Or a fantastic appeals attorneySpeaking on ABC’s “This Week” with George Stephanaopoulos, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton confessed that, unlike the rest of the world’s populace, she had not in fact been waiting breathlessly for the verdict in the Amanda Knox trial. The former UW student’s year-long trial wrapped up on Friday as an Italian judge sentenced her and former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito to 26 years for the murder of her British roomate. “I honestly haven’t had time to even examine that,” said Clinton. “I’ve been immersed in what we’re doing in Afghanistan.” And for that she deserves a thank-you. There are some, however, who believe Knox’s trial warrants some official looking-into by Clinton’s office, namely, Maria Cantwell, the junior senator from the state of Washington.In a statement released following Knox’s sentencing, Senator Maria Cantwell expressed serious concern that the jury’s verdict is tainted, largely because of anti-American sentiment, and because of the peculiarities of the Italian judicial system that allowed jurors access to the European press’ notoriously understated reportage.

But what, if anything can the federal government do to intervene on Knox’s behalf? According to the U.S. Department of State, not much.”We can’t get directly involved in the appeals process,” says Fred Lash, a spokesperson for the department. And if there is any existing precedent for the the federal government intervening in the legal proceedings of a foreign country on behalf of a citizen, Lash is currently unaware of one. But let’s say the proposed summit between Clinton and Cantwell does take place. The Secretary could come away persuaded that Knox got a raw deal. Hypothetically, she could then convince the Obama administration to put diplomatic pressure on the Italian government, much like her husband did on the government of Singapore in 1994 after American teenager Michael Fay confessed to vandalism and was sentenced to a lashing across the buttocks with a bamboo cane for his trouble. The Clinton administration later begged for clemency on Fay’s behalf, but Singapore proceeded anyway. And it’s worth noting here that Fay’s situation involved neither orgies or murder.Still, Lash says that Secretary Clinton and Senator Cantwell are currently in talks for a meet. Knox, meanwhile, could remain in an Italian prison for up to two years before the appeals process is finally resolved, reports the Seattle Times.