Sen. Stevens of Alaska asks judge to dismiss case

By James Vicini

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Attorneys for Republican Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska urged a federal judge on Thursday to dismiss the criminal charges against him, arguing that only the Senate may discipline him for any violations of Senate rules.

In another argument seeking to get the charges dismissed, they said the indictment infringed on Stevens' constitutional rights as a lawmaker because the allegations involved his legislative actions, votes and decisions.

Stevens was indicted last month on seven counts of filing false Senate financial disclosure forms from 2001 through 2006, accused of leaving out more than $250,000 in gifts that he received from an Alaska oil services company, the VECO Corp.

Stevens, who has served 40 years in the Senate and who is the longest-serving Republican senator in U.S. history, pleaded not guilty. His trial is set to start at the end of next month as he seeks to clear his name before the November election.

In court documents filed with U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, attorneys for Stevens said only the Senate, and not the Justice Department, may enforce the rules over the financial disclosure forms.

They said the Senate Ethics Committee may order that a member be reprimanded or pay restitution if it determines that misconduct has occurred.

The attorneys said Congress has no authority to delegate to federal prosecutors its exclusive constitutional power to enforce Senate rules.

In a second argument, they said the indictment should be dismissed because it contains allegations of constitutionally protected legislative acts.

The attorneys said the indictment strongly suggests that the federal grand jury heard evidence about legislative acts and they said FBI agents questioned several past and present members of Stevens' legislative staff.

In a third argument seeking to dismiss the charges, the attorneys said the indictment was unconstitutionally vague because it lacked details about the gifts Stevens allegedly received and concealed.

His attorneys previously filed a request to move the case to Alaska, saying that it would allow Stevens to campaign for re-election in the evenings and on the weekends during the trial that is expected to last four weeks.

But Justice Department lawyers opposed the request, saying that pre-trial comments by Stevens and his opponents could taint potential jurors in Alaska.

The judge has scheduled a hearing for next week on whether to move the case to Alaska.

(Editing by Eric Beech)