Defense attorney Browne was much more polite in his cross exam this morning, most of the time anyway.
But Bill Allen proved again - as he did in the Kott trial - that he's not given up his dignity yet. He did not simply agree to everyting Browne asked. He forced Browne to wait until he found the lines Browne was asking about. Other times he simply disagreed. His long pauses seemed to try Browne's patience. At one point he asked for another headset. It was close to break and the judge had asked to hurry things along. Browned didn't want to wait. Allen retorted, "it's not my fault I can't hear." and put in his hearing aid. But it messed up Browne's pace, which had been picking up as he seemed to be trying to rattle Allen. Instead, Allen seemed to rattle Browne.
Mostly Browne was trying to get him to acknowledge that Kohring always said the money he asked for was for a loan, not a payment. The judge got irritated when Browne asked, "When he asked you for a loan, he always intended to pay it back? Right?" The judge said, well, of course, that's a tautology, rephrase the question. Browne didn't see to understand the Judge's objection, but finally figured out a different way to ask, "When he aske for money, it was for a loan, right?"
At one point Browne asked Allen about his being mad at Pete Lethard, then President of Veco, for telling the Australians who were considering buying Veco, that he was buying politicians including Don Young and Ted Stevens. That this disclosure caused them to drop out of negotiations. Allen responded, I said that, but I may have been wrong about Pete saying that.
Browne also spent a lot of time quoting Allen's profanity. He asked him whether there were two Bill Allen's - the one in front of us in his suit and the one who says fuck 52 times on the tape. Allen said, no, there's only one.
What about the Bill Allen who gives money to the Boys Club and the one in the tapes. Allen: It's the same Bill Allen.
Bottini has jumped up a few times to object to Browne reading to Allen.
I don't quite know where Browne is taking this. Even if it is a loan and not a payment, so what? If he could get a legitimate loan he should go to the bank. If he can't get such a loan, then being able to get one quicker or even at all, is a special benefit most people don't have.
He also tried to distinguish Vic Kohring from the others that Allen bribed. Well, it may be Kohring got less than the others, but so what?
This is a little disorganized, I just hae a short time during break this morning.
Our kids in college are always asking for loans, it save face, we know that the bigger ones we will never see (thus they are grants) but it saves face for them
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Anon-- I was thinking the same thing, but one of my college kids has too much dignity to ask for anything, including a loan. I have had to go to her place with groceries playing dumb, "I don't know what happened. Your father and I were both grocery shopping at the same time and I have no room in the freezer!" as I fill up her freezer and fridge with things she knows I never buy for us!
ReplyDeleteIs this why Vic's wife isn't showing up? Is she embarrassed?
Isn't Vic's wife a Russian mail-order bride who lives in Oregon somewhere? Might be all sorts of cultural and geographical reasons she's not there. Kind of like why Tom Anderson's wife isn't wearing a wedding ring any more. Or something.
ReplyDeleteIsh-- Do you remember Vic's Daily News story about "My new world"? He spoke lovingly of his future wife and was quite taken in with her music. It was badly written but very sweet.
ReplyDeleteWhat's up with Lesil not wearing her ring any more? I thought that she and Tom were in love and that this would pass and they'd stay hitched.
I believe Phil Munger, a music professor who is also blogging the trial, told me that she got to the US on her own (at least not with Vic's help) and Vic met her here. She's a very accomplished musician and plays with the Portland Symphony. Portland gave her a lot more opportunities, I was told, for her career.
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