The Indictment, And The Evidentiary Proffer: First Iteration

I have gone through both the indictment and the evidentiary proffer. It's linked to on this page, with the link to the indictment itself carrying the title "Superseding Information." I'm not a lawyer; I'm not even an American. So, I have to confine myself to impressions that I picked up while reading them.

What's apparent, in terms of the drafting, is that the U.S. attorney's office has a culture of thoroughness. One single wiring of funds, from Conrad Black's CIBC account in Toronto to Hollinger Int'l's Bank One account in Chicago, is described as "interstate commerce" in Count Twelve, and as "interstate and foreign commerce" in both count 13 and Count 15, Racketeering Act Seven. ("Superseding Information," pp. 54, 55, 67.) Yes, indeed, they were thorough. In the evidentiary proffer, page 27, the drafter(s) were thorough enough to include the standard accounting term "unusual items." [Example of its use here.] Also included was a statement from Conrad Black, made to a reporter on August 28, 2003. As transcribed in the report: "We have paid non-competition fees countless times in acquisitions we have made in the United States and elsewhere and have always paid them to individuals."

Quote thorough of the prosecution team. I cannot comment further on what's in there, as I would be venturing beyond my range of knowledge. The only law I know is a smattering of Canadian law, picked up from a high-school course on it and from what I've soaked up through an entire life spent almost always in Canada.