Black Watch: Today’s Top Stories

Another day, another analogy to an arcane courtroom drama. This time it’s The Caine Mutiny. What with David Radler going all Captain Queeg and Gus Newman drawing out his madness à la José Ferrer, all that remains to be seen is who Gus pitches a drink at during the after party. And if things continue to go as they are, once Ron Safer’s through with him, they’ll have to lead Radler out on a leash.

If you’re looking for balance, might I suggest Jennifer Wells in the Star, who points out that no matter how wretched Radler’s condition exiting cross-examination, the prosecution has still scored more than a few points (remember the Mammoth Times?), and Hollinger International’s whistle-blower-in-chief Paul Healy is on deck to testify. Still, from all accounts it’s been a lousy couple of days for the prosecution. As a witness under duress, Radler’s demeanour oscillates between mute and nuts with not much in between. And what might have been characterized as confidence on direct will probably look more like smugness in retrospect.

All of which leads to the sort of speculation reported today by Chicago Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg:

“Readers 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.”

In other words, the prosecution stops throwing good money after bad, puts Radler away forever, cuts Black et al. loose and, per Al Capone, forgets it ever knew what street Canada is on.

I’m not sayin’ I’m just sayin’.

Clearly, the wrong man is on trial [Toronto Sun]Hollinger’s Andy Fastow [Toronto Star]David Radler’s refrain: `I can’t answer …’ [Toronto Star]David Radler scolded by judge [National Post]Witness at Black trial admits to inaccuracies [Financial Times]Radler, lawyer clash during testimony [Globe and Mail]Goliath beat David [Chicago Sun-Times]