Martha Stewart: 'I Am Innocent'

Nov. 7 -- In a male-dominated business world Martha Stewart became a self-made corporate titan by being the most intimidating homemaker on Earth, but her empire has taken a tumble because the U.S. government is calling her a criminal and a liar.

Stewart, 62, will stand trial in January 2004, on charges of conspiracy, securities fraud, obstruction of justice, and making false statements. If convicted of all charges, she could face a maximum of 30 years in prison.

Stewart's legal troubles began in December 2001 when Sam Waksal, the founder of ImClone, a biotechnology company, learned that the government was about to reject the application of ImClone's promising cancer drug. Before that information became public, Waksal tried to unload millions of dollars worth of his own shares and tipped off some of his family to sell too. Those illegal stock sales set in motion an insider-trading scandal that enveloped Stewart.

Stewart's case grabbed headlines as Americans saw a parade of business executives fired, fined or jailed for financial misdeeds costing their stockholders billions of dollars. Stewart bristles at the thought of being viewed as a corporate criminal, and having her business lumped in with such companies as Enron and WorldCom. "I certainly don't belong in that category," she tells Walters in an interview airing Friday on ABCNEWS' 20/20.

The day she was indicted, she stepped down as chairman and CEO of her company. She says she felt it was the right thing to do for the business. "We're a public company," she said, "there are very strict rules of corporate governance that have to be adhered to. That I stepped down voluntarily from the position of CEO was the right thing to do at that time."

Ink-Free Fingerprinting — It's a Good Thing

A week after she was indicted in June 2003 Stewart appeared at FBI headquarters in New York, where she had her mugshot taken and was fingerprinted. It was a humiliating experience for a woman Time magazine once named one of America's 25 most influential people.