Hatch calls Stevens one of the true lions of the Senate

WASHINGTON — Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch on Tuesday called fellow Republican Sen. Ted Stevens a hero, a legend and one of the true lions of the Senate as the Alaska senator's corruption trial moved toward a close.

Stevens is "one of the strongest, toughest, best, most decent people I've known in the Senate," said Hatch, the latest of Stevens' famous friends to come to Washington during a congressional recess to testify to the senator's character.

The Alaska GOP icon indicated Tuesday that he and his wife, Catherine, also may take the stand, with their names appearing on a dwindling list of possible defense witnesses. Stevens' lawyer Robert Cary said the defense has only three more witnesses who have not testified besides the senator and his wife.

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan said the jury could begin deliberations early next week, with the Justice Department only having three rebuttal witnesses to call.

Stevens, 84, is accused of lying on Senate forms to conceal more than $250,000 in renovations on his cabin and other gifts from Bill Allen, the former chief of giant oil services company VECO Corp.

Defense attorneys have depicted Catherine Stevens as the person who truly oversaw the massive conversion of the modest A-frame cabin into a two-story home with wraparound decks, new electricity and plumbing, a sauna and a master-bedroom balcony.

The senator, who spends more time at his home in Washington than in Alaska, says he paid little attention to the project. He says he assumed the $160,000 they paid for the project covered everything.

Augie Paone, a local contractor hired by VECO, testified Tuesday that the Stevenses paid him tens of thousands of dollars. He took the job with the understanding, "I was going to present all the bills to the senator," he said.

Stevens earlier brought in Democratic Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii and former Secretary of State Colin Powell to testify to what they called Stevens' sterling character and absolute honesty. Hatch, who has been in the Senate since 1976, echoed their assessments and said when he first came to Capitol Hill Stevens was one of the "heroes" he wanted to meet.

"If he gives you his word, he'll keep it. He's totally honest," Hatch said.

When asked by defense attorney Brendan Sullivan about Stevens' reputation among senators, Hatch replied: "I'd rate him at the very top. He's one of the true lions of the Senate along with my friend Ted Kennedy," the senior senator from Massachusetts.