Alaska senator pleads not guilty

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Alaska Senator Ted Stevens has pleaded not guilty to charges he made false statements on his Senate financial disclosure form.

The Republican lawmaker has been under investigation for his involvement with Veco, an oil company whose executives have confessed to bribing officials.

Mr Stevens allegedly failed to disclose $250,000 worth of work done on his house free of charge by Veco employees.

Mr Stevens, 84, is the longest-serving Republican in the US Senate.

Lawyers for Mr Stevens maintained his innocence at a court appearance in Washington.

His legal team also asked the judge to move the trial to Alaska and requested that the trial date be speeded up so that Mr Stevens could appear in court before he stands for re-election in November.

"He'd like to clear his name before the election," his lawyer Brendan Sullivan told the judge.

"This is not a complex case. It should be one that moves quickly," he added.

Renovations

Mr Stevens' Senate seat is up for grabs, and polls suggested that he was facing a tough re-election battle, even before the charges were brought against him.

Prosecutors said they did not object to a trial date in late September.

Veco CEO Bill Allen, who pleaded guilty to bribery charges in May 2007, has testified that he arranged for employees of his company to assist Mr Stevens with renovations to his house in Girdwood, Alaska.

Officials said Mr Stevens also received new vehicles in exchange for older ones worth far less from the energy company, as well as other household goods.

Around the time that the house renovations were taking place, Veco won a $170m (£85m) federal contract to provide the National Science Foundation (NSF) with polar and Arctic research support, despite having no previous experience in the field, the Anchorage Daily News has reported.

Mr Stevens, as a senior member of the Senate Commerce Committee, would have had oversight of the NSF.