As part of the scheme to distribute shares in unregistered offerings, the defendants and others in theinstantcase ensured that the majority of shares without restrictive legends were controlled by the group.
Prosecutors used instant "chat" messages and emails to make thecase for jurors that in the summer of 2011 Ms. Lee and Ms. Hou had been discussing ways of committing campaign fraud.
Leonsis says he is certain the phrase came out of AOL in the early 1990s, where he and company founder Steve Case were developing what would become AOL Instant Messenger.
"Just as the military cannot hire people off the street to become instant majors and lieutenant colonels, it takes years for the CIA to recruit, train and deploy experienced case officers, " he wrote.