Seven years later, but "no one ever asked"

Back in October former US Senator Ted Stevens was convicted of corruption. In a nutshell, he was taking bribes. For instance, he was given furniture by oil industry executive Bill Allen. Of course, Teddy played stupid during the trial when questioned by the prosecutor:

And that furniture Allen had sent over? Stevens told the jury he demanded it be taken away. But seven years later, the furniture is still there. (NPR, by Nina Totenberg)

Fast forward to January 9, 2009 and Obama's possible successor, Roland Burris, is discussing his appointment with the Illinois Legislature. And he's also talking about what he did seven years ago:

He also said he closed his 2002 campaign for governor without repaying a $1.2 million loan to a businessman who also made contributions to Blagojevich. Burris, a former state attorney general, said he'd never been asked to repay the money. (AP, by David Mercer)

Maybe Stevens should have just told the jury that "no one ever asked" him to pay for the furniture and other gifts he received?

Tim White