for those who missed it , or ignored it: A federal judge said he would disregard a prosecutor's suggestion that an Egyptian-born financial analyst charged in a nationwide stock swindle may have known about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and tried to profit from them
I said it earlier and I'll say it again: I am no fan of those who may be guilty of fraud in the stock market research/trading industry. At this point, I have no way of knowing whether A. is innocent or guilty of the charges, though I would repeat: If A. is to be indicted on such serious criminal charges, then where are the charges against Wall Street investment banks, who have been accused by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer of similar practices, i.e. extorting publicly traded companies through the threat of withholding of positive, or issuance of negative, research reports?
As concerns the prosecutor's not mere "suggestion," but in fact bold assertion that A. had prior knowledge of the 9/11 atrocities, and that he used this to trade to his financial benefit, I can only say this: I hope and expect that the prosecutor, who is a government official and member of the bar, did not make this grave accusation lightly, or without clear proof which can be proven in a court of law. The media have now widely reported this accusation. If the prosecutor cannot prove this most serious charge, then he has breached the code of ethics of the bar, and should be immediately disbarred, and removed from this case. As for A., if this charge is false, I would hope that either he can still afford, or will come forward out of integrity on his behalf, a reputable attorney of standing to vigorously defend against this charge, and to punish those responsible for levying such a charge without cause. Coincidence is not proof to any legal standard.
All of this, IF the charge of foreknowledge proves baseless. I would add that I for one find it strange that the prosecutor, in making such a serious allegation, has not made public any evidence proving this link, aside from the fact that A. was born in Cairo, and that his brother seeks to defend the Palestinian cause. |
