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Defense abruptly rests its case in Rodney King trial
LOS ANGELES — Defense at
4omeys in the Rodney King beating
trial stunned a federal court Thurs
day by abruptly resting their case,
a move one lawyer said was de
signed to unnerve prosecutors.
Attorney Harland Braun, who
had told Assistant U.S. Attorney
Steven Clymer he had 10 witnesses
waiting to testify but then called
none, said outside court: “I just
wanted to keep Clymer up till 3 in
the morning.. .they can’t deal with
surprise.”
Braun and attorney Paul De
Pasquale, who represents former
policeofficerTimothy Wind, halted
the defense by resting without call
ing any further witnesses Thursday
morning.
The attorney for Officer
Laurence Powell rested late
Wednesday.
The lawyers denied they stopped
their case because several witnesses
had backfired on them, most nota
bly a highway patrolwoman who
wept on the stand as she recalled
the brutality of King’s beating.
“We got together and we de
cided less is better,” Braun said.
Braun denounced the prosecu
tors outside court saying, “They ’re
bad people, evil people. They’re
overly anal people. They can ’ t deal
with surprise.”
“One thing I never forget when
I deal with the government is this is
a political prosecution,” he said of
racially charged case. “They in
dicted an innocent man, my client,
for strategic reasons, not based on
the evidence. I assume they are
scum and I treat them as scum."
Of Justice Department attorney
Barry Kowalski, Braun said: “He’s
just like an S.S. officer for the civil
rights division."
Only one of the four white po
licemen on trial, the sergeant who
commanded the March 3, 1991,
videotaped beating of the black
motorist, took the stand in the fed
eral trial. Other defendants said
Sgt. Stacey Koon adequately de
fended them.
“Stacey Koon speaks for every
one who’s willing to accept re
sponsibility for their actions,” said
Braun. “We salute Stacey Koon.”
He acknowledged his client,
Theodore Briseno, disagreed with
Koon’s handling of King’s arrest
and testified so at the state trial,
which ended in acquittal on most
charges. That verdict set off three
days of deadly rioting.
Clinton:
Russia’s renewal a top U.S. priority
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — In an im
passioned plea for spending scarce
tax dollars on Russian aid, President
Clinton said Thursday that America
should help “not out of charity” but as
a crucial investment in peace and
prosperity.
“The danger is clear if Russia’s
reforms turn sour, if it reverts to
authoritarianism or disintegrates into
chaos,” Clinton said.
The world cannot afford to see
Russia turn into a much-larger ver
sion of chaotic Yugoslavia “armed
with a vast arsenal of nuclear weap
ons,” Clinton said. He made his
case in a speech before a convention
of the American Society of Newspa
per Editors, meetingat the U.S. Naval
Academy.
“The success of Russia’s renewal
must be a first-order concern to our
country,” Clinton said.
Russian President Boris Yeltsin is
looking to die West for money and
technical assistance to ease Russian
misery resulting in part from belt
lightpjting economic reforms.
r The Russian leader also hopes
Clinton can boost his prestige before
an April 25 referendum on who has
ultimateauthority: Yeltsin or the Com
munist-era Congress.
The president urged Americans to
be patient with Russia’s faltering pace
of reforms and said they should not be
concerned by “every growing pain
i
Scon Maurer/DN
within democracy.” He recalled that
America’s own history was marked
by revisions of the Constitution and
even fist fights in Congress.
“You can’t be so impatient about
what’s happened in the short stretch
of time from (Mikhail) Gorbachev to
Yeltsin to the present crisis,” he said.
“Despite today’s troubles, I have
great faith that Russian reform will
continueand eventually succeed,” the
president said.
Clinton said “I speak for Ameri
cans everywhere when I say: We are
with you.”
He said that many Americans ask,
“Why in the world should we help a
distantpcople when times arc so tough
Millions of viewers will pay
10 percent less for cable TV
WASHINGTON—Millions of
Americans will pay 10 to 15 per
cent less few cable TV under a rule
adopted Thursday by regulators re
asserting their authority over an
industry criticized for skyrocket
ing prices.
The Federal Communications
Commission voted 3-0 to cut cable
rates 10 percent from their Sept.
30,' 1992, level and erase any in
creases operators imposed since
then.
The rollbacks will apply to 57
million viewers who subscribe to
more than 11,000 cable systems
licensed by communities. Locitl
authorities must apply the FCC
guidelines for basic service.
The JFCC's rate formula also
applies to so-called expanded basic
service. The FCC will take com
plaints from consumers that they
are paying unreasonable charges
for that service.
Subscribers are not likely to sec
an y reductions for si x months, FCC
officials said. Cable operators are
free to cut unreasonably high rates
now to avoid paying refunds.
The FCC also adopted new rules
that require programmers to make
their chan nels avai (able to compet
ing cable operators at similar prices.
Companies offering new services
have complained of unfairdiscounts
they say stifle competition.
Commissioner Ervin H. Duggan
said this rule would have a more
lasting benefit for consumers by
promoting competition between
cable TV and new services which
will be offered by direct satellite
broadcasters or phone companies.
Brian SheMkVDN
here at home?”
Clinton said, “We must act now,
not out of charity, but because it is a
wise investment.. .While our efforts
will entail new costs, we can reap
even larger dividends for our safety
and our prosperity if we act now.”
The president said America had
spent trillions of dollars on the Cold
War. “If Russia were to revert to
imperialism or were to plunge into
chaos, we would need to reassess all
our plans for defense savings. We
would have to restructure our de
fenses to meet a whole different set of
threat^than those we now think will
occur. That means billions of dollars
less for other uses.”
Preparing aid for Russia
On the table:
► Modernization of farms
and factories
► Creation of effective
transportation system
► Rebuilding of state industries
into private businesses
Other issues:
► Loan guarantees for housing
' Russian soldiers
► Consideration of assistance to
rebuild oil and gas facilities
► Loan guarantees for food aid
Clinton promised his aid would
not be wasted on a Russian govern
ment known for its bloated bureau
cracy and inefficiency.
He said the aid would be designed
to develop small businesses, accelcr
AP
ale ihe privatization of state enter
prises, improve food processing and
distribution, ease the transition to pri
vate markets, and repair Russia’s
leaky oil and gas production system.
senate passes rirst piece oi
economic plan in record time
WASHINGTON — The Senate
gave final approval to the first piece
of President Clinton’s economic pro
gram on Thursday, as united Demo
crats hurried a mammoth budget-cut
ting blueprint through Congress in
record time.
The five-year, $496 billion outline
for lax boosts on the rich and Penta
gon reductions cleared the Senate on
a virtual party-line 55-45 vote. On
Wednesday, representatives also di
vided by party had approved the
House-Senate compromise on a 240
184 roll call.
In Annapolis, Md., Clinton told a
group of newspaper editors, “Con
gress is acting this week to break
gridlock and to build our prosperity
By passing the heart of our economic
program.’’
Refugees tell of their hardship in Bosnia
TUZLA, Bosnia-Herzegovina —
A faintly of eight shared one blanket.
A night’s shelter cost more than 30
pounds of precious com, so most
people slept on the street or in shelled,
roofless buildings.
This has been the life of many
Muslims on the run from Serbs for up
to a year.
Thousands of refugees poured into
the eastern town of Srebrenica in re-,
cent weeks seeking food, shelter and
safety.
What they found were more freez
ing nights, during which they wanned
themselves around street bonfires and
ate horse meat to survive.
Most of the refugees came from
nearby Ccrska and Konjcvic Poljc
after the Serbs launched a blistering
attack in early March. Hemmed in by
front lines, Srebrenica was the only
town they could reach.
The town was nearly as desperate
as the refugees because it had re
ceived little aid since Dec. 10. U.N.
rcfugeeofficialssay they havecnough
food and blankets for the people
trapped in Srebrenica but cannot get
the aid past Serb lines into the town.
This week about 5,000 refugees
jammed U.N. trucks and were
evacauicd to the relative comfort and
safety of Tuzla.
Crowded into a sports hall in this
government-held town 45 miles north
of Srebrenica, they arc exhausted and
brokenhearted. Along the way, some
have lost husbands and wives, broth
ers and sisters.
“It was snowing and raining and
wc were outside,” said Safeta
Tumadzic. who trudged for days with
three children, carrying her son,
Admir, 13, his scalp shredded by shrap
nel.
Admir was wounded when two
shells ripped through the roof of his
Cerska home as the Serbs advanced.
The family fled to Konievic Polje.
When that town fell soon after,
they trudged on to the village of
Jaglice.
“But no one could treat my child,”
Mrs. Tumadzic said. “I had to go to
Srebrenica.”
Srebrenica residents “didn’t even
let us take water,” she said. “You had
to give them something and then they
gave you water.” .
-44
It is probably a quirk ol fate that we’re voting on
this budget on April Fools. The American people
are indeed being fooled.
—Domenici
New Mexico senator
--- -
Democrats were able to fight off
GOP efforts to weaken the jobs mea
sure. On a 54-45 tally, they killed a
Republican measure that would have
forced cuts in other domestic pro
grams to pay for the new job spend
ing.
As remarkable as the Democrats’
speed and unity was their resolve. The
deficit-reduction measure assumes
I-—
unpopular steps like higher taxes on
energy users and on higher-income
Social Security recipients, most of
which remained intact.
”11 is probably a quirk of fate that
we’re voting on this budget on April
Fools,” said Sen, Pete Domenici, R
N.M., ranking Republican on the Sen
ate Budget Committee. "The Ameri
can people are indeed being fooled.”
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