"Oh, My God! Get Martha on the Phone."

Legal experts agreed the week had not gone well for Stewart. Greg Markel, chair of the litigation department at the New York City — based law firm Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, says revealing the email backfired, and Apfel may have created a chasm between the two defense camps. "It seems to me it was never a particularly strong point for Bacanovic," says Markel. "And for Martha, it played completely differently. She just looks like an ogre."

Faneuil's apparent credibility as a witness may leave the defense no choice but to let Stewart take the stand to try to refute his testimony. Stewart's lawyers would rather she didn't, as she can be a polarizing figure. It's the ultimate gamble, and if she loses it, she could join her friend Waksal, who is imprisoned for securities fraud. In an ironic twist, Waksal's company, ImClone, the source of their troubles, has rebounded. Encouraging research on its colon-cancer drug Erbitux has sent the stock price back up to about $41, after it plunged to as little as $6 in the fall of 2002. This week, as federal prosecutors try to bottle up Stewart, another federal agency, the FDA, could release Erbitux for the public benefit.