Shoshanna Utchenik ticklethewire.com In like a lion, out like a lamb for former golden boy John Edwards. Even if he beats criminal charges of campaign finance corruption, Edwards will be hard-pressed to ever recover his public image. The L.A. Times reports that former North Carolina Senator and presidential candidate John Edwards goes to trial on…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com And now for the moment all the followers of Boston mobster James “Whitey” Bulger have been waiting for. Bloomberg news reports that the federal trial for Bulger,82, who was on the lam for 16 years, has been set for Nov. 5 in Boston. He is accused of killing at least 19…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Surprise Surprise (not really). Federal prosecutor Carrie Hamilton delivered closing arguments on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in downtown Chicago, calling defendant Rod Blagojevich a liar and a swindler, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. And oh yes, she said his seven days of testimony was “absurd” and “ludicrous.” The closings marked…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Big Apple. Big trial. Big headache. The latest big headache in the federal trial in New York of a Gitmo detainee surfaced Monday when a juror on the third day of deliberations, asked the judge to remove her, saying she felt threatened by fellow jurors because she was at odds with…
UPDATE: Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich did not testify in court this morning, as his defense team rested without calling a witness. Closing arguments are scheduled to take place at 9:30 a.m. Monday. “It is my decision, judge,” Blagojevich said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. “I made the decision freely.” Before the trial, the ex-governor…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com The case against mobster John Gotti Jr. went to the jury for deliberations in Manhattan federal court, but not before some last minute drama on Tuesday. Yes, for a while Tuesday morning, the defendant himself did not want to leave his jail cell to show up in court for the closing…
A verdict is not likely to come until at least Wednesday, and it could take longer. It’s a complicated case and at least a few counts are likely to trigger some spirited conversation during deliberations, which resume Tuesday. UPDATE: 7 p.m. Wednesday: The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported that the jury failed to reach a verdict…
After all the speculation and suspense, in the end, the defense played it safe and decided not to let Jefferson take the stand on his own behalf. With 16 counts, the odds are stacked against the Congressman. So it may be hard to tell whether it was the right move. By Bruce Alpert New Orleans…
