to jail, Martha Stewart?

ALLEN: Yeah.

STEVENS: She didn’t go to, to jail because she did something wrong. She went to jail because she lied about a conversation she had with somebody.

ALLEN: Uh huh.

STEVENS: They say we should have no problem ... we can meet, you know have dinner, or what not. But we should not try to look like we’re going to try to try to keep things from the world. And he, they said we ought to really lay low right now, because this grand jury is meeting. And if they got wind that it looked like we were going try to, you know, do what they call obstruct justice, they could call us before the grand jury on a different, different thing all together.

Aug. 31, 2006

(The day of the FBI raids of legislative offices and other locations in Alaska)

ALLEN: ... Yeah, hey Ted, I’ve been trying to get ahold of Ben. I can’t get ahold of him. And uh, the FBI got a warrant and searched my house and... and the office...

STEVENS: For what?

ALLEN: Uh, with, with Ben and trying to figure out, y’know, what ... what kind of ... you know, what he done for us.

STEVENS: I see. Ok.

ALLEN: And …

STEVENS: Well, I …

ALLEN: And uh, they asked me what I done on your house....

STEVENS: Yeah?

ALLEN: And I said, well, he’s paid for everything and uh, you know, you don’t ... you don’t need this problem again, Ted, but that’s what they’re, uh, talking me ... and I just told ’em I wouldn’t talk to ’em.

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