Black Watch: Today’s Top Stories

As a piece of dramaturgy, it’s not exactly “Is this a dagger which I see before me,” but in the U.S. v. Conrad Black et al., at least for the moment, it will have to do. Creasey’s not-quite-immortal words were recorded for posterity on multiple continents this morning. He also informed the court that he recalled “the word amnesia coming up quite a lot” when he launched an investigation into whether the board had approved certain non-compete payments.

On the whole, it was a lousy day for the defence, which will no doubt be made lousier should any of them read Guardian correspondent Andrew Clark’s summary of the case. To date, Clark has played it more or less down the middle, but today he cried havoc and let loose the dogs:

“…Even if he has committed no criminal offence, it is already crystal clear that [Black] is guilty of extravagance, shoddy judgment, self-delusion, a dereliction of duty as a director or, even on the most charitable of interpretations, being asleep at the wheel for a very long time. Even if the jury clears him, nobody in their right mind will ever give Black a job as a company director again. And if he has an ounce of shame, he will stay well away from the House of Lords.”

I can assure you Clark’s reasoning and reporting in the rest of the piece is as strong as his vitriol. Well worth a read.

Black appears utterly convinced he will emerge unscathed [Guardian]Black racked up tab on Hollinger jet, court hears [National Post]Witness details company jet use [Chicago Tribune]Comptroller encountered non-compete fee ‘amnesia’ [Globe and Mail]Black’s Bora Bora vacation ‘didn’t fit’ [Toronto Star]Bora Bora flight flummoxed me, accountant tells Black trial [Guardian]Payouts to Black ‘were nothing to do with Hollinger’ [Guardian]