Omar Abdel-Rahman’s self-proclaimed “Maoist” attorney, Lynne Stewart, was “still combative” after she was convicted of “aiding terrorism,” as was reported in the Villager back in 2005. At the time, she said the prosecutors and jurors that convicted her on five counts were “paranoid.”
If Lynne Stewart inadvertently aided Abdel-Rahman, perhaps she could be charged with gross negligence. But that was not the case. Not only did Stewart know what she was doing, she supported the so-called “Blind Sheik’s” extremism for the sake of what she believes is the greater good of ultimately destroying capitalism.
Stewart was granted “compassionate release,” as a physician said she had eighteen months to live. Stewart was diagnosed with cancer in 2005, before her sentencing.
Considering that Stewart and her allies have been relentlessly fighting the conviction, the diagnosis is suspicious. Is this really a nod to the radical left by the Justice Department? Or worse, is it a “dry run” to gauge public opinion on the issue, foreshadowing the “compassionate release” of the Blind Sheik? It truly pains this author to make such speculations, but this Administration has repeatedly proven itself to be motivated by politics.
Lynne Stewart, who once said that she would defend Osama bin Laden given the opportunity, defended herself to the Villager after the verdict by saying that she is not Islamic, and has a “fairly strong aversion to most religions.” Her dodge was not impressive.
In David Horowitz’s book, “Unholy Alliance: Radical Islam and the American Left,” Horowitz quoted Stewart as referring to Islamic fundamentalists as “forces of national liberation.” It is as if she stepped right outside of the Occupy Wall Street movement. And indeed, Stewart is aligned with the Socialist National Lawyers Guild, who provided pro-bono work to the many, many leftist radicals who were arrested on any number of crimes during the failed OWS movement.
In 2002, the New York Times recalled a 1995 interview with Stewart,
“While she was defending Mr. Abdel Rahman, Ms. Stewart suggested that violence and revolution were sometimes necessary to right the economic and racial wrongs of America’s capitalist system. ”I don’t believe in anarchistic violence but in directed violence,” she said. ”That would be violence directed at the institutions which perpetuate capitalism, racism and sexism, and at the people who are the appointed guardians of those institutions, and accompanied by popular support.” [emphasis added]
Stewart conveyed messages “from her imprisoned terrorist client Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman to an Islamic network in Egypt.”
The New York Times reported that the Blind Sheik was sentenced to life in prison for
“plotting a series of bombings and assassinations that prosecutors said was intended to force the United States to end its support for the Governments of Israel and Egypt.”
Why is it that the mainstream media has been silent over Obama’s support of the Egyptian revolution, while ignoring the revolution in Iran?
As noted at Powerline,
“Since 1992, the annual average number of prisoners who received compassionate release has been less than two dozen.”
The Obama Administration reportedly considered the “compassionate release” of the Blind Sheik, as reported at the Washington Times. This author cannot help but wonder, is the “compassionate release” of Lynne Stewart a way to gauge public opinion over such an action?
Lynne Stewart has never taken responsibility or shown remorse for her crimes.
A must-watch segment at Fox News.
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Renee is also a guest blogger for the Shire Blog.
