Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) is still working the angles:
Stevens had been scheduled to appear at a pretrial services office earlier Thursday, to be interviewed by court officials but, under an unusual arrangement, he arrived for that meeting Wednesday afternoon, avoiding the media attention. U.S. Marshal George Walsh, whose office is in charge of booking defendants, said he was unaware of the arrangement until Thursday and was disappointed that it would appear Stevens received special treatment.
Court spokeswoman Jenna Gatski said Stevens made an early appointment with a pretrial services officer. Though a judge’s order called for Stevens to appear for that meeting Thursday, Gatski said the pretrial office sets its own schedule. Stevens appeared late Wednesday afternoon but within business hours.
Late Update: Stevens still has to show up for arraignment today, and reporters are camped out waiting for that — so I’m not exactly sure how going early yesterday for pretrial services helped him avoid media scrutiny. Maybe DC readers familiar with federal court booking procedures can explain that one to me.
