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Home Front: WoT
Treasonous Lawyer Begs for Mercy
2006-10-16
The New York lawyer who was convicted of material support for terrorism after carrying messages for her client, terrorist sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, is scheduled to be sentenced today to as much as 30 years in prison. She and her leftist and other pro-terrorist allies are pinning their hopes for leniency on a strategy that argues she became so emotionally involved in the sheik's case that she acted irrationally &ndash a strategy that is underpinned by a sealed letter to the court from a psychiatrist.
In other words, as a moonbat, she cannot be held responsible for her actions.

A psychiatric report submitted to the federal judge in Manhattan who will decide the sentence, John Koeltl, claims that several emotional events in Stewart's life suggest her actions were motivated by "human factors of her client and his situation" and not by politics. The psychiatrist, Steven Teich, points to 11 emotional events that he claims prompted her to want to take action on Abdel Rahman's behalf. Among the events that make Dr.Teich's list are her experiences seeing Abdel Rahman incarcerated and the 1995 suicide of a drug defendant named Dominick Maldonado, whom Stewart had once represented.
In other words, as a moonbat, she cannot be held responsible for her actions.

"Ms. Stewart's commitment to the protection of her client, the Sheik, in prison was magnified by emotions from her perceived failure to protect her former client Mr. Maldonado, which had, consequently, resulted in his death by suicide," Mr. Teich wrote. While the evaluation by Dr. Teich is filed under seal, Stewart's attorneys quote portions of it at length in public legal papers. Stewart's behavior was "emotionally based and sometimes impulsive" and her mental state while representing Abdel Rahman "immobilized her critical ability to evaluate the potential consequences of her actions," according to the psychiatric report.
In other words, as a moonbat, she cannot be held responsible for her actions.

Stewart has long maintained that she served as a messenger between Abdel Rahman and his followers because she wanted him to remain involved in Egyptian politics in preparation for the unlikely possibility that he would be transferred to Egypt and freed.
Or until The Revolution Comes and President Jane Fonda or Attorney General Mumia abu-Jamal pardons him.

In a letter filed last month to Judge Koeltl, first reported in the New York Times, Stewart's apology is in line with the psychiatric evaluation. "Finally, and this was fully revealed to me in my discussions post-trial with Dr. Teich, if I have a tragic flaw it is that I care too much for my clients," Stewart wrote."I am soft-hearted to the point of self-abnegation. When one reaches out to another human being, even a hated and despised defendant, the client is grateful, the lawyer is fulfilled and an emotional mutuality arises."

Since being indicted four years ago, Stewart had defended her actions. "I would do it again— it's the way a lawyer is supposed to behave." Stewart told reporters the day of her conviction, the Washington Post reported.
But that was before she realized she was going to prison.

But Stewart has switched tacks as her sentencing approaches. Now she blames her decision to serve as Abdel Rahman's mouthpiece on the emotional attachment she feels for the 68 year-old, blind and ailing sheik.
That, and prison is really yucky.

Hat tip (including headline): Outside the Beltway
Posted by:Jackal

#58  "Stewart: I'm such a strange amalgam of old-line things and new-line things. I don't have any problem with Mao or Stalin or the Vietnamese leaders or certainly Fidel locking up people they see as dangerous. Because so often, dissidence has been used by the greater powers to undermine a people's revolution. The CIA pays a thousand people and cuts them loose, and they will undermine any revolution in the name of freedom of speech."

The classic Leftist, communist justification (excuse) for imposing tyranny against those with whom they do not agree.
Posted by: Lancasters Over Dresden   2006-10-16 23:31  

#57  she will be out on appeal for about a year

the Kos kids and Atrios apes will agitate for prospective dem presidential candidates to promise clemency for her

maybe a silver lining here
Posted by: mhw   2006-10-16 22:48  

#56  Any lawyers here, what's the actual time served on 28 months?
Posted by: Dunno   2006-10-16 22:38  

#55   I note the Postman got 24 years.

No special treatment here.

Someone's got their mojo workin'.

BTW, if you all didn't know, her defense team was fully funded by George Soros.

Linky, 'moose?

Sure, let's give her some mercy - a short rope instead of a long one.

Dear Barbara, please permit me to correct you, who is otherwise so rarely mistaken. A long rope allows the neck to snap much more easily due to acceleration after a prolonged drop whilst wearing the noose.

Short ropes merely encourage extremely slow strangulation due to incomplete separation of the cervical vertebrae.

Ohhhhh. I get it, now. You actually meant: "let's give us some, mercy." Short rope it is then!
Posted by: Zenster   2006-10-16 22:28  

#54  airandee-

"With the way she looks, and the way he sees, it's a perfect match!"
Posted by: Hyper   2006-10-16 21:37  

#53  Haw!! You Got Game Bro or Sis (and clever too)!
Posted by: Asymmetrical Triangulation   2006-10-16 20:51  

#52  The sheik liked her because he could not see her, she had a beard, and she had a 'fragrant smell of home'... goat cheese and camel sh%t

She loved him because he hated America so much he tried to blow up buildings.

Rumor has it the Shiek regained his sight until she walked into the cell.
Posted by: airandee   2006-10-16 20:20  

#51  A despicable POS Stalinist(CPUSA)traitor whose crassness knows no bounds nor depths. The stringy hair and chapped lip-thingies ALONE pass the Approved for Immediate Extermination acid test in my book (But, "Hey"... How's about them pits and the greasy bifocals, some might add). Kill it!
Posted by: Asymmetrical Triangulation   2006-10-16 20:01  

#50  #9, I agree. This obnoxious, ignorant bitch belongs in a bag. But not a burka. She should be in hermetic, sealed bag. After 3 minutes, dispose as garbage.
Posted by: SpecOp35   2006-10-16 19:28  

#49  BTW, if you all didn't know, her defense team was fully funded by George Soros.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2006-10-16 19:14  

#48  Sure, let's give her some mercy - a short rope instead of a long one.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2006-10-16 19:09  

#47  The judge was appointed by a Democrat (Clinton).

There is an election coming up this year and in 2 years.

They matter.
Posted by: lotp   2006-10-16 18:58  

#46  What kind of mercy would this communist bitch with a football shaped head show toward her enemies? She ought to be kicked by every inmate while entering prison through a thuggish gauntlet.

Her and the communist scum that sympathize with this animal would impose martial law, "re-education" camps, and a systematic Gulag for opponents of the Commie-Wahhabi-Utopian future.
Posted by: Lancasters Over Dresden   2006-10-16 18:45  

#45  Even worse, the old Commie broad is free on appeal....maybe another year of wasted air.
Posted by: Phineter Thraviger1073   2006-10-16 18:26  

#44  What a joke. I wrote the judge's name down on The List, as I have started doing over the past few years to remember them at the polls.

This sets a precedent, the prosecuters wanted 30 , she got 28 months. Next sentence hearing in a similar case they use her case as precedent. This pisses me off to no end. ait till the next case , it will be less

Disgusting



Posted by: Dunno   2006-10-16 18:18  

#43  Can you imagine the uproar if the prosecution had used these same statements against her? Fry her here till she fries in Hell. The feed the charred corpse to pigs.
Posted by: Iblis   2006-10-16 18:17  

#42  I hope the government appeals this joke of a sentence.

My opinion of lawyers and the "law" is well known and doesn't need to be repeated.
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom   2006-10-16 17:52  

#41  Do not forget:

Day: Let's say you were part of a government that you actually trusted and supported, and your country held political prisoners. At what point would you think monitoring and controlling these people was acceptable?

Stewart: I'm such a strange amalgam of old-line things and new-line things. I don't have any problem with Mao or Stalin or the Vietnamese leaders or certainly Fidel locking up people they see as dangerous. Because so often, dissidence has been used by the greater powers to undermine a people's revolution. The CIA pays a thousand people and cuts them loose, and they will undermine any revolution in the name of freedom of speech.
Posted by: Angie Schultz   2006-10-16 17:41  

#40  But wait! There's more!

U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl pronounced the sentence of 28 months.

The judge said Stewart was guilty of smuggling messages between her client and his followers that could have "potentially lethal consequences." He called the crimes "extraordinarily severe criminal conduct."

But in departing from federal guidelines that called for 30 years behind bars, he cited Stewart's more than three decades of dedication to poor, disadvantaged and unpopular clients.

"Ms. Stewart performed a public service, not only to her clients, but to the nation," Koeltl said.

That's the judge, folks!
What the fuck is this shit?
Posted by: tu3031   2006-10-16 17:28  

#39  Did somebody say "The Postman"?
Posted by: Kevin Costner   2006-10-16 17:23  

#38  I note the Postman got 24 years.

No special treatment here.
Posted by: mojo   2006-10-16 17:19  

#37  Zen's got it right. BTW, how do you say "Eat sh** and dir" in Moonbatese?
Posted by: anymouse   2006-10-16 16:39  

#36  Fromm CNN: "A judge says he will sentence civil rights lawyer Lynne Stewart, convicted of providing material support to terrorists, to 28 months in prison, The Associated Press reports."
Posted by: Deacon Blues   2006-10-16 16:38  

#35  Rahman was trying to blow up the UN? Hell, let him out!
Posted by: Zenster   2006-10-16 16:32  

#34  You didn't actually expect the legal profession to throw the book at one of their own? Not that treason and abetting those who tried to blow up the WTC, the UN, the Lincoln and Holland tunnels, the FBI offices, and murdered Meir Kahane is nearly as serious as drunk driving or smoking in a restaurant.
Posted by: ed   2006-10-16 16:18  

#33  From #26 - "If you send her to prison, she's going to die. It's as simple as that," defense lawyer Elizabeth Fink had told the judge before the sentence was pronounced.

So it's a win-win situation!

One can only hope she kicks off in the slammer, of something slow and lingering...
Posted by: Bobby   2006-10-16 15:54  

#32  "If you send her to prison, she's going to die. It's as simple as that,"

We can hope.
Posted by: Zenster   2006-10-16 15:52  

#31  Actually, this is what we can expect from here on. The fight against domestic terrorists and their facilitators has been turned into a joke. We can thank "judge" Koeltl and a sentencing scheme which allowed him to force Kool Aid upon us all.

The LE model does not work. The judiciary is full of Tranzis and Dhimmis. This case could not have been clearer - a perfect chance to set the right precedent. We were screwed by yet another Clintoonian joke-judge. We will not get anywhere until these people are removed from power - or we abandon the LE approach completely.

One more cut toward our quota of one thousand, methinks.
Posted by: .com   2006-10-16 15:51  

#30  
At least one lawyer, Elizabeth Fink, wrote to the judge on Stewart's behalf, calling the government's position "draconian, inhumane and ludicrous."

C'mon. Who made up that name?
Posted by: Rob Crawford   2006-10-16 15:44  

#29  "The end of my career truly is like a sword in my side,"
Definitely what a traitor deserves.
Posted by: Darrell   2006-10-16 15:42  

#28  In a letter to the judge before her hearing, Stewart proclaimed: "I am not a traitor." Upon which the judge exclaimed with mock surprise, "then what the hell are you?"

"The end of my career truly is like a sword in my side," She said in court Monday. "Permit me to live out the rest of my life productively, lovingly, righteously." To permit you to do that would be to sentence you to life in jail with the rest of the terrorists. Who knows, in due time they may even find you attractive.

In a pre-sentence document, prosecutors told U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl that Stewart's "egregious, flagrant abuse of her profession, abuse that amounted to material support to a terrorist group, deserves to be severely punished."

Stewart, in her letter to the judge, said she did not intentionally enter into any plot or conspiracy to aid a terrorist organization. She believes the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks made her behavior intolerable in the eyes of the government and gave it an excuse to make an example out of her.

"The government's characterization of me and what occurred is inaccurate and untrue," she wrote. "It takes unfair advantage of the climate of urgency and hysteria that followed 9/11 and that was relived during the trial. I did not intentionally enter into any plot or conspiracy to aid a terrorist organization."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Dember argued at her sentencing that the case had nothing to do with Sept. 11 and everything to do with the fact that she sympathized with, aided and abetted a convicted terrorist mastermind.

"What she was doing was smuggling terrorism messages and smuggling out Abdel-Rahman's responses," Dember said.

About 150 Stewart supporters who could not get inside the capacity-filled courtroom stood outside the courthouse, chanting "Free Lynne, Free Lynne." Some 200 others jammed the hallways outside the courtroom.

"It's not just Lynn Stewart who is a victim, it's the Bill of Rights that's the victim," said Al Dorfman, 72, a retired ambulance chaserlawyer who joined the crowd outside.
Posted by: eltoroverde   2006-10-16 15:42  

#27  Give her 28 months -- and disbar her. Permanently.
Posted by: lotp   2006-10-16 15:37  

#26  NEW YORK (AP) -- Civil rights lawyer Lynne Stewart was sentenced Monday to 28 months in prison for helping a client, a blind sheik who plotted to blow up New York City landmarks, communicate with his followers.

Stewart, 67, could have faced up to 30 years in prison for her 2005 conviction on a federal charge of providing material support to terrorists.

She smiled as the judge announced his decision to send her to prison for less than 2-1/2 years.

"If you send her to prison, she's going to die. It's as simple as that," defense lawyer Elizabeth Fink had told the judge before the sentence was pronounced.

Stewart, who was treated last year for breast cancer, had released a statement by Omar Abdel-Rahman, a blind Egyptian sheik sentenced to life in prison after he was convicted in plots to blow up five New York landmarks and assassinate Egypt's president.

Prosecutors have called the case a major victory in the war on terrorism. They said Stewart and other defendants carried messages between the sheik and senior members of an Egyptian-based terrorist organization, helping spread Abdel-Rahman's call to kill those who did not subscribe to his extremist interpretation of Islamic law.

In a letter to the judge before her hearing, Stewart proclaimed: "I am not a traitor."

"The end of my career truly is like a sword in my side," She said in court Monday. "Permit me to live out the rest of my life productively, lovingly, righteously."

She acknowledged that she zealously tried to save a blind Egyptian sheik from life in prison for plotting to blow up New York City landmarks.

But she argued that the government's characterization of her was wrong and took unfair advantage of the "hysteria that followed 9/11 and that was re-lived during the trial." (Watch Stewart vow to fight on -- 2:01 )

On Monday, that judge is to decide whether Stewart, 67, should join her former client behind bars for enabling him to communicate with his followers. Prosecutors asked for the maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

Outside the federal courthouse, about 150 Stewart supporters who could not get inside the capacity-filled courtroom chanted "Free Lynne, Free Lynne."

As she entered the courthouse, Stewart shouted to them "I love you" and "I'm hanging in there."

"It's not just Lynn Stewart who is a victim, it's the Bill of Rights that's the victim," said Al Dorfman, 72, a retired lawyer who was among the Stewart supporters standing outside.

Stewart was convicted in February 2005 of providing material support to terrorists. She had released a statement by Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, who she represented at his 1995 trial and who was sentenced to life in prison for plots to blow up five New York landmarks and assassinate Egypt's president.

In court papers, prosecutors told U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl that Stewart's "egregious, flagrant abuse of her profession, abuse that amounted to material support to a terrorist group, deserves to be severely punished."

Stewart, whose sentencing was delayed after she was diagnosed with breast cancer last year and underwent treatment, asked the judge for mercy.

"The government's characterization of me and what occurred is inaccurate and untrue," she wrote. "It takes unfair advantage of the climate of urgency and hysteria that followed 9/11 and that was re-lived during the trial. I did not intentionally enter into any plot or conspiracy to aid a terrorist organization."

Mixed with her trademark defiance -- "I am not a traitor" -- was a measure of contrition. After some soul searching, she wrote, she had concluded that a careless over-devotion to her clients -- "I am softhearted to the point of self-abnegation" -- was her undoing.

Stewart was arrested six months after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, along with Mohamed Yousry, an Arabic interpreter, and Ahmed Abdel Sattar, a U.S. postal worker.

Prosecutors argued that Stewart blatantly broke rules designed to keep the blind cleric from inciting violence among his followers, and Koeltl upheld her conviction. The judge rejected her claim that Abdel-Rahman was engaging in protected speech when he expressed his opinion about a cease fire by Islamic militants in Egypt that Stewart passed along in a 2000 press release.

Stewart and Yousry were both convicted of providing material support to terrorists. Stewart also was convicted of defrauding the government and making false statements for breaking her promise to abide by government rules to keep the sheik from communicating with his followers.

Sattar was convicted of conspiracy to kill and kidnap people in a foreign country and could face life in prison. All three were to be sentenced Monday.

At least one lawyer, Elizabeth Fink, wrote to the judge on Stewart's behalf, calling the government's position "draconian, inhumane and ludicrous."
Posted by: tu3031   2006-10-16 15:25  

#25  Big surprise... The Judge.
Posted by: .com   2006-10-16 15:22  

#24  Reminds me of the old joke about the definition of chutzpah: a young man kills his parents and then throws himself on the mercy of the court as an orphan.
Posted by: xbalanke   2006-10-16 15:21  

#23  She should be put in the electric chair for 28 months.
Posted by: DarthVader   2006-10-16 15:21  

#22  "Did I miss an update or post?"

Yep. It's here.
Posted by: mcsegeek1   2006-10-16 15:20  

#21  Stewart has long maintained that she served as a messenger between Abdel Rahman and his followers because she wanted him to remain involved in Egyptian politics in preparation for the unlikely possibility that he would be transferred to Egypt and freed.

Except that wasn't her fricking job. In fact, there was a court order saying he should be incommunicado. An order she violated, admittedly on purpose.

Did she make her admission of being "emotionally involved" in open court?

If so, then file treason charges. She's already made her admission; conviction is a slam-dunk.
Posted by: Rob Crawford   2006-10-16 15:15  

#20  OMFG....


Just read the posts from mcsegeek....Ihope that post was in error. 28 months is simply wrong.
Posted by: Mark Z   2006-10-16 15:11  

#19  Zenster: what's this 28 months you refer to? Has the bitch only been sentenced to 28 months? Did I miss an update or post?
Posted by: Mark Z   2006-10-16 15:08  

#18  Sorry Ms. Stewart, but your case doesn't quit echo the precedents you've cited. For example, the death penalty, sadly, doesn't apply in your case. Nice try though.

Per the article, she's looking at upwards of 30 years. Given her age, I'd be merciful and impose between 20 - 25 years. Forthwith. COR revoked. Appeal bond denied. "Marshalls, take her into custody".

Ms. Stewart thought she was going to be the post 9-11 female version of William Kunstler. Sorry bitch, this is not Berkley circa 1969.

Posted by: Mark Z   2006-10-16 15:06  

#17  28 months is an insult to the American people. Rahman is essentially responsible for 9-11. He evolved the prototype plot for destroying the WTC Towers. Stewart's active collaboration with Rahman symbolizes the height of treason. 28 years would have been far more appropriate.

I can only presume that she has been disbarred.
Posted by: Zenster   2006-10-16 15:05  

#16  She is thoroughly ugly. Plain and simple. Treason is something real ; it hasn't been eradicated because of blathering or overlawyering.
Posted by: Duh!   2006-10-16 14:59  

#15  28 months...disgusting. Treason is treason. In wartime, it's worse. Shoulda been a helluva lot more severe.
Posted by: mcsegeek1   2006-10-16 14:52  

#14  I know Ms. Stewart, in fact I removed her nose wart several years ago.
Posted by: Dr. Raton   2006-10-16 14:43  

#13  If you had emotions, like Ms. Stewart, you'd realize how unsympathetic and frigid you sound.

Isn't being emotionless, unsympathetic and frigid a prerequesite for a RBer? Or do I get confused with the LGF lizardoids?
Posted by: anonymous5089   2006-10-16 14:42  

#12  She was sentenced to 28 MONTHS in prison.
Posted by: Threanter Thrans4955   2006-10-16 14:41  

#11  Black Hankerchief + Judge. Some assembly required.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles in Blairistan   2006-10-16 14:37  

#10  From her website...

In a case that has echoes of Haymarket, Sacco/Vanzetti, and the Rosenbergs, attorney Lynne Stewart will be sentenced on Monday October 16.

Well, there might be one difference. Like, ummmmmmm, she admits she's guilty....
Posted by: tu3031   2006-10-16 14:27  

#9  Just another communist making alliances with the head of the archetype for al qaeda. A burkha suits her.
Posted by: ed   2006-10-16 14:20  

#8  What's with the picture - is this story connected to Buddy Hackett?
Posted by: Ebboluling Wherong6393   2006-10-16 14:20  

#7  I don't care what she looks like - she's got the heart of the twisted monsters she chooses to represent. Burn her.
Posted by: .com   2006-10-16 14:19  

#6  If you had emotions, like Ms. Stewart, you'd realize how unsympathetic and frigid you sound.
Posted by: Abdominal Snowman   2006-10-16 14:17  

#5  ...if I have a tragic flaw it is that I care too much for my clients," Stewart wrote."I am soft-hearted to the point of self-abnegation.

I am also guilty as sin.
So long, bitch.
I love watching them beg...
Posted by: tu3031   2006-10-16 14:16  

#4  I hope they hammer this woman. I'm an emotional woman and I care too much is just crap! Women have come too far in our society to allow for this excuse to get by unpunished.
Posted by: 49 Pan   2006-10-16 14:05  

#3  Traitor, should be hung. Nuff said.
Posted by: Icerigger   2006-10-16 13:58  

#2  and she's fugly too ( not a typo, the 'f' is intentional). all that's missing is the nosewart.
Posted by: USN, ret.   2006-10-16 13:57  

#1  pinning their hopes for leniency on a strategy that argues she became so emotionally involved in the sheik's case

This carries all the weight of a woman who marries a death row inmate and gets caught attempting to help him break out of prison.

Anyone who becomes emotionally involved with a known terrorist is already a danger to themselves and others. Stewart's putative contrition comes so far after the fact that its display can only be interpreted as being for public consumption. She has no reasonable basis to ask for leniency, especially in light of her defiance upon being convicted.

With her legal training, Stewart has manipulated the justice system to knowingly abet terrorism and now attempts to subvert it once again as she seeks to avoid proper punishment for her crimes.
Posted by: Zenster   2006-10-16 13:53  

00:00