“We might . . . spend a little time in jail”: Stevens Caught on Tape Discussing Criminal Investigation

Sen. Ted Stevens was caught on tape discussing the possibility of a prison sentence with his former friend and wealthy businessman Bill Allen. Unbeknownst to Stevens, Allen was recording the conversation as an informant with the FBI. Stevens sounds every inch a felon on the tape, advising Allen to “really lay low” and be tough. In one particularly damaging section for the jury to hear, Stevens acknowledges “We might have to pay a fine and spend a little time in jail.”

Stevens is his genuine self on the 2006 tape, swearing and swaggering with his friend. “Screw them, if they prove we did something wrong. In my heart, I don’t think we did. … I say, screw it.”

He proceeds to school Allen on the ways of a criminal defendant — a role that Stevens appears to have been practicing for over his years of alleged corruption: “We ought to really lay low right now.”

In one line that the prosecutors will likely emphasize, he adds, “Let’s stick this thing out together, OK?”

Despite the moronic content of the call, Stevens acknowledges the possibility that the conversation might be taped: “I think they’re probably listening to this conversation right now.”

Well, he got one thing right.

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