------------------------------------------------------
The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC
------------------------------------------------------
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>
