After 12 days of listening to recorded wire taps, reading emails, and arguments alleging Stevens received illegal gifts from VECO, the prosecution arguing corruption charges against Sen. Ted Stevens has rested and the trial now goes to the defense.

It's been awhile since we chatted about Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) but he's been keeping busy what with standing trial for allegedly lying about the value of the gifts and home remodeling services he got from Veco Corp., an oil services company known mostly for bribing Alaskan lawmakers.

Sen. Ted Stevens has started a legal defense fund to help pay for his trial on corruption charges. This means that anyone (aside from lobbyists) can donate up to $10,000 in an effort keep Sen. Stevens out of jail, but won't have to report out on these donors until after the election.

Public Campaign Action Fund's Campaign Money Watch has released a new television ad about Stevens' campaign contributions from the pharmaceutical industry and how he carries water for them in the Senate.

Today, Sen. Ted Stevens lost his motion to throw out the charges brought against him in a wide-ranging corruption investigation.

That famous batch of wiretaps that has been both the most important and most amusing source of evidence against Alaska legislators caught up in the Veco Corp. bribery scandal apparently includes about 100 of Sen. Ted Stevens' (R-AK) phone calls. The taps caught legislators and Veco CEO Bill Allen at his most corruptly candid -- what will they reveal about Stevens if they're played in court?  We'll know when Stevens' trial starts later this month.