Eddie Earns His Keep

Sunday’s late-night settlement between Sun-Times Media (formerly Hollinger International) and David Radler riled Black’s co-counsel Edward Genson. According to a CP wire story filed earlier today:

“Genson asked St. Eve to delay opening arguments, saying that the timing of the settlement announcements are interfering with Black’s right to a fair trial. On Friday, Radler—Black’s former right-hand man—forged a $28.7-million (U.S.) settlement with American regulators and on Sunday night, a second $63.4-million (U.S.) settlement was announced with Sun-Times Media, the new incarnation of Hollinger International. The company issued a release quoting Gordon Paris, Hollinger International’s former CEO and the prosecution’s first witness.

The timing is ‘real troubling,’ Genson said, noting he heard of the Sun-Times settlement on CNN at 11 p.m. Sunday night. He objected to the timing of the release and especially to a quote by Paris ‘bragging about the money these people collected from Radler.’ Since Black wasn’t mentioned in the story, he said, jurors may not have thought to avoid reading or hearing about the settlements. ‘I’ve never seen a settlement negotiated on a Sunday,’ Genson said. St. Eve refused his request, saying she will question jurors to ensure they have not seen the story. ‘I don’t see any reason to delay openings,’ St. Eve said. Lead prosecutor Eric Sussman said he had been unaware of the Sunday settlement until Genson mentioned it in court.”

Clearly, on Genson’s part, this is as much an effort to discredit Gordon Paris, a co-author of the infamous Breeden report and the first witness on the docket tomorrow morning, as it is to smear David Radler. The very fact that St. Eve has to ask the jury about the report opens the possibility that it will have an effect. The announcements of Radler’s settlements with the SEC and Sun-Times are clearly an orchestrated effort to dry clean Radler’s image before he, or anyone else from Hollinger, enters the witness box.

All this action in turn led St. Eve, after questioning jurors in camera, to delay proceedings until tomorrow because of an unspecified problem with a juror. Genson has clearly earned his keep for the day.