The Judge in the Martha Stewart trial rejected Martha Stewar's motion for a new trial based on witness perjury.

Lawyers for Ms. Stewart, the former chairman and chief executive of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, had argued that her case should be retried because a government witness was charged with perjury several weeks ago. The witness, Larry Stewart, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of lying during his testimony about his role in analyzing ink notations on a document listing Ms. Stewart's stock holdings. Lawyers for Ms. Stewart and Mr. Bacanovic had sought a hearing to determine whether prosecutors knew that Mr. Stewart, who is not related to Martha Stewart, lied on the stand.

Martha will be sentenced July 16, most likely, to 10 to 16 months. At least half of the minimum, or 5 months, must be served in jail or a federal prison, most likely a camp. We wouldn't take anything for granted though, not after Lea Fastow's judge refused to recommend a camp for her, resulting in the Bureau of Prisons designating her to a downtown Houston federal detention center.

by TChris

Julie Rae Harper's conviction for a murder that occurred near Lawrenceville, Illinois was reversed on what some might call a technicality: she was prosecuted by an agency that lacked prosecutorial authority in her case. While convictions that are reversed for procedural error often lead to retrials, new evidence should have made the State of Illinois question the wisdom of putting Harper on trial a second time.

Attorneys that Newswatch spoke with Thursday, said one of the big issues facing a possible retrial is the admission of new evidence, in particular the admission of Tommy Lynn Sells, to the murder.

Nonetheless, Harper's freedom was momentary, as she was released after two years in prison only to be taken directly to the county jail on a warrant for the reinstated murder charge.

"This is not seeking justice," said Bill Clutter, an investigator for the Downstate Illinois Innocence Project. "This is just further torturing an innocent woman who should be released."

Congress has bowed to Bush. His threat of withholding funding worked. In a 210-210 vote in the House, extended by Republicans for 23 minutes so they could get a few vote-switchers, the bill to eliminate the Patriot Act provision authorizing the feds to obtain our library records was defeated.

The Republican-led House bowed to a White House veto threat Thursday and stood by the USA Patriot Act, defeating an effort to block the part of the anti-terrorism law that helps the government investigate people's reading habits. The effort to defy Bush and bridle the law's powers lost by 210-210, with a majority needed to prevail. The amendment appeared on its way to victory as the roll call's normal 15-minute time limit expired, but GOP leaders kept the vote open for 23 more minutes as they persuaded about 10 Republicans who initially supported the provision to change their votes.

"You win some, and some get stolen," Rep. C.L. Butch Otter, R-Idaho, a sponsor of the defeated provision and one of Congress' more conservative members, told a reporter.

Remember when Ashcroft told us they weren't using the library records provision of the Patriot Act? And libraries contradicted him? Seems Ashcroft is now singing a different tune:

Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., said he switched his initial "yes" vote to "no" after being shown Justice Department documents asserting that terrorists have communicated over the Internet via public library computers.

by TChris

Anne-Marie Cusac has been "reporting on abuse and mistreatment in our nation's jails and prisons for the last eight years." When Donald Rumsfeld claimed that the abuse at Abu Ghraib "doesn't represent American values," she wasn't convinced.

Reporters and commentators keep asking, how could this happen? My question is, why are we surprised when many of these same practices are occurring at home?

Writing for The Progressive, Cusac recounts some of the horror stories she's investigated, draws connections between those practices and the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, and asks whether "we have so dehumanized U.S. prisoners that we have become as distant from them as we are from foreign captives in faraway lands."

How could this happen? Apart from the tendency of prison administrators to adopt a military model of punishment (including "boot camps"), Cusak suggests that much of the public has accepted (and the media haven't challenged) the "tough on crime" assumptions about people serving sentences:

We have acquired a set of unexamined beliefs: 1) people who land in jail deserve to be there; 2) criminals are bad people--almost subhuman--who can't be rehabilitated; 3) therefore, punishment can be as harsh as possible; and 4) we don't need or want to know the details. These beliefs ... may help to explain why revelations of prison and jail abuse in the United States, which have been numerous in the past two decades, can fall on deaf ears in this country even as they prompt protest abroad. The revelations at Abu Ghraib shock us because our soldiers abroad seem to have acted out behaviors that we condone, yet don't face up to, at home.

Further TalkLeft discussion of the connection between abuse at Abu Ghraib and at home can be found here and here and here and here.

Ken Lay had a very productive first day in court. He only spent an hour in custody. He was released on a relatively minimal $500,000.00 bond. He can keep his passport because his work requires him to travel internationally. And, lucky for him, he needs no Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination, because he did nothing wrong.

"It has been a tragic day for me and my family," Lay said at a news conference shortly after his court appearance. "An indictment came down that should not have occurred." While repeating his assertion that he took responsibility for Enron's collapse as chairman, "that does not mean I know everything that went on at Enron."

"I continue to grieve as does my family over the loss of the company, my failure to be able to save it," Lay said. "But failure does not equate to a crime. "I firmly reject any notion that I engaged in any wrongful or criminal activity," he added. "Not only are we ready to go to trial, but we are anxious to prove my innocence."

Mike Ramsey, Lay's lawyer, had a few choice words for the media as well:

Ramsey said he would push for the former Enron chief executive to go to trial ahead of other executives charged in the investigation. He maintains Lay did nothing wrong and cast blame on former chief financial officer Andrew Fastow, who pleaded guilty to two conspiracy counts in January. Fastow admitted to orchestrating partnerships and financial schemes to hide Enron debt and inflate profits while pocketing millions of dollars for himself. "Andy is obviously a liar and a thief," Ramsey said before entering the courthouse Thursday. "He admits that."

A paper trail will be required in Washington for electonic voting....by 2006. As SKBubba says, too bad it wont happen in time for November's election.

by TChris

As a service to its corporate readership, Forbes offers a tour of the best places to go to prison, complete with slide show. It also offers a brief recap of the alleged corporate criminals "who may have to trade Armani suits for jumpsuits."

We're off to court for the afternoon. Have some fun and speak your mind here.

Is this blackmail or what? American Progress reports on Veto Threat 'Hysteria':

Facing the prospect of an embarrassing defeat in the House of Representatives, the White House issued a rare veto threat last night of a major spending bill should amendments pass that restrict the Patriot Act. Ignoring concerns from scores of states, cities and towns across the country, the White House is targeting an amendment sponsored by Reps. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Butch Otter (R-ID) that, if passed, would limit the Justice Department's ability to "require book dealers, libraries or others to surrender records" about ordinary Americans. The president "has not yet vetoed a bill sent to him by Congress" – and the veto threat is seen as proof that the White House is worried the legislation has enough votes in both parties to pass. If the amendment passes, it will move to the Senate, where Sens. Larry Craig (R-ID) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) have sponsored similar legislation in the past. If the measure reaches the president's desk, he would have to kill it by rejecting a bill that funds the entire Departments of Commerce, Justice and State.

TELL YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS TO RESIST WHITE HOUSE THREATS: The vote on the amendment in the House is scheduled for today. Contact your members of Congress and tell them to resist the White House's veto threats and intimidation tactics on the Patriot Act. Also, tell them to support the broader Civil Liberties Restoration Act (Senate bill S. 2528 or House bill H.R. 4591) – comprehensive legislation to reform the Patriot Act by limiting the government's ability to conduct secret arrests, requiring individuals be advised of the charges brought against them, and upholding federal privacy laws.

The U.S. is investigating whether the kidnapping and threatened beheading of U.S. Marine Wassef Ali Hassoun may have been a hoax. He is believed to be alive and free in his native Lebanon.

Update: CNN reports Hassoun is at the U.S. embassy in Lebanon. (via Back Country Conservative.)

The Naval Criminal Investigation Service was put in charge of the investigation shortly after Hassoun was missing from his unit on June 20, the sources told CNN. Scarber said the NCIS is one step up from the military police and typically investigates missing persons cases. It was brought into the investigation as when it was thought that it was possible Hassoun fell victim to foul play, but no criminal investigation is under way, she said.

Hassoun reportedly called his family in Utah yesterday with a request to be picked up at an undisclosed location in Lebanon. This is one story that's going to get a lot stranger before it's over.

Is this a classic example of a scrub job? The first article has the full details with accounts of the alleged torture of Afghan prisoners by three Americans who were on a counter-terrorism mission, vigilante-style. The second and third versions have the 'classified' material cut out.... Here are three of the articles:

Arrested Americans Abuse Prisoners (AP, Philly Burbs)

Americans arrested in Kabul were running private jail, official says (AP Boston Herald)

Three Americans Arrested in Kabul (AP, MyWay)

Read the first article.

Cyberjournalist.net has the names of several bloggers who have received press credentials to cover the Democratic Convention. Here are the ones so far:

• Dave Winer of Scripting News
• Dave Weinberger

• Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

• NYU's Jay Rosen, who has lengthy essay about the incoherence of modern conventions and the freshness bloggers may bring.

• Markos Moulitsas Zuniga from the Daily Kos

• Jerome Armstrong

• Aldon Hynes

• Jeralyn Merritt of TalkLeft

Many thanks to those of you who contributed to our convention expense fund. We've raised $200.00 so far, and our goal is at least $2,000.00--so if you are a regular reader or commenter on TalkLeft, or you'd just like to help us out, we'd really appreciate it. It will cost us about $3,000 to make the trip, and we promise great coverage--particularly of behind-the-scenes goings-on the mainsteam press may not tell you about. We're calling it news with attitude.

We'll be sending everyone who contributes by paypal an individualized thank-you e-mail. If you'd like to donate anonymously, use Amazon. Both are secure. Many, many thanks.

Cyberjournalist is offering a place for readers to submit questions to the convention bloggers. If there is something in particular you'd like us to cover or focus on, let us know in the comments.