Nightline Daily Email: 6/6

ByABC News
June 6, 2001, 3:29 PM

W A S H I N G T O N, June 6 -- Today is one of those days. We had prepared a broadcast tonight about the Democrats' first day taking control of the U.S. Senate. But to the surprise of many court watchers, Judge Richard Match, the judge in the Oklahoma City bombing trial, issued a ruling directly from the bench an hour ago denying Timothy McVeigh a stay of execution. So we have an embarrassment of riches: two breaking, interesting stories. By tonight we will have decided which story to do - or perhaps we will try to do both. But at this moment, the decision is unclear and you will have to watch tonight to find out.

Here is why the decision is a difficult one:

After a one hour hearing, Judge Richard Matsch refused to further delay Timothy McVeigh's execution, slated for this Monday. He rejected the defense claims that the recently turned over FBI documents bear further scrutiny. He said that those documents do not change the fact that McVeigh is guilty. However, Judge Matsch told the lawyers during today's hearing that he found it "shocking" that these documents were withheld by the government until last month. With only five more days until the scheduled execution, McVeigh's attorneys said moments ago in a press conference on the court house steps, that they plan to appeal Matsch's decision to the 10th circuit court of appeals. If denied there, this case could go to the Supreme Court in the coming days.

On the other hand, today marks a significant shift of power in the U.S. Senate. While it may seem at first glance like a game of political musical chairs, there are several implications that may affect you and the issues you care about. Certainly, it is a whole new ballgame for President Bush and his agenda. Correspondent Chris Bury spent the morning on Capitol Hill talking to three Democratic Senators, newly installed in influential committee chairmanships. President Bush's judicial appointments, for one, are not expected to sail through the Senate approval process with the same speed. Other important issues, both political and substantive, including how the energy crisis will be handled, will now face much more bi-partisan wrangling than they would have last month before Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont switched his party affiliation.