Media Roundup: Resumption

The media reports, webbed overnight and today, on the Conrad Black trial are returning to a closer focus on the trial itself:

1. Patricia Best has elaborated on an item, which has already received some media exposure, for her Globe and Mail column "Nobody's Business:" Conrad's no-show at a 75th annivesary party commemorating President Roosevelt's acceptance of the Democratic Party nomination. [It's also been webbed as an entry in the blog of the same name.]

2. Another report in the Globe, by Paul Waldie, details the first major executive action of the new management team running Hollinger Inc.: a lawsuit, against three Canadian big banks.

3. 570 News has webbed a brief item from the Canadian Press relating that the jurors will deliberate for a full day today, and that there will be a hearing on the forfeiture issue.

4. A report by Barbara Schachter and Theresa Tedesco, webbed by the National Post, features a public comment by Christopher Browne of Tweedy, Browne on the trial: he believes that it is likely that Conrad Black will walk, because the class bias issue has been neutralized due to there being rich people on both sides. "'If the jury was more sophisticated, they would throw him in the pokey,' concluded Mr. Browne, who has not closely monitored the 16-week trial because of health issues that required surgery and rehabilitation." (Regarding the last, he has my sympathy. Rehab demands a lot of fortitude.)

5. A post-July-4th column by Joe Warmington, as webbed by the Toronto Sun, is focused on the War on Terror, but mentions that Chicagoans still don't care all that much about Conrad Black's fate: the ones he talked to knew more about the 1919 World Series scandal than about Conrad.

6. A feature report by Mary Wisniweski of the Chicago Sun-Times assesses the chances that Conrad will come back as the CEO of Sun-Times Media Group if he's acquitted, and concludes that they're unlikely. He not only has to get the co-operation of an Ontario court to do so, as Ravelston is now in receivership, but also has to convince an understandably skeptical board to let him back in. (There's also the matter of the civil suits...)

7. Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed's latest column contains details of another post-trial party, thrown by freelance journalist Susan Berger. [Her own report on her party is here.]

8. A BBC News report contrasts the Conrad Black trial with the now-dubbed "Family Secrets" trial of four alleged organized-crime figures.

9. A report webbed by Canada.com recounts the lawsuit launched by Hollinger Inc. against the three banks. Like the Globe report, it gives the claim in the suit: the three big banks knew that Conrad Black was up to no good, but turned a blind eye to it. (As Ms. Wisniewski discussed, it's going to be hard for Conrad to go back to his old life...)

10. CTV NewsNet has aired an interview with CTV reporter David Akin at 10:30 AM ET. Mr. Akin said that he and his colleagues are waiting for Conrad Black to arrive, for the forfeiture hearing, which should start at 10 AM CT. Conrad’s lawyers are expected to show up too. The latest gossip regarding a verdict is: if the jury sits Friday, then there will be a verdict that day.

11. An update from Mr. Akin, broadcast on CTV Newsnet at 1:06 PM ET, had him reporting that Conrad Black hasn’t shown up for the forfeiture hearing, nor have any of the other defendants; only the lawyers were there. The government seeks to hold on to the $30 million worth of assets they've already seized if Conrad is convicted of wire fraud, and wants to seize $70 million total if he's convicted of racketeering. The jurors don’t know about their role in deciding this yet; settling it will requires another mini-trial. As of the time of broadcast, the defendants’ final decision hasn’t been made. Judge St. Eve wants that decision by the end of the court day tomorrow.

12. Mr. Waldie's second report of the day, webbed by the Globe, discloses the content of the supposedly peripheral note that was sent out Tuesday: it said that the video equipment in the jury room wasn't working. The report ends by noting that the jurors haven't announced, as of the time of the report, whether or not they'll be deliberating Friday.

13. BNN aired an update from Amanda Lang at 1:53 PM ET. She noted that there were actually two jury notes on Tuesday. One was about today's deliberation schedule. The other was the one written about by Mr. Waldie, but Ms. Lang said it had called attention to something wrong with the audio machine. It indicates that the jurors were, or are, listening to the tapes from Hollinger Int'ls 2001 and '02 annual meetings that were entered into evidence. Some excerpts were introduced by the defense, but the bulk of the recordings were entered by the prosecution. Either the jurors are looking at prosecution-centred evidence, or they're still on Conrad Black. During the forfeiture hearing, Mark Kipnis' lawyer asked that the defendants be considered separately.

14. The Toronto Star's Rick Westhead, in a report on the same story as the two above, has allowed for either option: "The note indicates that the jury is either reviewing videotaped depositions by Torys lawyers Beth DeMerchant and Darren Sukokick or audio clips of Hollinger shareholder meetings [held] in 2002 and 2003 when Black came under attack from shareholders...."

15. Another report on the above, webbed by Canada.com, backs up Ms. Lang on the specific piece of equipment that had malfunctioned.

16. Another update, also broadcast on CTV NewsNet at 3:05 PM ET, had Mr. Akin saying that it isn't known as of yet whether the jurors will deliberate tomorrow. A full day may imply a verdict tomorrow. A day off pretty much implies that a verdict is far off. Mr. Akin ended with a quote from Eddie Greenspan, to the effect that the wait is somewhat surreal given the consequences for his client.

17. 680 News has webbed a report, written by Romina Maurino, that covers the entire forfeiture hearing today.

18. Bloomberg has webbed a report on the details behind the intended Hollinger Inc. lawsuit that was announced today. It seems that there was quite a tangle of conflicted interests in the actions that are mentioned in the claim. The $65.2 million being sued for was made up of two payments to Ravelston, according to the report: $48.8 million to repay a loan from Ravelston, and a new loan from Hollinger Inc. to Ravelston in the amount of $16.4 million. The banks are being sued because they collected the payments, according to the complaint allegation, "while aware its former Chairman Conrad Black was improperly siphoning money to companies that he controlled." (In a case such as this, the banks, if they lose the lawsuit, would be expected to sue Ravelston to recoup the payments because they acted only as fiduciary agent for the company that controlled Hollinger Inc.)

19. Another BNN update was aired at 5:55 PM. In it, Ms. Lang reported that the jurors left early, looking a little "grim." They will deliberate tomorrow, although Ms. Lang did not specify the hours. There are quite a few journalists waiting for the verdict as of now, although the number may diminish if the verdict is long in coming.

20. Forbes.com has webbed an Associated Press summary that starts off by noting that the sixth day of deliberations has ended with no verdict yet.

21. An updated report by Ms. Maurino, webbed by 570 News, says that the jury plans to sit on Friday from 9 AM to 2 PM CT, and that they left at 4 PM CT today without any explanation as to why. The rest of the report covers the same material as her earlier one.

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Mark Steyn, in his Maclean's Conrad Black trial blog, has continued with his dissection of the charges. His latest entry discusses counts 8 and 9, the charges that allege mail fraud with respect to the CanWest non-compete payments. A more recent entry notes that the BBC has sent in a news team, in anticipation of the verdict.

Douglas Bell, in the Toronto Life Conrad Black trial blog, has written an entry from yesterday that features a profile of the London Times' reporter covering the trial, James Bone. He's quite the noticable character.

The "Black Board" has an entry by Mary Vallis that carries substantially the same information as item #15 above the line, but adds at its end that "Judge St. Eve indicated she will not be calling the lawyers and the four co-defendant to discuss the contents of minor notes, and will deal with them [through] telephone conference instead."