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CNN Live At Daybreak
Coffey Talk: Martha Stewart Trial
Aired January 29, 2004 - 06:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: In New York, testimony in the Martha Stewart trial gets back under way today after a snowstorm delay. The prosecution's star witness is set to take the stand. And that must mean it's time for some 'Coffey Talk.'
Kendall Coffey, our legal analyst, live in Miami this morning.
Good morning.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So Douglas Faneuil is -- supposedly will take the stand today. Remind us again who he is and why his testimony is so important.
COFFEY: He is, as you said, their key witness for many of the issues. He was the assistant to stockbroker Peter Bacanovic. And the reason he is so important is he is the one that allegedly had the conversations with Martha Stewart on the key day of the trading in which he gave her inside information. She, of course, has denied that repeatedly, and said that the reason that she sold the stock was there was a preexisting order to sell the ImClone stock when it got down as low as $60.
COSTELLO: Well you know this is a little confusing because he is going to talk about alleged insider trading, but Martha Stewart isn't charged with that.
COFFEY: Well she's not charged with insider trading itself. What the government is again relying on essentially is obstruction. It's the old thing, Carol, it's not so much for what you did, but it's for what you fibbed afterwards.
COSTELLO: Yes, but will the jury get that?
COFFEY: I think they are going to understand it. I think lying as a crime is pretty well understood. And the other thing the government is emphasizing in the securities fraud charge, very unusual charge, is that she had not $50,000 worth of insider trading motive to lying, but she was trying to protect her own stock holdings in Martha Living Omnimedia. And there she had $400,000 at least at risk. That's $400,000 worth of reasons to lie and a much stronger case for motive for the prosecution.
COSTELLO: Interesting. So what does the defense do with Mr. Faneuil? How do they destroy his credibility? COFFEY: Well they are going to try to turn him into shredded wheat, and they are going to begin with the fact that he is an admitted liar. The version that he is going to be telling the jury today or tomorrow is completely different from what he told federal authorities at the beginning of the investigator.
And the other big issue, Carol, is he got what amounts to, for federal purposes, a sweetheart deal. He is facing a misdemeanor instead of the five-year felony counts being faced by his former boss and his former client.
COSTELLO: We'll be following it. Kendall Coffey, live from Miami, thank you.
COFFEY: Thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 29, 2004 - 06:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: In New York, testimony in the Martha Stewart trial gets back under way today after a snowstorm delay. The prosecution's star witness is set to take the stand. And that must mean it's time for some 'Coffey Talk.'
Kendall Coffey, our legal analyst, live in Miami this morning.
Good morning.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So Douglas Faneuil is -- supposedly will take the stand today. Remind us again who he is and why his testimony is so important.
COFFEY: He is, as you said, their key witness for many of the issues. He was the assistant to stockbroker Peter Bacanovic. And the reason he is so important is he is the one that allegedly had the conversations with Martha Stewart on the key day of the trading in which he gave her inside information. She, of course, has denied that repeatedly, and said that the reason that she sold the stock was there was a preexisting order to sell the ImClone stock when it got down as low as $60.
COSTELLO: Well you know this is a little confusing because he is going to talk about alleged insider trading, but Martha Stewart isn't charged with that.
COFFEY: Well she's not charged with insider trading itself. What the government is again relying on essentially is obstruction. It's the old thing, Carol, it's not so much for what you did, but it's for what you fibbed afterwards.
COSTELLO: Yes, but will the jury get that?
COFFEY: I think they are going to understand it. I think lying as a crime is pretty well understood. And the other thing the government is emphasizing in the securities fraud charge, very unusual charge, is that she had not $50,000 worth of insider trading motive to lying, but she was trying to protect her own stock holdings in Martha Living Omnimedia. And there she had $400,000 at least at risk. That's $400,000 worth of reasons to lie and a much stronger case for motive for the prosecution.
COSTELLO: Interesting. So what does the defense do with Mr. Faneuil? How do they destroy his credibility? COFFEY: Well they are going to try to turn him into shredded wheat, and they are going to begin with the fact that he is an admitted liar. The version that he is going to be telling the jury today or tomorrow is completely different from what he told federal authorities at the beginning of the investigator.
And the other big issue, Carol, is he got what amounts to, for federal purposes, a sweetheart deal. He is facing a misdemeanor instead of the five-year felony counts being faced by his former boss and his former client.
COSTELLO: We'll be following it. Kendall Coffey, live from Miami, thank you.
COFFEY: Thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
