Media Roundup: Conclave

The media reports, webbed overnight and today, on the Conrad Black trial have mostly concentrated on yesterday's meeting about the forfeiture issue:

1. The Hamilton Spectator has webbed an abridged report on yesterday's forfeiture meeting, and the sixth day of jury deliberations, by Romina Maurino.

2. From the Chicago Tribune, a report on the current state of business of Sun-Times Media Group. Despite coming in with a loss of $4.8 million for this quarter, the current CEO claims that STMG is running in the black with only the costs of defending Conrad Black and the three other defendants tipping its income statement into the red. According to the article, the company has been paying 75 percent of the costs of Conrad's defense.

3. Also from the Tribune, a report by Ameet Sachdev that centres on the forfeiture hearing, mentioning that Conrad could lose up to $92 million if convicted on the major charges.

4. A report webbed by the Montreal Gazette starts off with a recap of the lawsuit filed by Hollinger Inc. against three big Canadian banks. It notes that one of the pieces of claimed evidence mentioned in the complaint was, "when the banks did become concerned in 2002, they pushed Hollinger to pay off its loans through a debt offering that left the company with obligations carrying annual interest charges around 13 per cent." The rest of the report recaps yesterday's deliberations and forfeiture hearing, and says that the jurors had requested a fix of the audio equipment last Tuesday.

5. Joe Warmington's latest column, as webbed by the Winnipeg Sun, discusses the jury-watching and says that the practice fills an important psychological need even if it has no forecast value. [An abridged version, but with the names of Eddie Greenspan's more famous clients added to it, has been webbed by the Edmonton Sun.]

6. Janet Whitman of the New York Post has a report of her own that starts off with a recap of the forfeiture hearing, and ends with a brief description of the Hollinger Inc. lawsuit. In its middle, it mentions that "[t]he jurors spent at least part of yesterday reviewing audiotapes of two annual meetings held by Hollinger International in which Black defended lavish payouts to himself and other top executives."

7. Another abridged version of the same Canadian Press report by Ms. Maurino has been webbed by the Calgary Sun. It says that the "[l]awyers for all the defendants will agree on their forfeiture instructions and preferences soon, since St. Eve said she wanted the issue to be decided before the jury comes back with a verdict."

8. Paul Waldie's own report on yesterday's forfeiture hearing, webbed by the Globe and Mail, begins with: "Conrad Black's lawyers signalled yesterday that they will block attempts by prosecutors to seize Lord Black's mansion in Palm Beach, Fla., if he is convicted." It also says that Conrad's legal team "was leaning toward the judge" to decide any forfeiture of assets as of yesterday.

9. A report by Rick Westhead of the Toronto Star says that Judge St. Eve has confirmed that the jurors had asked for a fix of the audio equipment. It also notes that the "jurors want to review an audiotape of showdowns between Black and Hollinger International Inc. investors at two shareholder meetings."

10. The continuing deliberations have made item #7 in the Boston Globe's "Business Notebook." It's entitled "Not Yet."

11. Michael Sneed's latest column in the Chicago Sun-Times mentions that Conrad Black, by not showing up at the party to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Franklin D. Roosevelt's acceptance of the Democratic Party nomination for President, had also missed some British reporters who showed up to see him.

12. 680 News has webbed a CP note that says the jury will be deliberating until 2 PM today.

13. At 11:40 AM ET, CTV NewsNet broadcasted a report by David Akin. He said that the jurors are deliberating, but there are no defendants, lawyers or reporters in the courtroom. It's been rumoured that the jurors are looking at the security-cam video of Conrad taking out the 13 boxes: there's hope that the charges for Conrad Black have all been worked through, except for the obstruction of justice and tax-fraud ones. (This rumour might actually be true.)

14. BNN aired a report from Amanda Lang at 1:32 PM ET. She said that she found out from a member of the defense team this morning that the jurors had left a note yesterday saying that they were leaving early because it "seemed like a good time to break." These words could mean that they're close to a verdict. The juror-watching is focusing on clothes now. The latest theory is that jurors dressing more formally means a verdict is near. (Ms. Lang didn't pass along any that suggested the verdict is far away.)

The names of the jurors should have released by now, but the court has demurred due to mistrial concerns. The names will be released only after the verdict is delivered, and any other juror duties are over. The Chicago Tribune is suing over this.

15. BNN's 3 PM newscast disclosed that the jurors have ended deliberations for the week without a verdict being reached. They'll continue Monday at 9 AM CT.

16. CTV NewsNet had an interview with Paula Todd, aired at 3:32 PM. After building on her point that no-one knows how long the deliberations will be, Ms. Todd said that six to eight days' worth of deliberations is normal for cases of this kind. If there's a hung jury, the foreman would tell Judge St. Eve and she would probably send them back. If they stay hung, then a mistrial will be declared. Any mistrial would be applicable on a charge-by-charge basis; a unanimous decision for any other charge by the same jury will stand. The prosecution has the option of retrying any charges that resulted in a hung jury. Ms. Todd believes that the jurors are taking the case seriously; they're being thorough. They could very well deliberate for another week.

17. WQAD.com has webbed an Associated Press summary report on the day's deliberations.

18. CBC News has a report by Romina Maurino on the same subject. It contains a summary of the day's jury-watching speculations.

19. At the end of the BNN show "Squeeze Play," Mr. Waldie reported that Monday's deliberations will take place from 9 AM to 4:45 PM, noted that a verdict doesn't seem imminent, and speculated that it will come down at or near the end of next week.

20. A BBC News report recaps the case after starting off by mentioning that the jury will be back Monday for the eighth day of deliberations. It uses the term "so-called 'non-compensation' payments" to refer to non-compete payments.

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Mark Steyn, in his Maclean's Conrad Black trial blog, has made it to charges 2, 3 and 4 of the indictment, against Mark Kipnis, in his argument that all of the charges rate acquittals. A more recent entry finishes the series with an argument that Count 1, the "heart of the case," should be met with an acquittal because the non-compete payments are not inconsistent with industry custom and were disclosed.

Another perspective on Conrad Black has been penned by J. Richard Finlay in "Finlay ON Governance." The second part of Mr. Finlay's look at the approaching end of the Conrad Black trial holds that Conrad Black, despite his erudition which Mr. Finlay points to, has an element of "larger than life disappointment. Mr. Black was afforded every opportunity at an early age, including the alacritous assistance of the all-connected and the impressively powerful. Yet, in the end, so much seems to have been squandered." Conrad Black's tragic flaw, according to the piece, is an entitlement mentality plus too thin a skin. Mr. Black has been afflicted by hubris.


On the lighter side, the National Post blog "Posted" has a link to an entry by Mary Vallis on the "Black Board," which contains an anecdote about James Bone poking fun at the tea-leaf gazers as part of number 3 of three reasons for the trial ending soon, soon, soon: "The donuts [brought by Eric Sussman] are a significant sign,” said Times of London reporter James Bone, chief unpaid jury analyst who wanders the halls presenting his various theories... 'The donuts clearly signal it’s over. Why aren’t we getting doughnuts from Eddie Genson?'"


Rush Limbaugh, in a show transcript entitled "Just Read the First Two Paragraphs, Folks," has mentioned the coverage of the trial as an example of how to read the media: "the last three pages are going to have nothing but a summary of all the gobbledygook that's come before. The Conrad Black trial is the best example.... The story in the New York Post today had one paragraph of new information about the feds trying to already figure out what of his assets they can seize. The last paragraphs of the story are... just a rehash. So read the first two paragraphs, folks. You'll be saner, you'll know more and you'll be less angry."

Also, Douglas Bell, in the Toronto Life Conrad Black trial, has continued his coverage of James Bone in his "Today's Top Stories" entry. A second one, on the wait for the verdict, contains this observation: " As deliberations move well into their second week, one senses a building anxiety, or fear, or just plain existential impatience."