Lynne Stewart

Prosecutorial missteps could lead to lighter sentence for activist attorney

Prosecutorial missteps could lead to lighter sentence for activist attorney
Two lawyers whose actions may have paved the way for Lynne Stewart's "crimes" were not charged.

Analysis
By Peter Duveen

PETER'S NEW YORK, December 1, 2009--Lynne Stewart, activist attorney, is to be re-sentenced tomorrow for crimes the government claims Stewart committed, and that a jury convicted her of. She was basically accused of engaging in a conspiracy to manipulate the policies of the Egyptian government through coercion, and of breaking her promise to abide by agreements she signed that would have restricted her client, the famous "Blind Sheikh," Omar Abdel Rahman, from communicating his allegedly terrorist intentions to the outside world.

The government, as represented by the U.S. Justice Department attorneys who pursued the case against Stewart, alleged that by issuing a press release announcing the Sheikh's intention to withdraw his support for a suspension of hostilities between the Egyptian government and groups friendly to him, Stewart was part of a plot "calculated to affect the conduct of the Egyptian government through intimidation and coercion."

Cynthia McKinney's letter to President Obama

The following contains a letter to President Obama by Cynthia McKinney.

22 November 2009

"Mr. President:

I am writing to urge you to announce an immediate cease-fire followed by a withdrawal of all US troops from Iraq and Afghanistan in the fastest way consistent with the safety of our forces.

I urge you to end the use of Predator drones that kill civilians.

I call upon you to cease all covert operations in Africa, Asia, and North and South America.

Too many of your military advisors are implicated in torture, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes against the peace. Your Justice Department operates at the zenith of injustice, defending Bush Administration criminality in U.S. Courtrooms.

I wrote to you earlier suggesting that if you did not investigate the crimes of the Bush Administration, you would be viewed as their accessory. Sadly, war crimes and torture are now committed with your name on them.

Please bring our troops home now."

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Activist attorney who supported a new 9-11 investigation reports to prison

Lynne Stewart, an activist attorney whose vigorous defense of Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman earned her a prison term, reported to authorities after her appeal was denied. Stewart was a supporter of a new 9-11 investigation. Here is what AP had to say:

NY ex-lawyer surrenders to serve prison term
By LARRY NEUMEISTER (AP) – 16 hours ago

NEW YORK — Promising "you haven't seen the last of me," a 70-year-old disbarred lawyer convicted in a terrorism case surrendered to U.S. marshals Thursday to begin serving her prison term after a New York appeals court upheld her conviction.

A smiling Lynne Stewart walked with several dozen supporters to a collection of cameras on her way into U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Thursday, shaking a fist in the air to chants of "Free Lynne Stewart."

"It's very hard to feel downhearted today," she said. "I can take whatever they dish out. I am not going to back off ever."

Stewart said she would become a jailhouse lawyer to the extent her disbarment will allow, helping other inmates with their legal fights.

Continued at http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iqFFRaxZKfmO7QApHCKcMjydegTgD9C2TK200

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