Inouye, who said he is so close to Stevens and his family that the Alaska senator's daughter calls him "Uncle Dan," told prosecutors that he has "never heard of him lying under oath."
"I've never known of him to lie," Inouye said, "and I wouldn't expect him to."
It remained unclear whether Stevens, the straight-talking, longest-serving Senate Republican and patriarch of Alaska politics for generations, would take the stand in his own defense. He has languished in the federal courtroom as a Democratic opponent back home mounts a strong challenge to the seat he has held for 40 years.
Stevens's lawyers started their defense yesterday by calling his friends and constituents to testify to the senator's reputation of honesty and truthfulness. Former secretary of state Colin Powell is expected to testify today.
Inouye is one of Stevens' best friends. The two World War II veterans call each other "brother," and the Hawaiian Democratic senator held a fund-raising lunch for Stevens in Washington in April.
The two have traveled the world together and are the top two senators on the panel controlling the Pentagon budget. For years, they've used the post to deliver federal money to their states. They are also the chairman and top Republican, respectively, on the influential Senate Commerce Committee.
The Pentagon budget gets done quickly in the Senate because of Stevens' reputation for honesty among senators, Inouye said.
"This community has absolute faith in Ted Stevens," Inouye said. "His word is good."
Stevens has temporarily stepped down from those positions while he is on trial. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison on each of seven charges, though under sentencing guidelines, he probably would receive much less prison time, if any.
Inouye, who as a Senate chairman is used to asking questions on Capitol Hill instead of answering them, briefly sparred with prosecutor Nicholas Marsh, who tried to get him to answer a hypothetical question about whether he would change his opinion of a person who has lied.
"I don't know Ted Stevens ever told a lie," Inouye said.
