The Real Crimes of Martha Stewart

The Wall Street Journal ^ | Friday, January 23, 2004 | MEGHAN COX GURDON

[presidio9]

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, we are here today in the Court of Public Opinion to hear of heinous crimes committed by Martha Stewart, the Dictator of Domesticity. I ask you to set aside any old-fashioned prejudices you may have in favor of self-improvement, and forget any qualms you have about blaming a complete stranger for your own feelings of inferiority.

[anniegetyourgun]

And here I thought her worst crime was the way she doesn't do her hair!

[antaresequity]

The sad thing is that many Americans will read this and believe it.

I had two friends over the other night insisting that she was charged with insider trading....

Facts are so damned inconvenient and messy...plus they take a whole 5 minutes to discover on the internet.

[presidio9]

I am not a fan of Ms. Stewart or her politics, but this trial is an orchestrated witch-hunt.

[antaresequity]

I am a fan of Martha, and this trial is an absolute witch hunt.

[San Jacinto]

Ladies and Gentlemen, Martha Stewart's towering crime is that....

she sucked up to the clintoons. ( and robbed "less informed" shareholders, of course.) Give the greedy b*tch life for all I care.

[LenS]

And how would you describe getting information on a Federal drug disapproval from the head of the company and/or his wife before the public release of the info? A normal trading opportunity? Ms. Stewart was a stockbroker. She knows the rules and she willingly broke them. She then tried to play the victim. It's pathetic and she deserves a long jail sentence with her buddy, Waksal. But then she clearly thinks that she's above the law -- and why not, she hangs with all the "best" people.

[presidio9]

she sucked up to the clintoons. ( and robbed "less informed" shareholders, of course.) Give the greedy b*tch life for all I care.

Sounds to me like you have no idea what she is charged with.

[San Jacinto]

this trial is an absolute witch hunt.

Guess what----

They found one.

[antaresequity]

Ms. Stewart was a stockbroker. She knows the rules and she willingly broke them.

You don't have a clue as to what she is charged with do you? I will give you a hint...she isn't charged with insider trading.

Facts are such a pain in the ass, but I insist you go get some if you wish to continue this conversation.

[AbsoluteJustice]

I usually agree with everything you say but not in this instance. IMO she did have insider trading knowledge and dumped it before it tanked. Plain and simple. She knows it, her stock trader knew it, this iswhy he is going to testify, and Waskel knew it. All for a simple 200,000$ if my figures are correct.

This is greed. It is also a crime. This is no witch-hunt. She broke the law and now has to pay the piper, to include stock share holders.

[San Jacinto]

Sounds to me like you have no idea what she is charged with.

I have not looked up the charges because I don't care what she is charged with or what they do or do not do to her. (although I know enough to know the premise of this absurd article is a bunch of cr@p).

Whatever she is charged with, if she got a tip from the CEO and unloaded her stock based on that tip before it nosedived, she is a crook-- and a very greedy one at that.

[tom h]

The author is absolutely right on. Liberals on the coasts loathe her (especially feminists) because she is traditional.

One of them once spitted at Martha, as she was walking from car to hotel one day, that she was nothing but a rich, pampered WASP. Finally goaded to anger, Martha retorted, "If you knew anything you would know that I am Polish and was anything but rich as a child."

Kinda changes your perspective when you realize that she is self-made and had humble origins -- even those of us (like my wife) who are already her fans.

[AbsoluteJustice]

She is being charged with securities fraud and obstruction of justice. So tell me would she not be charged for securities fraud if she did not participate in insider trading?

[livius]

Her politics stink, but actually, I like many of the other things she's done. And her line of cookware and home furnishings at KMart is of excellent quality and a very good value.

It's definitely a witch hunt by ideologically-motivated anti-business prosecutors who wanted a high profile case.

It's incredible that, among other things, the woman was also charged with stock manipulation simply for declaring that she was not guilty of the other charges. People are all hysterical about the Patriot Act, but here is a genuine violation of rights, and it's totally ignored because Martha Stewart happens to be the victim.

Even though her politics do stink...

[AbsoluteJustice]

"Kinda changes your perspective when you realize that she is self-made and had humble origins"

I could care less if she were living in a 1 BR shack in lower Louisiana. If she broke the law she broke the law and she deserves to serve time.

[Tribune7]

bump

[antaresequity]

She is being charged with securities fraud

No she is not...and this is the point I am trying to make. The fact is there isn't enough evidence to support the charge.

She is being charged with: False Statements, Obsctuction of Justice, Securites Fraud (relating to her comments and the price of her own stock, not ImClone) and Conspiracy

The state (SEC) had nothing in regards to the initial investigation, the charges stem out of her willingness, or lack thereof in cooperating with investigators.

I bet she is aquitted.

[familyop]

Martha Stewart is a man hating witch. A few fiscal (but not moral) conservatives got a taste of what they've been handing to their employees who are men. Now they want to depose her. So what?

The vote this year will be the anti-feminist (anti-socialist, pro-family--all the same thing) vote this year. Beg for that vote, or run for cover from Hitlery, her chicks and her homos. They will be after the less moral conservatives this time, because dads are already done in (although we do have the vote).

[antaresequity]

I mean the original securites fraud/insider trading...