David Radler On The Stand, Cont'd

BNN had an interview with Amanda Lang, which aired at 5:50 PM ET. She reported that there were “riveting elements” as he testified, but there were moments of tedium too. The prosecution elicited testimony on Mr. Black and Mr. Radler's early years; they spent one full hour on the events of 1969. The prosecutors are trying to prove that the two were always in cahoots, which would knock down the defense theory that Radler acted alone with regard to the transactions under indictment. Mr. Radler is the “linchpin” of the conspiracy allegation. When Mr. Radler disclosing that Ravelston was losing cash flow (presumably in the late 1990s) and added that the loss went to the point where salaries were affected, the defense successfully objected that he was being speculative - and he then apologized for being so. Mr. Radler looked relaxed to Ms. Lang, and was “engaging” the jury. He glanced at them. He also seems to have been coached. Furthermore, he tried to be warm to Mr. Black when discussing the early days, which went unreciprocated. Ms. Lang relayed that the prosecution expects to wrap up tomorrow; then, it will be the defense’s turn. She doesn't know how long the cross-examination will last. Conrad Black's reaction to the appearance of Mr. Radler was: at first, he didn’t look at him; then later, Mr. Black stared in the direction of witness stand; but, he did glare at Mr. Radler when the latter (temporarily) left the stand.

Also aired was a CTV report, on CTV NewsNet a little after 6 PM ET. It started off with a report by Joy Malbon, in which Edward Genson was quoted to the effect that Mr. Radler will not prove to be that credible. Neither Mr. Black nor Eddie Greenspan gave a statement. After that part was finished, David Akin, the CTV reporter put in the courtroom, came on. He reported that the prosecution wants to make sure that Mr. Black and Mr. Radler are seen as “partners in crime” by the jury. Eric Sussman asked Mr. Radler repeatedly during today's direct examination if he had checked with Mr. Black when making various business maneuvers, to which the latter assented. Mr. Black and his lawyers made notes frequently, and there were frequent objections from defense counsels. The justification for Mr. Radler saying he has no reason to lie is plain: if the defense proves that he did lie, then his plea bargain is broken. Cross-examination will probably start “late tomorrow,” according to Mr. Akin. [There's a CTV News report webbed, which summarizes the coverage on CTV News aired throughout the day. It also has broadband links to three clips.]

The Bloomberg report, written by Thom Weidlich and Andrew Harris, details that Mr. Radler testified explicitly that he consulted with Black "'on anything that could be described as a major management decision,''' starting with the purchase of their first newspaper in 1969, the Sherbrooke Record, an English-language daily in southeast Quebec." He also was "the first to testify about who arranged, and received, the noncompete fees. His testimony supported government claims that the two men worked closely for more than 30 years, including the time during which they are accused of stealing money from Hollinger." The rest of the report has background on his testimony, and a recap of this morning's.

Canadian Business has webbed a lengthy article by Romina Maurino that reports on Mr. Radler's testimony; her report covers all of it so far. It goes into detail about Mr. Radler's testimony of how close the two were in the early years of their working relationship, which drew recurrent objections from the defense once it was implied that they were close friends, or even friends. Right after being sworn in, he also testified that "'[w]e discussed every aspect of every newspaper we had,... I discussed with Mr. Black on any major decision (that) could be considered an executive decision.'" Also included in her report is this forecast regarding tomorrow's testimony under direct examination: "Radler is expected to testify Black and the others cooked up the non-compete scheme when they realized other sources of income were running out and that the defendants illegally inserted themselves into the agreements and knew they were breaching their fiduciary duties when they choose to do so."

An abridged, and uncredited, version of the same report by Ms. Maurino has been webbed by CBC News. It leaves out (amongst a few other items) the name of that personal assistant of Mr. Black's, who testified this morning that Mr. Black told her to split the bill for the birthday party between he and Hollinger Int'l so that he would pay 1/3 and the company would pay 2/3 of the cost (Janice Akerhielm.) Also, a much briefer Associated Press report, which sums up all of Mr. Radler's testimony so far, has been webbed by ABCMoney.co.uk.

The report by Reuters' Andrew Stern and James Kelleher quotes copiously from Mr. Radler's testimony. It mentions that: Mr. Radler testified that he had "'pled guilty to fraud.... to taking money from Hollinger International under illegal circumstances'"; that there were debt problems at Ravelston resulting from reductions in the management fees due it, and that both he and Mr. Black knew this; and, that he did not operate independently of Mr. Black, as "'Conrad Black had executive responsibility over all of the company and I had operational responsibility.'" When "[a]sked [by Eric Sussman] if he bought and sold newspapers on his own, Radler said: 'I would keep him totally informed about transactions.'" He also testified that he had discussed strategy with Mr. Black during that time.

The Associated Press' report is also out, written by Mike Robinson and webbed by nwi.com. It summarizes today's testimony, but has some detail on what Ms. Akerhielm testified to this morning at its bottom. A different and slightly briefer article, webbed by Pravda, also encapsulates Mr. Radler's entire testimony so far.

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Matthew McClearn of Canadian Business has a three-part entry on "The Moment of Truth" in his trial blog. That three-parter not only reviews the case so far but establishes context to the trial in a way that's even-handed. Part 1 is here, part 2 is here, and part 3 is here.

Douglas Bell's own list of media reports, in Toronto Life's Conrad Black trial blog, goes into detail on the weekend tattle by Jeff Chevalier. A later entry manages to work in both R. Kelly and Jay-Z in such a way as to relate to the trial. Mr. Bell is evidently a versatile writer.