UPDATE (7 p.m.): Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens (R) took the stand in his own defense against corruption charges today, bringing the nearly unprecedented criminal case full circle before closing arguments and jury deliberation begin.

Stevens was asked by his lawyer, Brendan V. Sullivan Jr., whether he thought his Senate financial disclosure forms were accurate when he signed them. He replied, "Yes, sir," The Post's Del Quentin Wilber reports.

Stevens answered "No, I did not" when Sullivan asked him whether he had intentionally tried to lie on the forms in questions.

On the stand, Stevens also went through his background, from his poor upbringing during the Great Depression, his service in the Air Force during World War II and his appointment as a U.S. Senator from Alaska in 1968.

His testimony ended after 20 minutes, when court broke for the day, the Anchorage Daily News reports. Stevens is expected to take the stand again tomorrow.

A courtroom sketch depicts Catherine Stevens, wife of Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), being questioned by defense attorney Robert Cary as Judge Emmet G. Sullivan observes. (Dana Verkouteren / AP)

Catherine Stevens took the stand this morning in defense of her embattled husband, Sen. Ted Stevens, telling jurors she thought that two workers who performed key roles in the remodeling of their Girdwood, Alaska, home had been paid for by a residential contractor.

The two employees were actually on the payroll of Bill Allen, the former chief executive of VECO and a central figure in the federal government's corruption case against the Republican senator. Catherine Stevens testified this morning that she assumed the workers were being paid by Christensen Builders, a contractor she said she believed was "responsible for all of the renovations" on the project, The Post's Del Quentin Wilber reports.

Lawyers for Stevens, who is accused of concealing more than $250,000 in gifts related to the Girdwood renovations, have argued that the couple paid all of the bills they received, and that Allen withheld other bills. Furthermore, Catherine Stevens claimed that she oversaw the renovations, and described Allen as a friend who helped arrange, but not manage, the project.

Sen. Stevens is expected to take the stand in his own defense as early as this afternoon.