Comey LYNCHED ACTIVIST LAWYER for BUSHCO

Cross posted from G.D.. Watch out, Occupy, when this guy runs the F.B.I..








Last edited Fri May 31, 2013, 02:08 PM USA/ET - Edit history (3)

Her name is Lynne Stewart (not Martha Stewart!). A lifetime of defending those no one else wanted to defend. Now in her 70's and dying of breast cancer in a federal prison.

In Stewart's own words:

"
LYNNE STEWART: I represented Sheikh Omar at trial—that was in 1995—along with Ramsey Clark and Abdeen Jabara. I was lead trial counsel. He was convicted in September of ’95, sentenced to a life prison plus a hundred years, or some sort—one of the usual outlandish sentences. We continued, all three of us, to visit him while he was in jail—he was a political client; that means that he is targeted by the government—and because it is so important to prisoners to be able to have access to their lawyers.


Sometime in 1998, I think maybe it was, they imposed severe restrictions on him. That is, his ability to communicate with the outside world, to have interviews, to be able to even call his family, was limited by something called special administrative measures. The lawyers were asked to sign on for these special administrative measures and warned that if these measures were not adhered to, they could indeed lose contact with their client—in other words, be removed from his case.


In 2000, I visited the sheikh, and he asked me to make a press release. This press release had to do with the current status of an organization that at that point was basically defunct, the Gama’a al-Islamiyya. And I agreed to do that. In May of—maybe it was later than that. Sometime in 2000, I made the press release.


Interestingly enough, we found out later that the Clinton administration, under Janet Reno, had the option to prosecute me, and they declined to do so, based on the notion that without lawyers like me or the late Bill Kunstler or many that I could name, the cause of justice is not well served. They need the gadflies.


So, at any rate, they made me sign onto the agreement again not to do this. They did not stop me from representing him. I continued to represent him.


And it was only after 9/11, in April of 2002, that John Ashcroft came to New York, announced the indictment of me, my paralegal and the interpreter for the case, on grounds of materially aiding a terrorist organization. One of the footnotes to the case, of course, is that Ashcroft also appeared on nationwide television with Letterman that night ballyhooing the great work of Bush’s Justice Department in indicting."


http://www.democracynow.org/2013/5/14/jailed_civil_rights_attorney_lynne_stewart

"Darkness in America: Lynne Stewart’s Resentencing
July 23rd, 2010
Darkness in America: Lynne Stewart’s Resentencing: Gets 10 years imprisonment for doing her job honorably, ethically.
by Stephen Lendman
Friday, 16 July 2010

Describing Lynne Stewart, one of this writer’s previous articles said the following:

“She worked selfishly, tirelessly, and heroically for 30 years as a human rights champion, defending America’s poor, underprivileged, and unwanted – people never afforded due process and judicial fairness without an advocate like her. She knew the risks, yet took them courageously until bogusly indicted on April 9, 2002 for:

* “conspiring to defraud the United States;
* conspiring to provide and conceal material support to terrorist activity;
* providing and concealing material support to terrorist activity; and
* two counts of making false statements.”

A brief timeline was as follows:

* indicted on April 9, 2002;
* on February 10, 2005, convicted on all counts;
* on October, 17, 2006, sentenced to 28 months;
* on November 17, 2009, a US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit three-judge panel upheld the conviction, shamelessly accusing Lynne of “knowingly and willfully making false statements,” redirecting her case to District Court Judge John Koeltl for resentencing, instructing him to consider enhancements for terrorism, perjury, and abuse of her position as a lawyer – an outrageous mandate intimidating Koeltl to comply;
* on November 19, 2009, Stewart jailed at MCC-NY, 150 Park Row, New York, NY; and
* on July 15, 2010, Stewart resentenced to 10 years imprisonment for doing her job honorably, ethically, and admirably with distinction for 30 years.

New York Times writer John Eligon headlined, “Sentence Is Sharply Increased for Lawyer Convicted of Aiding Terror,” saying:

After her sentence, a “collective gasp went up from (her) supporters, who packed the broad, high-ceilinged courtroom….followed by a few shrieks and sobs; some held their hands over their mouths.”"


http://lynnestewart.org/2010/07/23/darkness-in-america-lynne-stewarts-resentencing/

So, a Judge ruled the new terror laws unconstitutionally vague and the most serious charges against Stewart were dropped. What was Comeys role?

"The judge's ruling yesterday left intact charges that Stewart and two others conspired to defraud the United States and that Stewart made false statements.

But the dismissal of the first two counts of a five-count indictment was a major blow to prosecutors. The case had been personally announced in April 2002 by Attorney General John Ashcroft.

U.S. Attorney James B. Comey was unwilling to concede defeat, saying in a statement that he still believes the law prohibiting material support for terrorism is constitutional and that an appeal is possible."

http://www.refuseandresist.org/article-print.php?aid=983

"On November 19, 2009, Stewart surrendered to U.S. Marshals in New York City to begin serving a 28-month sentence as prisoner #53504-054. In January 2010, the full Second Circuit bench, in a split decision, declined to reconsider its panel's affirmance and resentencing directive. On July 15, 2010, Stewart was re-sentenced by Judge Koeltl to 10 years in prison, taking into consideration what he concluded were false statements she made under oath at her trial and other factors as directed by the appellate court."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynne_Stewart#Legal_career


So, we are supposed to believe this guy won't use the power of the F.B.I. to go after activists?

Comey does have some who vigorously defend him.

Rush Limbaugh - "RUSH: Let's start off here with the wrist-slap that Lynne Stewart got yesterday from a Clinton appointed federal judge. It's not just the judge in this case, though, who needs to be examined. Lynne Stewart represented the blind sheik, Omar Abdel Rahman. She violated canons of legal ethics. As part of his sentence, he is not allowed to communicate with any of his terrorist buddies. She, his lawyer, did it for him. She could have received up to 30 years in jail, but she gets 28 months. She's going to appeal that. She'll remain out, I think, on appeal, and depending on which judge and court she gets on the appeal, she could have the whole thing stricken.
It was a very interesting case presented by her defense. (paraphrased) "Hey, she's helped the poor! I mean, you gotta examine this woman's life in toto. She helped the poor, and she's had breast cancer, and she's overweight, and that means that she's more prone to producing more estrogen. That means the breast cancer could come back, and it's harder to detect breast cancer in overweight women," and the judge said, (paraphrased) "Yeah, you know what, I kind of like those arguments," and decided on 28 months. The lesson there is that if you do good works earlier in your life and end up before a Clinton appointed federal judge and you are a Democrat, the good works early in your life will mitigate crimes that you commit later on in life."



Even on D.U., it seems most people have forgotten the horror show that was the bush administration. Someone posted about Lynnes situation, and no one seems to remember this...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/101661482

So a lot of people think Comey is a real civil libertarian. I say anyone who thinks as a progressive should be appalled by this nomination.