Apr 17, 2006 11:21 am US/Central
Key Moments In The Ryan Trial
• Ryan protégé
Scott Fawell was the leadoff government witness. Ryan's former chief of staff and campaign manager was brought from federal prison in South Dakota, where he is serving 6 ½ years for racketeering. His combative week-long testimony, while hostile to the government, left the impression that Ryan lived large and gambled, and was in the loop about corruption in his offices.
• The playing of a tape recorded phone call between Ryan and government witness lobbyist
Don Udstuen. In testimony, Udstuen quoted two Ryan pals, co-defendant Larry Warner and former lawmaker Ron Swanson as saying, "I'll take care of George." Prosecutors suggested this meant the men divvied up a cut of their deals with Ryan.
• Prosecutors attacked one of their own, Ryan witness
Ed McNally, who was once a defense attorney for Ryan and now is the federal prosecutor for southern Illinois. McNally testified of confronting prosecutors during an early interview of Ryan about shoddy note taking by the FBI agent in the room. That interview led federal investigators to charge Ryan with lying to them.
• Ryan erupts in an angry outburst to reporters after court in response to former Texas Senator
Phil Gramm's "prostitute" comment. After testifying that he didn't know his campaign had paid for Ryan's endorsement, he said, "You don't pay people to be your friends. It's the difference between love and prostitution."
• Ryan's wife,
Lura Lynn, gave an on-camera interview extolling her husband's virtues and his innocence.
• Ryan leaked sealed information to at least one reporter about a
juror being dismissed. Following these outbursts, Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer issued a
gag order.• Two weeks into jury deliberations, U.S. District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer denied a mistrial motion by defense attorneys and
replaced two jurors, who were dismissed for allegedly lying about their criminal records.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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