Media Roundup: Radler Redux

The media reports on the Conrad Black trial from last night and this morning have dwindled a little from yesterday's unusually high number, but are still plentiful:

1. From The Independent, an article that reports, "In a detailed and assured performance on the witness stand, Radler explained how the pair plucked nine and ten-figure numbers out of the air during a series of telephone conversations in 2000, which would be their cut of bogus 'non-compete' clauses written into deals to sell Hollinger International newspapers." He also testified that CanWest did request a non-compete agreement with the sale of newspapers properties to them.

2. An updated Bloomberg report, by Andrew Harris and Thom Weidlich, relates that Mr. Radler testified that CanWest did not specify a dollar amount for a non-compete fee, let alone "'[insist] that Messrs. Black and Radler receive Cdn $26 million in order to justify their exclusion from Canadian newspapers.''' When asked if that statement from the audit committee minutes was true, Mr. Radler replied, "'No, it isn't... I never knew that they requested us to receive any amount of money.''' It ends with an explanation of why the arrival of the 13 boxes brought an early end to the trial.

3. From NBC5.com of Chicago, a report on yesterday's testimony, which ends with this assessment from attorney and trial-watcher Hugh Totten: he "said it is difficult for the jury to see if Radler, Black or any of the other defendants had any intent to break the law, or even knew if they did..."

4. Reuters' report, by Andrew Stern and James Kelleher, is entitled "Star witness Radler details deals at Black trial." [An abridged version has been webbed by The Irish Times.]

5. Diantha Parker also has a report, from Chicago Public Radio.

6. From the Charlottetown Guardian's blog, "Scalloped Potatoes," excerpts from three media reports on Mr. Radler's Monday testimony.

7. The Victoria Times-Colonist has webbed Mary Vallis' latest report, which relates that Mr. Radler testified that he himself had insisted that he would not sign an individual non-compete agreement for the CanWest sale unless he got compensation, and that he settled for a tax-free $19 million because it was equal to his original figure of $25 million, before tax. It also reports that Judge St. Eve instructed the jury to disregard his remark that "'I should have said something,'... referring to the board. 'I regret today that I didn't.'"

8. From the Sydney Morning-Herald, a report also entitled "Star witness details deals at Black trial."

9. CBC News: Morning has aired a report by Havard Gould, which relates that David Radler's direct examination has not ended yet. His testimony yesterday was quite "damning," according to Mr. Gould, who cited as an example, Mr. Radler testifying that Mr. Black instructed him by telephone to divert some of the proceeds from a non-compete fee to Hollinger Inc. There's no word as to how long the direct examination will continue. Eddie Greenspan will lead the cross-examination for Conrad Black. Before the trial shut down, Csr. Greenspan opined that he would be starting this afternoon; now, it's not known.

10. The New York Times has the latest report from Andrew Siklos, author of Shades of Black, who notes, at the end of his article, an inconsistency between Mr. Radler's testimony about hiding the non-compete payments and the audit committee members' earlier admissions that they were disclosed.

11. From CTV News, a report that quotes, as has been customary for Ctv.ca News recently, Robert Kent, the former assistant U.S. attorney who wrote the initial indictment. "He said Radler is the whistleblower who can prove the prosecution's case against Black and the others." It also contains a revised forecast for the start of the cross-examination: "Lead prosecutor Eric Sussman had been expected to wrap up questioning Radler on Tuesday. But..." because of the introduction of the 13 boxes, "[t]he defence might not start its cross-examination until late Wednesday or Thursday, which means Radler might not be done until early next week, [CTV reporter David Akin] said." Near its end, it also contains a quote from Conrad Black himself, which could be seen as a forecast. "Black, when asked about Radler's testimony, said: 'You gotta wait for the cross-examination. I won't comment until the defence has finished.' He then added, 'You may not recognize him.'"

12. BNN's Amanda Lang, as of 8:25 AM ET, also reported that the phone call from Conrad Black was the most "damning" part of the testimony. The remark struck from the record, mentioned above, was the closest that Mr. Radler came to remorse and to a confession, but he hasn't done so explicitly. Today's testimony will probably recap some of yesterday's, and also will discuss Horizon's non-compete agreement in detail. The trial may hear something from those 13 boxes, if there are any E-mails in them that can show collusion.

13. CTV NewsNet also aired a report, which also highlighted that now-notorious telephone call that, according to Mr. Radler, was the hatching of the 'template'. According to David Akin, today's testimony will contain a lot more direct testimony, which may very well include, as Ms. Lang noted, questions about the 13 boxes. He reported that the boxes also contain Mr. Black's tax returns, and one contains items relating to "Barbara Black." He reminded people of the defense's theory that Mr. Black and Mr. Radler acted separately. He also brought up Horizon, and the prosecution's allegation centering on inadequate disclosure of related-party transactions.

14. MSN Money has webbed an FT.com report that starts off with: "Conrad Black's business partner of more than 30 years struck at the heart of the former media baron's defence against fraud charges Tuesday." Like several other reports, it mentions that Mr. Radler also testified that the money was diverted at a time when Hollinger Inc. "was 'in a difficult position financially'." It also reports that "[a]lthough Lord Black sat through the proceedings with a relatively straight face, he could do little to hide his disdain for Mr Radler. As the tanned and relaxed-looking former executive stepped down from the witness stand, Lord Black snarled his lips and shot him an icy glare."

15. Mr. Radler's testimony made the top of the New Jersey Star-Ledger's list of "Business Briefs."

16. From the Northwest Herald, a brief summary of Mr. Radler's testimony so far, entitled "Aide says he consulted the boss on everything."

17. The Boston Globe has a webbing of the latest (abridged) Associated Press report.

18. CBC News has a webbed forecast about the ending of the direct examination of Mr. Radler from the Canadian Press, which ends with this quote from Csr. Greenspan: "Greenspan has said he will undermine Radler's credibility and expose him as a liar who agreed to testify against Black to save his own skin."

19. The latest report from the Guardian's Andrew Clark reconstructs the events at Mrs. Black's 60th birthday party. It ends with this recent comment from attendee Taki Theodoracopulos: "In his Spectator column, Taki recently made it clear that he was unimpressed by the evening: 'The party, as far as I was concerned, was a flop. No loose women around. It was full of businessmen, people Conrad did business with, like Leonard Lauder, who was a big advertiser in the Black papers, Donald Trump, the ghastly Richard Perle and others prominent in Wall Street and D.C. If that party wasn't a legitimate business expense, I am Monica Lewinsky.'" Just prior to this quote, it lets slip an item about Mr. Theodoracopulos himself.

20. The latest from Theresa Tedesco, entitled "But will the jurors buy his story?", contains a comment that Mr. Radler's phone-call-from-Black disclosure wasn't as riveting as expected. "In fact, Mr. Radler's fidgeting with government exhibits in the witness box seem to create more scandal than his testimony, as defence lawyers demanded to see if he had crib notes with him. Clearly nervous, Mr. Radler sought to display the huge black binder the prosecutors gave him, and proceeded to smack the microphone, prompting assistant U.S. attorney Eric Sussman to take the binder away from him."

21. The Calgary Sun has webbed Peter Worthington's latest column devoted to the trial, in which he pegs Mr. Radler as a "credible witness" whose testimony may break the pattern so far established by the previous witnesses: "Every prosecution witness so far has tended to be shredded in cross-examination, and failed wretchedly to show anything overtly criminal in the affairs of the Chicago and Toronto Hollinger companies, and their holding company Ravelston, owned by Black and Radler." He does note, however, that Csr. Greenspan is likely to jump on a seeming inconsistency between Mr. Radler's disclosure that the split of the non-compete payments between Hollinger Int'l and Hollinger Inc. was Conrad Black's idea, and "his earlier testimony that he was virtually the originator, negotiator and brains behind lucrative sales and operations of Hollinger newspapers."

22. Jennifer Wells of the Toronto Star is as lively as ever in her latest report, "Grilling has no sting for Radler."

23. The New York Post's Janet Whitman's report notes that Mr. Radler appears so credible because his appearance plays off against the "dismal performances by New York socialite Marie-Josee Kravis and former Illinois Gov. James 'Big Jim' Thompson."

24. The latest from Rick Westhead, also of the Toronto Star, notes that Mr. Radler's testimony yesterday also implicated Mark Kipnis, and ends with a quote from a "'tongue in cheek' update memo" written by Mr. Radler and sent to Conrad Black, Jack Boultbee and Peter Atkinson.

25. Chicago Sun-Times' columnist Michael Sneed mentions that the current burst of coverage won't continue for very long: "The trial is expected to last 'til the end of the month."

26. Two commentaries from the Chicago Tribune: The first, by Michael Rosenthal, notes that Mr. Radler's done a fine job so far for the prosecution, but he has some ways to go before winning a conviction for them as his testimony may redound solely upon himself. The second, by Barbara Brotman, exults in the revealed fact that people such as James Thompson and Marie-Josee Kravis also "scan" financial documents too, for this obvious reason: "Financial documents are boring.... [and are] written in that 'don't-read-this' language."

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Mark Steyn's early-morning entry in his Maclean's Conrad Black trial blog concludes that David Radler not only didn't implicate the defendants, but also didn't even implicate himself: "Radler is supposed to be a criminal, a member of the conspiracy and central to it. But so far he's presented himself as merely a slightly more extreme version of Governor Jim (The Skim) Thompson and the other celeb directors - a pliant boob who was a little more passive and inattentive than perhaps he should have been."