Black Watch: Today’s Top Stories
Watching Brian Mulroney ooze through his testimony before a federal ethics committee this morning had a certain surreal quality, given that only three days before, his name was raised in a Chicago courtroom as an avatar of probity, his letter providing proof positive of Conrad Black’s impeccable character and unsuitability for incarceration. Weird.
Coverage this morning brings news of yet another victory lap through Muddy York by Black’s tormentor-in-chief, Eric Sussman. Last time we observed him, his mien in the face of the prosecution’s diminishing returns was verging on whining desperation. This time, he’s in town to crow before a conference of fraud investigators (hilarity no doubt ensuing). He took the opportunity to dress down our justice system for failing to provide him with sufficient ammunition to do Lord Black et al. in even further. Paul Waldie reports Sussman’s beef:
“‘We wanted to put as much evidence as we possibly could in front of the jury and, as it turned out, there were certain pieces of evidence [from Canada] that we just weren’t able to have access to…and so I think that’s difficult,’ he said. The difficulties are ‘something that Canadian law enforcement and the Canadian public are going to have to address themselves.’”
Over to you, “Canadian public.”
And while the Brits seem hell-bent on revoking Lord Black’s peerage, it’s reported in this morning’s Star that we’ll at least wait for the appeal to strip him of his Order of Canada. And still no word on his Privy Council status.
And way, way off to the side, it seems Tom Bower has run into a spot of bother with British media mogul Richard Desmond. Desmond’s suing Bower over comments he made about Desmond in his book about Black. Given that Desmond hates Black and vice versa, it just goes to show that the enemy of your enemy is not necessarily your friend.
Prosecutor disturbed by Black’s defiance: Source [The Globe and Mail]
Black keeps Order of Canada for now: Source [Toronto Star]
Desmond sues Black biographer: Source [Guardian]
