Conrad Black and the politics of justice(Fitzgerald BARF Alert!)

www.canadafreepress.com ^ | July 15, 2007 | Beryl Wajsman

[Para-Ord.45]

L’audace, encore l’audace et toujours l’audace~ Georges Danton “If you’re going to take liberties and break the law with other people’s money, there are going to be consequences.” That, U.S. federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald told reporters yesterday, was the message of the verdict in the Conrad Black trial. Those twenty words of Fitzgerald’s are a lie. His words stand as yet another manifestation of the mania and manipulation with which the prosecution prejudiced the judicial wells in this persecution.

We got an earlier taste of it when the jury came back hung – a clear statement that the government had not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt – yet Judge Amy St. Eve instructed it to go back into deliberations and “…not be afraid to change your opinions while staying true to your firmly held principles…” That was an oxymoronic instruction and one that sent a blatantly biased signal. Find the defendants guilty of something!

Amidst the cacophony of smug, sanctimonious condemnation of Black in the media that followed in such ungracious haste the announcement of the jury’s decision, one matter was overlooked. He wasn’t found guilty of any actual crimes! But critical thought has long since been replaced by a rush to demonization in our public discourse. We salivate over the prospect of labeling someone – anyone - an enemy of the people much as earlier cultures eagerly anticipated human sacrifices to the gods. Earlier cultures used flaming pyres. We use courts and commissions. We think of ourselves as cleansed, cloaked in the swagger of the false piety of self-righteous hypocrisy.

What “laws” was Conrad Black convicted of breaking?

None!

[golfisnr1]

What is this reporter smoking?
He Was convicted:

“Deposed media tycoon Conrad Black was found guilty Friday of fraud and obstruction of justice, at the end of a complex trial in which he was accused of raiding his company’s coffers and bilking shareholders.
Black was however cleared of eight charges of fraud and one of racketeering related to the misuse of perks and the sale of newspapers in Canada.”

[piasa]

Apparently you didn't read the article. Fitz, as seems to be typical for him, failed to prove any of the main charges. Rather than back off and reassess the reason for bringing the case, he then goes into overreach and tries to glom onto anything technicality he can, however preposterous. "one count of obstruction of justice. Let's examine the latter first. The obstruction of justice charge related to Black's removal of boxes of documents from his Toronto office that we all saw on that security camera film. Three ironies in this charge. The first is that by the prosecution's own admission it had all the documents in those boxes..."

The second is that this event occurred in Toronto which is hardly in the jurisdiction of Cook County, Illinois...

The third is that Conrad Black knew the locations of cameras in his own offices yet the tapes showed that he was not concerned nor did he try to dismantle them. ... If he was taking out documents that would have obstructed justice would he have not at least had the cameras closed before he went in?" Crook County, the most notoriously corrupt jurisdictin in the country.... and Fitzgerald, the guy who won Scooter Libby as a trophy in a case where he deliberately avoided bringing charges against the actual perp, Richard Armitage, probably because Armitage was Colin Powell's aide and Powell had by that time, gone over to the dark side. No wonder Illinois is a mess.

[piasa]

Trump pardons ex-media mogul Conrad Black
5/16/2019, 1:03:36 AM · by 2ndDivisionVet · 15 replies
Reuters ^ | May 15, 2019
President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a full pardon for former media mogul Conrad Black, who was convicted in 2007 of fraud and obstruction of justice and spent 3-1/2 years in prison. Black, 74, a Canadian-born British citizen, once ran an international newspaper empire that included the Chicago Sun-Times, Britain’s Daily Telegraph and the Jerusalem Post. “Lord Black’s case has attracted broad support from many high-profile individuals who have vigorously vouched for his exceptional character,” the White House said in a statement announcing the pardon. It said Black had made “tremendous contributions to business,” had written books on history and...