American Values and War on Terror Clash Again: Lynne Stewart Sentenced for Terrorism "Material Support" Conviction
Attorney Lynne Stewart, who was convicted in February 2005 for giving material support to terrorists, was sentenced yesterday to 28 months in prison, far less than the 30 year sentence her prosecutors recommended. Stewart was the court appointed defense attorney for Egyptian cleric Sheikh Omar Abd Al Rahman. The cleric was convicted in 1995 for his part in a conspiracy to attack U.S. targets, including the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center, his prosecutors argued.
Stewart's troubles began after she read a statement authored by the Sheikh related to the Egyptian Islamic Group, a State Deparment designated terrorist group, to a Cairo-based Reuter's reporter. Stewart's release of the remarks into public space were construed as the illegal act of assisting in communications to a terrorist group by then Attorney General John Ashcroft.
Stewart, who has had a long career as a civil rights lawyer, maintained a vibrant, vocal protest throughout her trial and following her conviction that she was acting according to the legal tenet requiring lawyers to act "zealously" in the defense of their clients. In the weeks leading to her sentencing, however, she spoke somewhat differently, including in a letter to the Manhattan Federal District Court in which she acknowledged that she overstepped legal boundaries. She continued to make clear, however, that her goal was zealous defense, not the support of either terrorists or their values.
Zealous advocate of America's best-loved values: the defense of even repugnant speech, and the presumption of innocence before demonstrated guilt? Or traitor, only the latest in a long line of socialist radical types standing at the ready to befriending America's worst enemies? Either way, Stewart's trial reveals one tendency that every American can take pride in, a classic tendency to turn every event into a litmus test of America itself—whether we'd rather love it or leave it.
American values and the war on terror clash in other events in the last week, as About.com News / Issues Guides report:
U.S. Government Guide, Robert Longley, reports on the accusations against alleged Al Qaeda supporter, Adam Gadahn. Gadahn holds the distinction of being the first American to be charged with treason since the World War II era.
Liberal Politics Guide Deborah White puzzles over apparent plans to keep U.S. troops in Iraq through 2010 despite public animosity to the war.
Nevertheless, the government still has the resources to keep track of its detractors, according to Civil Liberties Guide Tom Head. He explores documents suggesting widespread Pentagon monitoring of antiwar activists.