The hearing before a federal judge just down the Hill from the U.S. Capitol comes a few days after the feds detailed even more information about their probe of Stevens, who faces seven counts of failing to report gifts on his Senate disclosure forms.

Among the new pieces of information, the feds say that Stevens got a no-interest loan that enabled him to buy a condo in Florida, which he flipped a few months later for a handsome profit of around $100,000.

The government says Stevens never reported that loan on his disclosure forms.

The feds also detailed some of the wiretapped conversations they have of Alaska's senior Senator, to bolster some of their charges.

Stevens wants his trial to start next month - his lawyers will try today to get a change of venue, and have the Senators constituents sit on a jury in Alaska and pass judgment.

I guess I would be surprised if the case was moved, especially since the alleged crime is linked to Senate disclosure forms.

Along those lines, lawyers for Stevens have argued in court filings that the case should be thrown out, saying the question of truthfulness on those forms should be decided by the Senate and not a separate branch of the federal government.

That contention - along with the protections of the speech or debate clause in the Constitution - has made it very difficult for the feds to prosecute Rep. William Jefferson of Louisiana, as a judge ruled an FBI raid on his Congressional office was unconstitutional.