Ugh!
Please, go away.
Lanny Davis
ANALYSIS/OPINION:
Just the headline of this piece alone, I'll bet, shocks a number of people.
Most people assume, or have concluded, that Sen. Ted Stevens is guilty. After all, didn't a D.C. grand jury indict Mr. Stevens on seven felony counts? Haven't the U.S. government and its federal prosecutors concluded that Mr. Stevens failed to disclose taking more than $250,000 worth of gifts on his Senate financial-disclosure forms?
Of course the media hype and Page One, above-the-fold headlines about these charges lead to the public impression that Sen. Stevens must be guilty of ... well ... something.
But just suppose all these media stories began with the following paragraph:
"Sen. Ted Stevens, who must be presumed to be an innocent man until he is proven guilty by the U.S. government beyond a reasonable doubt, today was indicted on charges of filing false statements in Senate financial-disclosure forms. As is normal, the grand jury voted the indictment based on one-sided evidence presented by prosecutors, without Sen. Stevens or his attorneys having an opportunity to be present, to cross-examine witnesses, or to present contrary evidence that could have created a reasonable doubt regarding his guilt."
Memo to Lanny: Remember O.J., Robert Blake, Michael Jackson, Martha Stewart, Phil Specter, and so on? These people were tried and convicted in the media before there was ever a trial.
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