A federal judge is letting convicted terror lawyer Lynne Stewart jet across the country as part of her campaign to argue that she was unjustly prosecuted and to rally her supporters to raise funds for an appeal. Trial Judge John Koeltl approved Stewart's request to travel to the Left Coast, where she has arranged to speak at nine events in the San Francisco Bay area and participate in at least six radio and TV interviews, starting today.A jury convicted Stewart Feb. 10 of fraud, providing material support to terrorism, and filing false statements while she represented blind Egyptian terror cleric Omar Abdel-Rahman, the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Her sentencing has been pushed back to September. Stewart faces up to 30 years in prison.
Initially, Koeltl restricted felon Stewart's travel to only New York state - but, concluding she is not a flight risk, he has since OK'd her requests to go to Florida, California and Boston. In his order, Koeltl did not object to Stewart speaking at events, and said the government could require her to contact authorities during her trips to confirm her whereabouts.
Stewart is scheduled to speak at nine engagements in the Bay area - including three rallies. The highlights include a Sunday gathering protesting the imprisonment of convicted cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal. Stewart's defense committee publicized her California "tour" on her Web site. She declined further comment. Manhattan U.S. Attorney David Kelley's office, which prosecuted Stewart, also declined comment. But Stewart's critics blasted Koeltl's decision permitting a convicted terrorism-enabler to travel extensively before her sentencing. "During World War II, we didn't allow Hitler or supporters of Hitler to speak on our campuses," said state Conservative Party leader Mike Long. But the Peninsula Peace and Justice Center of California, which is sponsoring an event for Stewart, said "those who face terrorism-related charges will now be entitled only to a legal defense rooted in fear."