Sirhan Sirhan, who has been incarcerated since 1968 for assassinating Robert F. Kennedy, is seeking immediate release or a new trial. The request for a new trial is based on "formidable evidence" asserting his innocence and "horrendous violations" of his rights.

It's really a fascinating story. His lawyers claim (1) there were 2 guns fired, not just Sirhan's, and Sirhan's probably didn't kill Kennedy, (2) there was fraud at the trial when the court allowed prosecutors to introduce a substitute bullet as evidence of the actual bullet removed from Kennedy's neck, and (3) Sirhan was hyno-programmed as a diversionary tactic and thus an involuntary participant:

Sirhan "was an involuntary participant in the crimes being committed because he was subjected to sophisticated hypno programming and memory implantation techniques which rendered him unable to consciously control his thoughts and actions at the time the crimes were being committed," court papers said.

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Update: Sofitel responds, via The Daily Beast. It says the video celebration lasted only 8 seconds and might have been about sports. It says the guest in 2820 checked out at 11:36 am and Diallo cleaned the room shortly thereafter.

Investigative journalist Edward Epstein provides new details in the case of Dominique Strauss-Kahn and the Sofitel hotel maid in the New York Review of Books. Epstein says he had access to the hotel's electronic key swipe records and time-stamped hotel security camera videotapes. He also reviewed cell phone records for a phone used on May 14 by Accor security employee John Sheehan. Accor owns the Sofitel.

The Guardian details Epstein's findings if you don't want to take the time to read his entire report.

The Superior Court of Lima has set Joran Van der Sloot's trial on charges relating to the death of Stephany Flores for January 6.

The Court rejected the Flores family's request to increase the charges. He will be tried only on charges of qualified murder and simple robbery, carrying a maximum penalty of 30 years.

If convicted and sentenced to 30 years, he is expected to serve about 10 years. He's served 18 months to date. [More...]

A judge in Bali has sentenced the 14 year old Bali Boy caught purchasing $25 of marijuana to two months in prison. With the 7 weeks he has already served since October, he can return to Australia on Dec. 4. (Background here.)

He will not go to notorious Kerobokan prison, but stay in the "immigration facility" he's been held at since his transfer there from the police jail.

...the judge gave the boy's legal team a week to decide whether or not to appeal. That cut-off comes, conveniently, next Friday. The lawyers will wait until the last moment and then inform the court they will not appeal.

The youth will then have two days left to serve in prison but, because it will be the weekend, he won't be moved from the immigration centre where he has stayed with his parents for more than a month. It is understood prosecutors will not appeal the verdict and the boy will fly home next Sunday.

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Is anyone surprised that the feds bowed out of yesterday's New York terror arrest due to concerns about the role of the informant and entrapment? The New York Times has the details. As I wrote last night,

Who wants to read about an informant-induced, non-operational terror plot in NYC that never was going to get off the ground when you can watch Homeland? It's much more compelling and about as real as the chances of a "lone wolf" pulling off a terror attack under the watchful, ever-present eye of the NYPD.

The Times reveals there were 400 hours of recordings between the suspect Jose Pimentel and the informant. They smoked marijuana together, and some of Pimentel's incriminating statements were made while high. Pimental had no money -- it sounds like the informant paid for the bomb parts and provided the pot. [More...]

Former FBI Director Louis Freeh will lead the independent sexual abuse investigation into Penn State.

At a news conference, Freeh stressed it is not a criminal investigation. If they uncover what they believe to be criminal acts, they will notify authorities and let them deal with it.

Freeh said the investigation might extend back to 1975, two years before Jerry Sandusky started Second Mile.

Freeh was chosen because of his background in child sex abuse cases and his lack of connection to Penn State and Pennsylvania.

Update: LA Sheriff says Robert Wagner is not a suspect.

Who didn't love Natalie Wood? What an icon.

The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department will hold a press conference today to announce they are re-opening the investigation into Natalie Wood's drowning death 30 years ago. The decision is reportedly based on new recollections by the skipper of the boat, Dennis Davern, on the 30th anniversary of her death.

L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca told The Times that homicide detectives want to talk to the captain based on comments he had made recounting the case on its 30th anniversary. Baca did not detail what the captain said regarding the case.....A law enforcement source added that the department had recently received a letter from an unidentified "third party" who said that the captain had "new recollections" about the case.

There's plenty of criticism over the strategy of allowing Jerry Sandusky to be interviewed by Bob Costas last night. Legal observers almost universally have declared it a flop. Apparently, the interview was scheduled just with Sandusky's attorney, but his attorney decided 15 minutes before it began to make his client available.

Today, Sandusky's lawyer was on the Today show. He put forth this reasoning: [More..]

A second e-mail sent by coach Mike McQueary has surfaced in the Allentown Morning Call. In this Nov. 8 e-mail, McQueary says he did stop the alleged attack on a young boy by Jerry Sandusky, and that he discussed the matter with police.

"I did stop it, not physically, but made sure it was stopped when I left that locker room."

....[I] did have discussions with police and with the official at the university in charge of police.

Neither the Penn State police nor the Pennsylvania State Police have responded to requests for information from the paper about the e-mail.

I wonder how many careers will be ruined before this case is over.

Jerry Sandusky was interviewed on the telephone by Bob Costas of NBC News. He says he's not a pedophile and he's innocent of criminal conduct. Asked if there is anything he did wrong, he said:

"I shouldn't have showered with those kids."

Did Costas catch him off-guard or was it a planned interview? The interview will air tonight on NBC's Rock Center, at 10 pm ET. This is the same show the Chelsea Clinton has been hired on. It's a new show hosted by Brian Williams that began airing around two weeks ago.

This was inevitable. Former graduate assistant, now assistant coach Mike McGeary has been placed on administrative leave. He will be paid during the leave term.

Some are asking why he wasn't fired outright, given that he didn't stop the assault or call police. Neither the school nor the police are saying.

Via CBS:

Asked if McQueary would be fired, [Penn State's new president, Rod] Erickson said "there are complexities to that issue that I am not prepared to go into at this point." Asked about the status of athletic director Tim Curley, Erickson said, "That's an ongoing topic of discussion. We'll return to that next week."

[More..]

I don't follow college sports. I never heard of Joe Paterno or Jerry Sandusky before last night, and I didn't click through the myriad of headlines to see who they are until this morning. Now, having read the grand jury report and several articles and opinion pieces, here's what I see.

An 84 year old coach with an unblemished record, who devoted his life to coaching a football team, has been abruptly fired because in 2002, a graduate student told him about witnessing what he perceived to be a former assistant coach's sexual assault on a young boy in a school shower. The assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky, retired in 1999, but retained many school privileges as part of his severance package.

Paterno timely reported the allegation to his superiors. They handled the allegation internally and didn't take it to the police. Sandusky was told he could no longer bring minors on campus. The graduate student, Mike McQueary, also told his father about what he observed, but not the police. Nor did he intervene to stop the perceived assault. He's now a coach for the team. [More..]