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Hardball airs tonight at 7 p ET, 11 p ET & 4 am ET and out west at 4 pm PT, 8 pm PT & 1 am PT Stewart jury returns guilty verdict on all counts...Former stockbrocker guilty on most counts http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4429271/ Text of statement issued by Martha Stewart following guilty verdict: Dear Friends: I am obviously distressed by the jury's verdict but I continue to take comfort in knowing that I have the confidence and enduring support of my family and friends. I will appeal the verdict and continue to fight to clear my name. I believe in the fairness of the judicial system and remain confident that I will ultimately prevail. I can't tell you how much I appreciate all the words of encouragement I have received from thousands of supporters. It is your continued support that will keep me going until I am completely exonerated. Sincerely, Martha Stewart Complete Indictment http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/mstewart/usmspb10504sind.html Clearly we're going hard on the Martha verdict but we'll hit from the bigger picture, political, "what's it all mean?" kinda angle...This ain't Court TV as you know and Chris ain't Dan Abrams, but we'll talk to Dan who'll break it down for us plus NBC reporter Anne Thompson who was in the courtroom when the Martha verdict went down.... Also, Former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt and Martha Biographer Christopher Byron... And get this, more insight and analysis from Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell... Dominic Bellone wrote, compiled and edited The Briefing from Washington, DC Here's a convenient AP timeline for Martha's case A timeline of events in the Martha Stewart stock trading scandal: --Oct. 31, 2001: ImClone Systems asks the government to review Erbitux, its new cancer drug. --Dec. 26, 2001: ImClone founder Sam Waksal is tipped that the government will deny the company's Erbitux application, then tips his daughter to sell her ImClone stock and tries to sell his own. --Dec. 27, 2001: Stewart sells all 3,928 shares of her ImClone stock. The government later contends she was tipped that Waksal was trying to sell his shares. --Dec. 28, 2001: The FDA makes its decision public. On Dec. 31, the first trading day after the news, ImClone drops 18 percent. --Jan. 7, 2002: Stewart's broker, Peter Bacanovic, tells Securities and Exchange Commission attorneys that he and Stewart had agreed on Dec. 20, 2001, to sell ImClone if it fell below $60. --Feb. 4, 2002: Stewart tells the SEC, federal prosecutors and the FBI the same story. --June 12, 2002: Waksal is arrested and charged with insider trading. Stewart issues a statement repeating her assertion that she had a $60 stop-loss order. --June 18, 2002: Stewart insists she is "fully" cooperating with authorities. --Oct. 2, 2002: Former Merrill Lynch & Co. assistant Douglas Faneuil pleads guilty to taking a payoff to keep quiet about the Stewart stock trade. --Oct. 15, 2002: Waksal admits tipping his daughter to sell ImClone ahead of the government decision and trying to sell his own shares. --June 4, 2003: Stewart and Bacanovic are indicted. Stewart resigns as chairwoman and CEO of her company but remains chief creative officer and a board member. --June 5, 2003: Stewart unveils a personal Web site in which she proclaims her innocence and insists she will fight to clear her name. --June 10, 2003: Waksal is sentenced to more than seven years in prison. --Nov. 7, 2003: Stewart tells ABC she is scared of prison but "I don't think I will be going to prison." --Jan. 6, 2004: Potential jurors fill out a questionnaire that reportedly asks whether they have visited Stewart's Web site or cooked with her recipes. --Jan. 26: Jury of eight women and four men is selected. --Jan. 27: Prosecutor claims in opening statements that Stewart sold ImClone stock based on a "secret tip," then lied to cover it up. Stewart's attorney compares case with the Big Brother novel "1984." --Feb. 3-4: Faneuil testifies that Bacanovic ordered him to tell Stewart that Waksal was selling stock. Faneuil claims Bacanovic pressured him to cover it up. --Feb. 10: Stewart assistant Ann Armstrong testifies Stewart personally altered log of a message Bacanovic left on day she sold ImClone. But Armstrong says Stewart ordered the message changed back. --Feb. 19: Forensic expert testifies ink Bacanovic used on worksheet of Stewart's portfolio to make an "(at)60" notation next to ImClone is different from other ink on the document. Stewart friend Mariana Pasternak says Stewart told her days after ImClone sale that she knew about Waksal selling and says Stewart added: "Isn't it nice to have brokers who tell you those things?" --Feb. 20: Under cross-examination, Pasternak backtracks on "Isn't it nice" remark, saying it could have been something she herself thought. Government rests its case. --Feb. 23: Heidi DeLuca, a Stewart business manager, says she has a memory of Bacanovic discussing plans to sell Stewart's ImClone shares at $60. --Feb. 25: Stewart lawyers call just one witness -- a lawyer whose notes raise question about what questions Stewart was asked in interviews with the government. Government plays tape of Bacanovic saying he never discussed $60 plan with DeLuca. --Feb. 27: U.S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum throws out securities fraud count against Stewart. --March 3: Jury begins its deliberations. --March 5: Stewart is convicted on all charges; Bacanovic is found guilty on charges including conspiracy, obstruction and perjury. (Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APTV-03-05-04 1513EST Stops planned so far on John Kerry's 20-city fund-raising tour, aimed at raising $15 million to $20 million: March 29-30: San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento April 7: Washington, D.C. April 8: Chicago April 13: Providence, R.I., and Boston April 14: New York City April 15: New Jersey, city to be determined April 16: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia April 19: Atlanta April 20: Miami April 21: New Orleans April 22: Houston Events also planned in St. Louis, Detroit, Cleveland and Cincinnati; dates to be announced. -Associated Press Kerry circumspect on VP selection after 2000 snub...During the summer of 2000, Senator John F. Kerry shipped off cartons of speeches and personal financial information to Al Gore, then the Democratic presidential nominee. Kerry, one of Gore's potential choices for vice president, also sat for interviews with a group of campaign attorneys, led by Charles F. C. Ruff, who had defended President Clinton during his 1999 impeachment trial. (The Boston Globe) http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/articles/2004/03/05/kerry_circumspect_on_vp_selection_after_2000_snub/ Jobs growth remains weak...America's unemployment rate remained stuck at 5.6 percent in February as the economy added a paltry 21,000 position. The figures dramatized the relative scarcity of new jobs in a week in which President Bush shoved his re-election campaign into high gear. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4456505/ "When he says he's going to hire two more, that's really good news," Bush said. "A lot of people are feeling confident and optimistic about our future so they can say, 'I'm going to hire two more.' They can sit here and tell the president in front of all the cameras, 'I'm going to hire two more people.' That's confidence!" (The Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31587-2004Mar4.html John Kerry and President Bush are starting the general election campaign tied, according to an Associated Press poll, while independent Ralph Nader is drawing enough support to make Democrats squirm. (AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040305/D8146TG80.html GOP aides blamed in snooping...Report: Thousands of files were accessed (The Wasington Post) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4452278/ Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, on a Southern campaign swing to tout his jobs agenda, criticized the Bush administration's efforts to put people to work after figures released Friday showed no movement in the unemployment rate of 5.6 percent. (AP) http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/politics/8107972.htm Fineman: Why 2004 election will defy history...Patterns of past wouldn't allow Bush or Kerry to win Into the Fray...Now that the Democrats have their nominee, George W. Bush can hold back no more. But while the president will try to define John Kerry as a tax-raising liberal, and the senator will categorize Bush as a heartless and reckless braggart, both men really need to define themselves (Newsweek) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4440879/ Bush camp tries to outflank Kerry in Louisiana...Campaign machines girding for battle (New Orleans Times Picayune) http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1078480744327410.xml Iraq constitution to be signed...Five Shiite members of Iraq's Governing Council on Friday refused to sign the new interim constitution, complaining about concessions made to Kurds and the makeup of the presidency, a representative of one of the parties said. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4448093/ Ashcroft in intensive care...Attorney General John Ashcroft was hospitalized Friday with what his spokesman said had been diagnosed as a severe case of gallstone pancreatitis. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4456560/ The "Sex and the City" girls are done, and now Sunday night belongs, again, to the boys. Specifically Tony Soprano and his lovable crew down at the Bada-Bing, right? Maybe. Maybe not. (The Washington Times) http://washingtontimes.com/entertainment/20040303-111934-4910r.htm Opinion/Editorial Candidates battle it out with music...Popular music has been used by candidates for generations as a way to bond with the electorate and inspire the beleaguered campaign worker. Songs at rallies in the 2004 Democratic campaign are no exception. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4366491/ BW: Kerry's veepstakes strategy...He has the Presidential nomination locked up. Now John Kerry faces his next big task: picking a running mate. Potential Vice-Presidents have been quietly auditioning for months: Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack has boosted his profile in Washington, while New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson got plenty of TV time during his state's primary. Then there's John Edwards, whose surprise rise to become Kerry's chief challenger makes him a strong contender for the No. 2 slot. Still, for all the jockeying, at this point, potential Veeps can't do much to improve their chances. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4448218/ Shapiro: Ads tame compared with what's probably coming http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20040305/5981666s.htm Doonesbury http://www.ucomics.com/doonesbury/ ========================================= This email is never sent unsolicited. You have received The Hardball Briefing Newsletter because you subscribed to it or, someone forwarded it to you. To remove yourself from the list (or to add yourself to the list if this message was forwarded to you) simply go to http://www.msnbc.com/tools/newstools/e/emailextra.asp?nfeature=19 <http://www.msnbc.com/tools/newstools/e/emailextra.asp?nfeature=19>