The media reports on the Conrad Black trial, webbed overnight and today, have centred on the dissolution of David Radler's demeanor on the stand yesterday:
1. From the Chicago Tribune, a report that focuses upon the rebukes visited upon Mr. Radler for not directly answering the questions put to him. It's entitled "Radler admonished for evasive testimony."
2. CBC News has webbed the latest write-up from Romina Maurino, which reports that: "On Tuesday, he appeared at a loss to explain a number of discrepancies, including an attempt to deny that KPMG, Hollinger's auditors, and Torys LLP, the company's lawyers, knew about a "template" to funnel 25 per cent of all non-compete fees to Hollinger Inc. - the Canadian parent of Hollinger International.... Radler had initially held up under the gruelling cross-examination, but has now received various reprimands from the judge for being argumentative and for making speeches to qualify his answers." It quotes extensively from Steve Skurka, to the effect that Mr. Radler's credibility is slowly but definitely dissipating into a hazy shade of glibness. (Note: Ms. Maurino was the first regular on the beat to call Mr. Radler's testimony "evasive.")
3. The latest report from the Associated Press, webbed by the International Herald Tribune, starts off with the note that Mr. Radler "was hammered by defense attorneys as a liar and scolded by the judge for unsolicited comments Tuesday, his sixth combative day on the stand.... [He] has made it plain he has no intention of being a pushover for defense attorneys and has freely offered opinions no one requested when it suits him to speak out."
4. A Financial Times report, webbed by MSNBC.com, focuses upon Mr. Radler admitting his "inaccuracies," and his recurrent difficulties in answering yes-or-no questions put to him by Gus Newman. It mentions that Conrad Black "settled back on his chair with a wry smile on his lips" as this dispute-in-stages was going on. It also mentions, at the very end, that "[Csr.] Newman appeared infuriated himself at times, and at one stage apologised."
5. The Boston Globe has webbed an abridged Bloomberg report, which contains one single quote from Mr. Radler's testimony yesterday, "'I was in my rationalization phase'".
6. Peter Worthington's latest column, webbed by the London Free Press, reports that "the unravelling of Radler was unabated" - to the point where Mr. Radler could be charged with perjury in Canada. Mr. Worthington makes it evident that Mr. Radler couldn't invoke Fifth Amendment right because his plea bargain agreement has taken that right from him (unless he wants to call his own side of the bargain into question.) Mr. Worthington also reports that Mr. Radler seems to be in breach of one non-compete agreement he had signed.
7. The Globe and Mail has webbed Paul Waldie's report on yesterday's testimony, which contains a few details on Mr. Radler's operation of Hollinger International. Mr. Radler claimed in the stand that he didn't read the agreement for the sale to CanWest, despite he being involved in the negotiations, because he wasn't a lawyer.
8. Mary Vallis' latest report, webbed by the Vancouver Sun, points out another contradiction in Mr. Radler's testimony, exposed yesterday by Csr. Newman: a fax from July 2000 to Mr. Radler, in response to a question from him asking if non-compete payments were tax-free in Canada. "[It] contradicted testimony Radler gave last week, when Radler told the Chicago trial that he learned about the favourable tax treatment of non-competes in a newspaper article." Her article also describes Mr. Radler as giving "most of his answers in a soft voice and was repeatedly asked to speak up."
9. The Edmonton Journal has webbed a brief forecast from Canadian Press, entitled "Tough day ahead at Black trial for star prosecution witness David Radler." It notes that Mr. Radler is presently being questioned by Benito Romano, counsel for Peter Atkinson.
10. From the Daily Southtown, a report from the Chicago Sun-Times' Mary Wisniewski, which opens with a mention of Mr. Radler's "penchant for not answering questions and inserting extra comments in his testimony". It also notes that Mr. Radler's testimony was "subdued" after a ten-minute conference with his lawyer, John Duffy.
11. The last three paragraphs of Janet Whitman's latest, webbed by the New York Post, reports on the behavior of the jury. It notes that the jurors "seemed most lively when they could chatter among themselves when the judge called lawyers over for sidebars." They also became focused when a U.S. marshal had to rush over to replace a pen of a juror that ran out of ink.
12. Neil Sternberg of the Sun-Times starts his latest column with this "Opening Shot...": speculation from (my fellow) Canadian first-hand trial observers that Mr. Radler has breached the terms of his plea agreement, and may get the lengthy sentence that the prosecution hoped Conrad Black would serve. He also notes that "[r]eaders seem to think this fumbling performance is part of a plot between Radler and Black, that Radler is intentionally scuttling the case. But they forget that the feds can yank back their deal at any time and, if Radler ends up seeming less-than-forthcoming, they just might do that."
13. An abbreviated CP report has been webbed by the Orillia Packet-Times, entitled "Radler faces severe attack, forced to correct testimony."
14. The Globe has webbed another report by Mr. Waldie, which discloses what a soon-to-testify prosecution witness, Paul Healy, is bringing to the table: testimony about Mr. Black's spending patterns, as prefaced by documents that have already been filed as evidence in court. "According to those filings, Mr. Healy is expected to tell the jury about expenses Lord Black allegedly charged Hollinger for purchases made by his wife, Barbara Amiel-Black. Prosecutors allege Lord Black used company money to pay for his wife's alleged shopping trips which included buying $2,000 (U.S.) worth of exercise equipment, $2,700 in opera tickets and a $2,000 leather briefcase." It ends with an explanation of why the defense team wants access to notes on Mr. Healy's testimony to the Special Committee.
15. A less abridged Bloomberg report has been webbed by the Herald-Sun of Melbourne, Australia.
----------
A report in Editor and Publisher details a (re)current woe of what Hollinger International is now: Sun Times Media Group. STMG is planning to axe up to 25 small Chicago-area papers if they don't get their profit margins up. The top executives there now are still trying to turn it away from a string of losses. [A report from Crain's Chicago Business explains why.]
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment