Bye Bye Black
By Hmm, this doesn’t seem promising for the chances of disgraced reactionary media magnate Conrad Black’s appeal succeeding:
When Andrew Frey, Lord Black’s lawyer, tried to explain how prosecutors misapplied a legal theory known as honest services, Judge Posner said bluntly that the evidence in the case dealt with “a pretty naked fraud.” During a discussion about the obstruction of justice charge, which involves Lord Black removing boxes from his Toronto office in 2005, Judge Posner called Lord Black’s actions “bizarre” and took Mr. Frey to task for arguing that the material had already been reviewed by prosecutors.
[..]
Judge Posner shot back that he could not understand how the payments could be both management fees and payments not to compete. “To be paid not to do something in the future is not a management fee,” he said. He also questioned why the payments went to Lord Black, Mr. Boultbee and Mr. Atkinson individually instead of to their private company, Ravelston Corp. Ltd., which had been Hollinger’s practice in the past. “Where is the credit on the books to account for the management fees?” he asked.
In fairness, he had to know he was in trouble when he drew a rabid Trotskyite like Posner… [via Pithlord.]