Media Roundup: Earth of the Salt

There are only three stories on the Conrad Black trial posted overnight. One summarizes what's happened so far, another discusses the current status of the Conrad Black home away from home [and the third spells out what Richard Burt is expected to add to the prosecution's case]:

1. From Mary Wisniewski of the Chicago Sun-Times, a quick recapping of all the evidence shown up to now. She compares the trial to a jigsaw puzzle, with the prosecution entering "pieces" into evidence as well as fitting them with others already introduced, and the defense attempting to show that the prosecution is jamming misfit pieces into places of its liking.

2. A profile of the Black house, at 1930 S. Ocean Blvd, in the Palm Beach Daily News, with the notification that it has been withdrawn from sale. "Two people who have spoken with him recently say that's because he expects to be acquitted and return to the estate." Both are quoted in the rest of the story.

3. Romina Maurino details that the prosecution has to prove some sort of intent to mislead, and that Richard Burt, expected on the stand tomorrow after Marilyn Stitt is done with, is expected to provide ear-witness testimony that Peter Atkinson confessed to misleading the board. Mr. Burt has had brain surgery, and the expectation is that the defense will use it to show that he misremembered, as Mr. Atkinson denies ever saying it. (This report has been webbed by 570 News.)

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Mark Steyn's latest on the trial is uncharacteristically quiet for him. Its theme is that he and a couple of other Black defenders have, with respect to the press, turned out to be the vanguard. One of the reasons for this change of heart, as he notes, is the impression that Conrad Black has been underrated as a CEO, specifically with regard to his dealmaking skills. This underrating brings up the suspicion that he's been hauled into the docket largely as a result of malice. (Mr. Steyn is careful to note that these points are irrelevant to the trial process itself.)