Sources say the FBI recorded phone calls between VECO CEO Bil Allen and Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) as part of the ongoing bribery investigation which has implicated several Alaskan lawmakers. Allen provided consent for the taping as part of his cooperation with investigators. Conversations were also taped between Allen and former Alaska House Speaker Peter Kott and between Allen and another VECO executive.

Alaskans are a multi-talented bunch -- not only can an oil services company renovate houses, but a construction supervisor can work high-dollar political fundraisers. Or so the latest testimony in the VECO bribery case would seem to indicate.

With the recent testimony of VECO CEO Bill Allen about the free work his company did on Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) home, questions about the Senator's alleged favor-trading with the company are once again in the headlines. On today's installment of TPM TV, Josh Marshall asks this: why is it that Stevens is getting the kid-glove treatment from his colleagues while Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) was booted so quickly he practically left fingernail marks on his desk?

We're not the only ones questioning McConnell's track record today. USA Today is wondering about his...uneven...enforcement of ethics policies among his Senate Republicans. They focus in particular on McConnell's quick shunning of Sen. Larry Craig but much lighter treatment of Sen. Ted Stevens, even as the corruption probe surrounding the former heats up.

The Louisville Courier-Journal cautions President Bush to sign the lobbying overhaul bill passed after much debate in the House and Senate. Bush's veto threat is perplexing given the crushing effect the public perception of corruption has on his party in the mid-term elections, and now that the Abramoff affair is ceding center stage to William Jefferson/VECO/Ted Stevens/Don Young it's not as if the pressure to change the rules in Washington has lessened.

Congress is in recess for August and members have headed home. While that may mean fewer Martinis & Moneyclips fundraisers at DC watering holes, it's now time for a slate of in-district fundraising events. And Alaskan legislators -- tainted as they may be by allegations that money swayed their votes and priorities -- aren't going to miss out on the fun. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) and Rep. Don Young (R-AK) are out there catching fish, burning pigs, and offering time for money.

It's tough being a sitting member of Congress under investigation. Nobody donates to your legal defense fund and The Politico makes Incredible Hulk jokes at your expense.

You can't make this stuff up: Sen.

That's it, I want the FBI to raid MY home. All the cool kids are having the contents of their desks carried out in evidence bags, and I want in on the fun. Sen. Ted Stevens' Girdwood, Alaska home was picked over by federal investigators yesterday for documents related to the Senator's dealing with Veco, the oil services company tied to a scheme to bribe Alaskan legislators.

The Stevens family has a lawmaker legacy in Alaska; Senator Ted Stevens (R) is the longest serving Republican in the U.S. Senate and his son Ben served as the president of the Alaska State Senate. Their legacy may be in for a bit of tarnishing however, as a wide-ranging corruption investigation touches them both.