Verdict in Martha Stewart trial: Guilty on all four counts
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Martha Stewart leaves court after hearing the verdict on Friday.
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From Wolf Blitzer Reports' Brian Todd in Washington:
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Martha Stewart has convinced the right people of her marketability. But in the end, her lawyers could not convince eight women and four men that she didn't lie to investigators.
"This is a resounding triumph for the Department of Justice," says legal analyst Kendall Coffey.
Inside the courtroom, a lead prosecutor was in tears. Martha Stewart was emotionless, stone-faced, as the verdict was read -- guilty of conspiracy; guilty on two counts of making false statements; and guilty of obstruction of justice.
The charges are all related to her sale of stock more than two years ago, in a company called ImClone, just before its value tanked.
"It's a rout. It's a total rout," says CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin of the four-count conviction.
It's also a rout against Stewart's ex-broker, Peter Bacanovic, who was convicted on four of five similar charges.
But the media storm is over the so-called domestic diva. Everyone is probing for some kind of personal reaction.
They get it on Stewart's web site:
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"Dear friends: I am obviously distressed by the jury's verdict but I continue to take comfort in knowing that I have done nothing wrong and that I have the enduring support of my family and friends. I will appeal the verdict and continue to fight to clear my name."
The maximum possible sentence for Stewart is 20 years and one million dollars in fines.
Experts say she almost certainly won't serve all that, but may go to prison.
At a press conference outside the courthouse Friday, U.S. Attorney David Kelley said, "I think the word out now to everybody in corporate America is, beware. You won't get away with this kind of dishonesty."
Stewart, always convinced she could beat the rap, never testified but went on a PR offensive outside the courtroom.
"Having done nothing wrong allows you to sleep ... It allows you to continue your work, gives you the opportunity to think about other things," Stewart said on CNN's "Larry King Live" in December.
Now, as the one-time billionaire prepares for her fate, one legal expert who knows Stewart says "the level of rage" inside her must be extraordinary right now.
