-Caveat Lector-
Johnston hearing rescheduled again; plea deal said to be in works
By TOMMY WITHERSPOON
Waco Tribune-Herald staff writer
A pretrial hearing in the obstruction of justice case against
former federal prosecutor Bill Johnston has been rescheduled for
the second time as the parties continue to iron out a plea
agreement, sources said.
Johnston, a former U.S. attorney from Waco, had been set for a
pretrial hearing on Wednesday in U.S. Magistrate Mary Ann
Medler's court in St. Louis. That hearing has been canceled, and
the next court setting in Johnston's case is Feb. 6 before U.S.
District Judge Charles Shaw, said Jan Diltz, a spokeswoman for
John Danforth's Office of Special Counsel.
Johnston was the lone person indicted in Danforth's 14-month, $17
million investigation into government actions on the final day of
the 1993 standoff at David Koresh's compound known as Mount
Carmel.
Danforth's special grand jury, meeting in St. Louis, indicted
Johnston in November on two counts of obstructing Danforth's
investigation and on three counts of lying to Danforth's
investigators and to the grand jury.
A trial date has been set for April 2 in St. Louis.
Johnston and Diltz declined comment Monday on reports that the
pretrial hearings set for Jan. 16 and reset for Wednesday were
canceled because of ongoing plea negotiations that reportedly
will result in a felony conviction for Johnston but no prison
time.
"There is just nothing I can really say at this point," Diltz
said.
Johnston's attorney, Michael Kennedy, did not return phone
messages to his office on Monday.
Kennedy has filed motions asking that the charges against
Johnston be dismissed for a number of reasons, including
allegations that the special counsel is holding Johnston to a
higher standard of conduct than others who have lied or were not
cooperative with the investigation.
Johnston, who helped prosecute 11 Branch Davidians on murder
charges in 1994, has acknowledged that he "temporarily misled"
the grand jury about his knowledge of the FBI's use of tear-gas
cannisters that were capable of starting a fire.
Johnston also is charged with withholding his handwritten notes
that indicated that he had discussed the use of the pyrotechnic
devices before the Branch Davidian criminal trial. Johnston
falsely testified before the grand jury that he had turned over
all his notes involving the Branch Davidian case, the indictment
against him alleges.
Before that, he also had been ordered by a federal judge in Waco
and a congressional subpoena to turn over all of his materials in
the case.
The pretrial hearings had been set in Medler's magistrate court,
and she was to have considered Johnston's motions and made a
recommendation to Shaw, who was to have made final rulings in the
case. The Feb. 6 hearing, however, is set in Shaw's federal
district court, another possible indication that the parties are
close to finalizing a plea bargain, said the sources, who spoke
on condition of anonymity.
=================================================================
Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF:
*Michael Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
=================================================================
<A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A>
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic
screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are
sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis-
directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with
major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought.
That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and
always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no
credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html
<A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of
[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A>
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
<A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A>
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
