Andy Dick to stand trial on W.Va. sex abuse counts (AP)

By HARRY R. WEBER, Associated Press Harry R. Weber, Associated Press – Sat Jul 30, 2:11 am ET

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A West Virginia judge ordered actor-comedian Andy Dick on Friday to stand trial on felony sexual abuse charges stemming from a nightclub incident last year.

Cabell County Circuit Judge Paul Farrell set trial for Jan. 17 and ordered the entertainer to submit to a urine test. The judge said the test was standard to determine if defendants are positive for drugs, but he also told Dick, "I suspect you may be." Farrell told Dick he would be jailed if he returned to court for a pre-trial hearing in September under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

"I understand. I've been sober," the blond-haired, bespectacled actor, wearing a dark suit and black tie, told the judge.

Prosecutor Sean Hammers said he had no objection to Dick remaining free on bail.

Dick, 45, was not asked to enter a plea. He quickly left the courtroom after the brief hearing and got into an elevator with attorney Marc Williams without speaking to reporters, who peppered Dick with questions.

The comedian is accused of grabbing a bouncer's crotch and groping and kissing a male patron earlier at a Huntington bar in January 2010. He was in town for a performance at the Funny Bone Comedy Club.

Dick has been in trouble with the law several times before.

He's been arrested in California on drug and battery charges, to which he pleaded guilty in 2008, and on charges of being drunk and disorderly in a restaurant in May of this year. A Texas man sued Dick earlier this year, claiming the comedian exposed his genitals at a Dallas performance.

Dick had a long-running stint in the 1990s on NBC's "NewsRadio." He briefly had his own program, "The Andy Dick Show," on MTV. He also has had roles in several movies, including "Dude, Where's My Car?" and "Old School."

___

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Strauss-Kahn free from house arrest; charges stand (AP)

By JENNIFER PELTZ and TOM HAYS, Associated Press Jennifer Peltz And Tom Hays, Associated Press – 47 mins ago

NEW YORK – Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn walked out of court without bail Friday, freed from house arrest, after prosecutors acknowledged serious questions about the credibility of the hotel housekeeper who accused him of sexual assault.

The charges, which include attempted rape, were not dropped, but the easing of his bail conditions signaled that prosecutors do not believe the accusations are as ironclad as they once seemed.

"It is a great relief," said Strauss-Kahn's attorney, William Taylor. "It is so important in this country that people, especially the media, refrain from judgment until the facts are all in."

After his arrest, Strauss-Kahn, 62, resigned from his post leading the International Monetary Fund and watched his presidential ambitions in France seemingly crumble. He had been confined for weeks to a luxury New York City loft on $6 million in cash and bond.

The 32-year-old hotel maid accused Strauss-Kahn of chasing her through his luxury suite in May, trying to pull down her pantyhose and forcing her to perform oral sex. Authorities have said they have forensic evidence of a sexual encounter, but defense lawyers have said it wasn't forced.

The stark turn in the case came after the woman admitted to prosecutors she had made up a story of being gang-raped and beaten in her homeland of Guinea to enhance her application for political asylum, prosecutors said in a letter to defense lawyers.

She also misrepresented what she did after the alleged attack — instead of fleeing to a hallway and waiting for a supervisor, she went to clean another room and then returned to clean Strauss-Kahn's suite before telling her supervisor that she had been attacked, prosecutors said.

She also misrepresented her income and claimed someone else's child as her own dependent on tax returns, they said.

The details speak to the maid's credibility and whether her story would stand up under oath in a prosecution that would rely heavily on her testimony.

The woman's attorney, Ken Thompson, fired back outside court, saying the district attorney's office was backing away from the case because it was too scared to prosecute it. He said she would come out in public to tell her story but didn't specify when.

Thompson said the woman went to the district attorney with information that her asylum application was flawed, but that she exaggerated on it because she was scared she would be sent back to Guinea. He said she came to the U.S. because she was a victim of female genital mutilation, and she worried her daughter, now 15, would be victimized as well. He also said she had been raped by soldiers there, but that attack did not occur as it was written in her asylum application.

Thompson said that Strauss-Kahn bruised the woman's genitals, tore a ligament in her shoulder and ripped her stockings, and that she fought to get away.

Investigators have said they found traces of his semen on her uniform.

"From day one she has described a violent sexual assault that Dominique Strauss-Kahn committed against her," Thompson said. "She has described that sexual assault many times, to prosecutors and to me, and she has never once changed a single thing about that encounter."

Thompson also said that news reports saying his client was involved with a drug dealer were lies.

The New York Times, quoting unidentified law enforcement official, reported that the woman was recorded on the phone with an incarcerated man around the day she made the allegations, discussing whether to press her case in court.

The newspaper said the man had been arrested on marijuana possession charges and had deposited cash in the woman's bank account.

"It is clear that this woman made some mistakes, but that doesn't mean she's not a rape victim," Thompson said.

Strauss-Kahn arrived at the courthouse Friday morning in a Lexus SUV and strode confidently up the granite steps with his wife, French journalist Anne Sinclair, at his side.

After the hearing, he slowly walked out the building with his arm on her shoulder, smiling at the throng gathered outside.

He was not given back his passport, and he will not yet be allowed to leave the country. His other attorney, Benjamin Brafman, said Strauss-Kahn would be free to travel within the U.S.

Prosecutors offered few details inside court on the turn in the case. Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi-Orbon said a further investigation caused them to reassess it.

"At the time this case came to the district attorney's office, we were faced with a credible claim of a serious sexual assault," she said, noting the accuser had promptly reported the alleged attack and had a "solid work history."

State Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus, in releasing Strauss-Kahn, said there would be no rush to judgment either way.

Illuzzi-Orbon said, "Although it is clear that the strength of the case has been affected by the substantial credibility issues regarding the complainant, we are not moving to dismiss the case at this time."

If the case collapses, it could once again shake up the race for the French presidency. Strauss-Kahn, a prominent Socialist, had been seen as a leading potential challenger to conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy in next year's elections — until the New York allegations embarrassed his party and led to his resignation from the IMF.

"Those who know Dominique Strauss-Kahn will not be surprised by this evolution of events," one of his French lawyers, Leon Lef Forster, told The Associated Press in Paris. "What he was accused of has no relation to his personality. It was something that was not credible."

New doubts about Strauss-Kahn's accuser would also revive speculation of a conspiracy against Strauss-Kahn aimed at torpedoing his presidential chances. Within days of his arrest, a poll suggested that a majority of French think Strauss-Kahn, who long had a reputation as a womanizer and was nicknamed "the great seducer," was the victim of a plot.

Strauss-Kahn was held without bail for nearly a week after his May arrest. His lawyers ultimately persuaded a judge to release him by agreeing to extensive — and expensive — conditions, including an ankle monitor, surveillance cameras and armed guards. He was allowed to leave only for court, weekly religious services and visits to doctors and his lawyers.

The security measures were estimated to cost him $200,000 a month, on top of the $50,000-a-month rent on the townhouse in the city's TriBeCa neighborhood.

Under New York law, judges base bail decisions on such factors as the defendant's character, financial resources and criminal record, as well as the strength of the case — all intended to help gauge how likely the person is to flee if released.

Strauss-Kahn is slated to return to court July 18.

___

Online:

Prosecutors' letter: http://www.courts.state.ny.us/press/index.shtml

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Judge orders ex-ESPN commentator to stand trial (AP)

LOS ANGELES – Former ESPN commentator Jay Mariotti must stand trial on charges he stalked, injured and assaulted his ex-girlfriend, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark Windham found there to be sufficient evidence for Mariotti to stand to trial on one felony count each of stalking, corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant and assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury. He also faces two misdemeanor counts of disobeying a domestic court order.

Prosecutors say Mariotti confronted the woman at a restaurant Sept. 30, the same day he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor battery count stemming from an August incident with her.

In that plea, he was sentenced to 36 months of probation, community service and a domestic violence course.

Mariotti, a former Chicago Sun-Times columnist, is also accused of grabbing his former girlfriend outside a Venice restaurant on April 15. He allegedly pulled a chunk of her hair out and took her cell phone from her while shouting at her.

Mariotti's lawyer, Shawn Holley, called the allegations meritless.

"We look forward to trial when we will have the opportunity to present a strong and vigorous defense," Holley said in a statement.

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Parents back on the stand in Casey Anthony trial (AP)

ORLANDO, Fla. – Casey Anthony's father has broken down crying while describing his emotions when he learned that granddaughter Caylee's remains had been found in a wooded area near his Orlando home.

George Anthony testified again Wednesday in the murder trial of his daughter. Court was adjourned so the former police officer could compose himself.

His wife also returned to the witness stand earlier Wednesday.

The defense attorneys have continued their strategy of painting the Anthony family as dysfunctional.

Casey Anthony has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in Caylee's death and could face the death penalty if convicted of that charge.

The prosecution contends she used duct tape to suffocate the toddler. The defense says the girl drowned in her grandparents' swimming pool.

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Judge rules Casey Anthony competent to stand trial (Reuters)

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) – Week six of the Casey Anthony murder trial opened with talk of a psychic, a Velveeta cheese wrapper and the revelation an emergency mental evaluation of the young Florida mother was behind the abrupt cancellation of Saturday's court session.

Judge Belvin Perry ruled on Monday that 25-year-old Casey was competent to assist in her defense based on evaluations over the weekend by three court-appointed psychologists.

In his emergency motion for the mental health checks, defense attorney Jose Baez wrote that he based the request on unspecified "confidential communications" with Casey.

Perry sealed the psychologists' reports and ordered the trial to resume.

Prosecutors say Casey smothered her 2-year-old daughter Caylee with duct tape on June 16, 2008, drove around with the child's body in her car trunk for several days and dumped the remains in woods near their Orlando area home.

Evidence showed Casey spent the following month happily partying with her boyfriend.

Baez contends Caylee accidentally drowned in the Anthonys' backyard pool, and that Casey's inappropriate reaction stemmed from a history of sexual abuse.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Perry has yet to rule on a motion filed by the defense team on Monday asking the judge to declare a mistrial and start over with a jury that was not selected based on its willingness to impose the death penalty.

Defense attorney Ann Finnell argued that a federal court in Miami recently declared the state's death penalty unconstitutional on technical grounds. The ruling does not invalidate the statute.

Finnell said Casey's defense team challenged Florida's death penalty before the trial began on the same grounds cited by the federal court, but Perry denied the motion. Finnell is asking Perry to reconsider.

BODY VAPORS

Baez on Monday called a biochemist to the witness stand to rebut key prosecution evidence that chemical vapors from Casey's car trunk could be the result of Caylee's body decomposing there for several days.

Kenneth Furton, a professor at Florida International University, testified that the science behind the chemical analysis is not yet fully developed or reliable.

Both Furton and the prosecution witness said this was the first time either had provided evidence in court on the science of chemical vapors given off by a decomposing body.

Furton testified that scientists around the world disagree on whether it is possible to identify human remains from chemical signatures.

"There is no instrumental method that's been scientifically validated" to identify a human body from chemical compounds, Furton said.

During cross examination, Furton agreed that a decomposing human body could cause the chemical signatures found in Casey's car trunk, but insisted garbage also was a possibility.

Prosecutor Jeff Ashton pressed Furton to identify anything else found in the trunk that could give off the same vapors and overpowering odor described by numerous witnesses.

Ashton held up the contents of a trash bag found in the trunk, including an empty salami package. He gave the jury an empty Velveeta cheese foil wrapper to pass around and make their own judgments.

The food containers "would be unlikely to produce a substantial odor," Furton conceded.

The defense spent more than three hours questioning two witnesses who followed a psychic's instructions to look for Caylee in the woods where her remains ultimately were found on December 11, 2008.

Jurors saw a videotape of private investigator Dominic Casey walking around in the woods in November 2008 while talking on a cell phone to the psychic. Both he and a helper, James Hoover, testified they did not find a body.

Perry extended the court session on Monday until after 7 p.m., almost two and a half hours later than normal. Even after losing more than five hours of court time due to the quick end of Saturday's session, Perry indicated he still expects the defense to wrap up its case by Wednesday.

If the projection sticks, the judge hopes to give the case to the jury by Saturday morning at the latest to begin deliberations.

(Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Jerry Norton)

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On the stand, Rod Blagojevich offers a few barbs and a lot of bluster (The Christian Science Monitor)

Chicago – They only had a single hour at the end of the day Thursday, but federal prosecutors got the opportunity they’ve been waiting for: a chance to finally interrogate former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich before a jury of his peers.

Mr. Blagojevich is in the throes of a second federal trial in which he is convicted of 17 charges related to allegations that he participated in a pay-to-play scheme for President Obamaa€™s former US Senate seat. A mistrial on all charges except one a€“ Blagojevich was convicted last summer of lying to the FBI a€“ resulted in this bookend trial in which, unlike the first, the former governor is taking a stand.

In his five days of recently concluded testimony conducted by his defense lawyers, Blagojevich was repeatedly reprimanded by US District Judge James Zagel for filibustering in his response to questions, a habit that is considered part of his strategy. On Thursday, for example, Blagojevich testified that he considered appointing himself to the Senate seat so he could hunt down Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.

RECOMMENDED: Six revelations about former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich

The more Blagojevich wanders off point and the more his outlandish statements and jokey asides keep multiplying, the easier it will become to show that the alleged scheming heard on wiretap recordings had no intentional merit, the thinking goes.

In his defense testimony, Blagojevich outlined what he said was his true intent for Mr. Obama’s Senate seat: that it would go to Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, the daughter of Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, Blagojevich’s chief political nemesis. According to Blagojevich, he wanted to award Ms. Madigan the seat so her father would support his legislative agenda that was deemed unpopular at the time. He added that although he considered up to 34 people for the post, he was just about to make the decision before the day of his arrest.

The prosecution opened in the late afternoon following nearly a full day of testimony conducted by the defense. Assistant US Attorney Reid Schar addressed Blagojevich by asking him, “You are a convicted liar, right? It’s fair to say, within hours of being convicted, you went and lied again.”

Mr. Schar was referring to statements Blagojevich made to the media last summer the day of his conviction. Blagojevich had suggested that the conviction of lying was flawed because the FBI did not record his interview. What Blagojevich neglected to tell reporters, Schar said, was that the FBI offered to record the interview.

Blagojevich retorted: “I don’t recall recording devices or anything like that in that interview."

The brief back-and-forth between both men was heated and often sarcastic. Schar’s questions did not follow a chronology, instead they appeared to be thrown at Blagojevich to create an imbalance in his answers. He quoted the former governor’s book and tried to show contradictions with previous testimony.

Blagojevich often made attempts to interject, which contributed to an interchange that was chaotic and infused with drama. In response to some questions that involved the wiretap recordings, he asked to see a transcript to verify his statements.

Early in the testimony, Schar quoted a recording in which Blagojevich is heard saying he would make a decision on the seat based on what was good for Illinois citizens a€?and good for me.a€

“Your oath, sir, doesn’t say you can make a decision based on what’s good for you, does it?” Schar asked.

The prosecution picks up its case Monday following a three-day break this weekend. With the jury exited from the room, Judge Zagel asked Schar how long he expected his cross-examination to continue.

Based on the previous hour, Schar said, he expects it will go on until “the leaves will start turning.”

RECOMMENDED: Six revelations about former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich

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Top gov. witness in terror trial returns to stand (AP)

By SOPHIA TAREEN and EILEEN SULLIVAN, Associated Press Sophia Tareen And Eileen Sullivan, Associated Press – 57 mins ago

CHICAGO – The federal government's star witness was expected to reveal more potentially damaging details on Tuesday about the alleged close ties between Pakistan's main intelligence agency and the militant group blamed for the deadly 2008 Mumbai attacks.

David Coleman Headley returned to witnesses stand in the terrorism trail of a Chicago businessman accused of collaborating in the three-day siege of India's largest city — a day after gave a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba and described how he was recruited by a member of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency, known as ISI, to take part in the Mumbai plot.

As the government's first and main witness in the trial of his longtime friend Tahawwur Rana, Headley's testimony outlining links between the ISI and Lashkar could inflame tensions between Pakistan and India and place even more pressure on the already frayed U.S. and Pakistani relations.

It also could add to the questions about Pakistan's commitment to catch terrorists and the ISI's connections to Pakistan-based terror groups, especially after Osama bin Laden was found hiding out earlier this month in a military garrison town outside of Islamabad.

Headley already pleaded guilty to laying the groundwork for the Mumbai attacks that killed more than 160 people including six Americans, and he agreed to testify against Rana to avoid the death penalty, making him one of the most valuable U.S. government counterterrorism witnesses.

"Headley's testimony is a nail in the coffin of U.S.-Pakistani strategic cooperation," said Bruce Riedel, a former White House adviser on Middle Eastern and South Asian issues. "Until now his commentary has gotten very little attention outside India, now it will finally get the attention it deserves here."

The Pakistani government has denied the ISI orchestrated the Mumbai attacks, and a senior ISI official said Tuesday that the agency has no links to the terrorists behind the rampage. When asked about the testimony being heard in Chicago, the officer said "it is nothing." The official spoke on condition of anonymity because his agency doesn't allow its operatives to be named in the media.

On Monday, Headley, a Pakistani-American, spent hours detailing the formulation of the attacks and Rana's alleged help in providing cover for his surveillance activities in India.

Speaking so softly at times that attorneys had to remind him to speak louder, Headley said he has been involved with Lashkar-e-Taiba for more than a decade, but he wasn't working with someone in the ISI until years later after he was arrested by tribal police near Afghanistan. It was then he said he met a major in the ISI and told him what he and Lashkar were planning.

This ISI major, Headley said, was "very pleased" with what he heard and asked if Headley would work with one of his ISI associates. Headley agreed and said he was released from custody. Headley soon received a call from a man he referred to during his testimony as "Major Iqbal," which the U.S. government says is an alias. Headley said he then met Iqbal in a safe house in Lahore, Pakistan and described his plans with Lashkar and his assignment to take videos of Mumbai in preparation of an operation.

Headley said ISI provided financial and military assistance to Lashkar, and he assumed they worked under the same umbrella. He said Iqbal and his Lashkar handler, Sajid Mir, were in communication, but he would meet with them separately in Pakistan. Headley said when he would take videos of sights in Mumbai, he would first share them with Iqbal and then with Mir.

"All these things I discussed with Major Iqbal, I went over it with Sajid again," Headley told jurors.

Before moving to Mumbai in late 2006, Headley said he first came to Chicago, met with Rana and explained the plot in hopes of persuading Rana to let him open a branch of his immigration services business as a cover. With Rana's help, Headley said he set up an immigration consulting business in Mumbai and secured work visas to travel in and out of India..

Rana, a Canadian citizen who has lived in Chicago for years, has pleaded not guilty in the case. His name is the seventh one on the federal indictment, and the only defendant in custody. Among the six others charged in absentia are Mir and Iqbal.

Rana is also accused of helping arrange travel and other help for Headley, who planned a separate attack that never happened on a Danish newspaper, which printed cartoons of Prophet Muhammad that angered Muslim.

Headley and Rana, both 50, met as classmates at a prestigious military boarding school in Pakistan and have stayed in touch. Defense attorneys told jurors their client was taken advantage of by his friend and did not know what was in store. But Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker said Rana was not duped and knew of the plans, both in Mumbai and Denmark.

Defense attorneys were expected scrutinize Headley's credibility as a witness, saying he has been motivated to change his story and that he was working for the U.S. government even as he said he was working for Lashkar and ISI.

Headley, born Daood Gilani in the U.S., has also been an informant for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration after a drug conviction.

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