There's going to be one additional witness, but some of the information that the witness will be presenting isn't quite ready.
The judge has now excused us for the weekend...and it's only 4:30!
I think this is the first time I've seen glimpses of life in some of the jury members' eyes.
So until Monday at 9:30, I'm signing off.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Cross-examining Davis
Scholl starts his cross-examination of Commissioner Davis by asking how Ford contacted her.
"He did not call me. He called my secretary and requested a meeting," says Davis.
She says in the analysis she looked at, the bill actually expanded the items to be surplussed - not only computers, but microwave ovens, telephones and other electronics. This is a good thing. Before only computers could be surplussed.
"It took the normal amount of time that it takes," says Davis when asked about how long it took her department to do the analysis.
Davis's department was already in the business of selling surplus items through an auction, so any competition in this area would take away from her revenue. She tells us that while she doesn't attend the senate meetings, she has people who will present a position on a bill on behalf of the department. She says these people will make an argument for or against the bill in relation to how it affects the department.
Still Davis was fair. While she might not have agreed with the bill, she did try to help E-Cycle get registed as a vendor.
"In order to contract with the State of Tennessee you have to become a registered vendor," says Davis.
Davis says the person from E-Cycle never followed up with her after they told him how to register --which of course makes sense now seeing as how E-Cycle was the FBI and they never really wanted to make the business work.
According to Davis, they introduced the E-Cycle representative to the director of the vendor department.
"She talked with him, gave him the information and we never heard from him again," says Davis.
"He did not call me. He called my secretary and requested a meeting," says Davis.
She says in the analysis she looked at, the bill actually expanded the items to be surplussed - not only computers, but microwave ovens, telephones and other electronics. This is a good thing. Before only computers could be surplussed.
"It took the normal amount of time that it takes," says Davis when asked about how long it took her department to do the analysis.
Davis's department was already in the business of selling surplus items through an auction, so any competition in this area would take away from her revenue. She tells us that while she doesn't attend the senate meetings, she has people who will present a position on a bill on behalf of the department. She says these people will make an argument for or against the bill in relation to how it affects the department.
Still Davis was fair. While she might not have agreed with the bill, she did try to help E-Cycle get registed as a vendor.
"In order to contract with the State of Tennessee you have to become a registered vendor," says Davis.
Davis says the person from E-Cycle never followed up with her after they told him how to register --which of course makes sense now seeing as how E-Cycle was the FBI and they never really wanted to make the business work.
According to Davis, they introduced the E-Cycle representative to the director of the vendor department.
"She talked with him, gave him the information and we never heard from him again," says Davis.
Commissioner Davis does not agree
Like Thursday, we are quickly going through witnesses. We are now on witness number four. Now on the stand is Gwendolyn Sims Davis.
Some of you already are familiar with Gwen Davis, but if you're not, she is the Commissioner of the State of Tennessee.
Davis remembers E-Cycle Bill 28 (the unamended version) and the discussions she had with Mr. Ford. The first discussion happened in Ford's office and she tells the court Ford inquired about the process of the disposal of computers.
If you've just tuned into the blog and don't know the history behind E-Cycle, the reason Ford was doing this was because E-Cycle was concerned that the schools got first dibs on the surplussed electronics and they didn't like that idea. E-Cycle asked Ford to check into it and see what could be done.
Ford went right to the source - Commissioner Davis. And she's one tough cookie when it comes to her department.
"I informed Senator Ford that schools got computers that were Pentium 4 and higher," says Davis.
Ford wasn't happy with this answer and told her that these computers weren't useful. He also implied some other things about Commissioner Davis that weren't exactly nice -- such as she didn't know "what the hell she was doing" and said that he would have to "come over there and run General Services for you."
"What did Ford want to do with the computers?" asked the prosecutor.
"At that time he said he didn't want them to go to the schools," says Davis.
Davis explained to him that there was a law which mandated that these computers do have to go to the schools. But her department did agree to do a bill analysis.
Mike Perry, the previous witness, did the bill analysis as per Commission Davis. This is common practice and Davis says that usually after the analysis, she approves the bills by signing it either 'yay' or 'nay'.
However, much to Ford's dismay, she was not in agreement with the E-Cycle bill.
"I considered it to be a bad bill because it would have taken revenue away from my department," says Davis.
Davis says it was unusual for her to get a call from someone who was adamant about changing a bill. She also says that shortly after their first visit, Ford called her back to his office to talk to E-Cycle. They wanted to know what needed to be done to get them signed up as a vendor.
Davis can't remember who she met with E-Cycle, but says she did tell them what steps they needed to go through to get signed up.
That's it from the prosecutors. Short and to the point.
Some of you already are familiar with Gwen Davis, but if you're not, she is the Commissioner of the State of Tennessee.
Davis remembers E-Cycle Bill 28 (the unamended version) and the discussions she had with Mr. Ford. The first discussion happened in Ford's office and she tells the court Ford inquired about the process of the disposal of computers.
If you've just tuned into the blog and don't know the history behind E-Cycle, the reason Ford was doing this was because E-Cycle was concerned that the schools got first dibs on the surplussed electronics and they didn't like that idea. E-Cycle asked Ford to check into it and see what could be done.
Ford went right to the source - Commissioner Davis. And she's one tough cookie when it comes to her department.
"I informed Senator Ford that schools got computers that were Pentium 4 and higher," says Davis.
Ford wasn't happy with this answer and told her that these computers weren't useful. He also implied some other things about Commissioner Davis that weren't exactly nice -- such as she didn't know "what the hell she was doing" and said that he would have to "come over there and run General Services for you."
"What did Ford want to do with the computers?" asked the prosecutor.
"At that time he said he didn't want them to go to the schools," says Davis.
Davis explained to him that there was a law which mandated that these computers do have to go to the schools. But her department did agree to do a bill analysis.
Mike Perry, the previous witness, did the bill analysis as per Commission Davis. This is common practice and Davis says that usually after the analysis, she approves the bills by signing it either 'yay' or 'nay'.
However, much to Ford's dismay, she was not in agreement with the E-Cycle bill.
"I considered it to be a bad bill because it would have taken revenue away from my department," says Davis.
Davis says it was unusual for her to get a call from someone who was adamant about changing a bill. She also says that shortly after their first visit, Ford called her back to his office to talk to E-Cycle. They wanted to know what needed to be done to get them signed up as a vendor.
Davis can't remember who she met with E-Cycle, but says she did tell them what steps they needed to go through to get signed up.
That's it from the prosecutors. Short and to the point.
Humphrey makes a repeat appearance
The prosecutor has now called Russell Humphrey back to the witness stand. If you remember, Humphrey was our first witness of the day and he's in charge of all the records in the Senate.
When it comes to John Ford and the bill, Humphrey says he didn't review the contents in the folder before he handed them over to the officers. He made photocopies and gave them everything he had.
Scholl is now questioning Humphrey's record keeping. It seems there was one mis-labeled bill included with the evidence. Bill 72 was in the same folder as Bill 94. Scholl wants to know if there is anything missing from the file.
"Everything that was retained in my copy of the file that I gave to the government is included in that file," says Humphrey.
That's it for Scholl. He had no further questions.
When it comes to John Ford and the bill, Humphrey says he didn't review the contents in the folder before he handed them over to the officers. He made photocopies and gave them everything he had.
Scholl is now questioning Humphrey's record keeping. It seems there was one mis-labeled bill included with the evidence. Bill 72 was in the same folder as Bill 94. Scholl wants to know if there is anything missing from the file.
"Everything that was retained in my copy of the file that I gave to the government is included in that file," says Humphrey.
That's it for Scholl. He had no further questions.
Micheal Perry...come on down
The prosecution has called Michael Perry as their next witness. Perry's job title is a mouth-full. He is the Assistant Commissioner of the State Department of General Services.
Scholl is asking Perry about surplus equipment and what they do with it.
"Someone has to determine what is useful and what is not?" asks Scholl.
As Assistant Commissioner, looking at old junkie equipment isn't Perry's job. He assumes this would be a clerical position. The State Department uses Unicore as their recycler and Perry says they put their equipment on the dock for them to come pick it up.
Perry says he never really went out to see the stuff in the warehouse, instead there was discussions and meetings with the warehouse personel.
We're now back to the fiscal note. Perry says they never changed the fiscal note on the E-Cycle bill. Instead when the bill was amended, the note was "deferred to the amendment". Perry terms this as "dismissive legislation".
Issues with the fiscal notes aren't frequent, but Perry says they probably have one during each term.
"We would attempt to workout a solution," says Perry.
"Did this bill benefit your department in it's original form?"
"No," says Perry.
"Did the amendment allow you to keep operating exactly as you are?"
"Yes," says Perry.
Scholl is asking Perry about surplus equipment and what they do with it.
"Someone has to determine what is useful and what is not?" asks Scholl.
As Assistant Commissioner, looking at old junkie equipment isn't Perry's job. He assumes this would be a clerical position. The State Department uses Unicore as their recycler and Perry says they put their equipment on the dock for them to come pick it up.
Perry says he never really went out to see the stuff in the warehouse, instead there was discussions and meetings with the warehouse personel.
We're now back to the fiscal note. Perry says they never changed the fiscal note on the E-Cycle bill. Instead when the bill was amended, the note was "deferred to the amendment". Perry terms this as "dismissive legislation".
Issues with the fiscal notes aren't frequent, but Perry says they probably have one during each term.
"We would attempt to workout a solution," says Perry.
"Did this bill benefit your department in it's original form?"
"No," says Perry.
"Did the amendment allow you to keep operating exactly as you are?"
"Yes," says Perry.
The hostile meeting with the 2nd best witness
The prosecutor has now called their second-best witness to the stand: James White. White works for the Fiscal Review Committee. So far the questions have focused on what fiscal impact a bill will have and what considerations are taken into consideration.
"We have seven fiscal analysts that work on these bills," says White. "We list the assumptions of the fiscal impact...If there is a cost to the state government, we will list the amount of that cost to implement the bill."
White says Fiscal Notes are available to the public. He admits his group has nothing to do with whether or not the bill will be passed, but does say the amount the bill will cost does play a role in the committee's vote.
Now we get to the good stuff and learn why DiScenza mentioned that White is his second-best witness...
According to White, Ford wanted to meet with him to discuss the fiscal note attached to Bill 94 -- and you know that can't be good.
White says he usually attends the meeting along with one analyst.
"It was scheduled immediately after a Senator Legislature meeting," says White. "Senator Ford invited us back to his personal office."
Ford get get right to the point. He begins the meeting by stating he thought the fiscal note was incorrect and suggests that they change the note.
"We listened to his concerns. We explained to Senator Ford the reasons we had issued the note," says White. "He insisted we were wrong."
White says Ford wanted them to revise the note.
"Senator was very aggressive in articulating his views," says White. "I wouldn't use the word hostile, but he was aggressive."
Ford wanted to have the issue resolved in this office without having the matter discussed publicly. He didn't want the 'errors' they had made to hit the public as that wouldn't look good for White's department. But that's not all. He suggested that he fire the analyst who worked on the document - the same analyst that was sitting in the chair beside White at this meeting.
After the meeting, White did take another look at note --just in case Ford happened to be right. But that wasn't the case...
"We were satisfied with the original fiscal note. It was correct," says White.
So White did not change the note. Instead Ford amended the bill. The amendment basically said they didn't have to use the recycling company if they didn't want to -giving people the option to recyle. This reduced the cost to the state and removed the fiscal note.
"We have seven fiscal analysts that work on these bills," says White. "We list the assumptions of the fiscal impact...If there is a cost to the state government, we will list the amount of that cost to implement the bill."
White says Fiscal Notes are available to the public. He admits his group has nothing to do with whether or not the bill will be passed, but does say the amount the bill will cost does play a role in the committee's vote.
Now we get to the good stuff and learn why DiScenza mentioned that White is his second-best witness...
According to White, Ford wanted to meet with him to discuss the fiscal note attached to Bill 94 -- and you know that can't be good.
White says he usually attends the meeting along with one analyst.
"It was scheduled immediately after a Senator Legislature meeting," says White. "Senator Ford invited us back to his personal office."
Ford get get right to the point. He begins the meeting by stating he thought the fiscal note was incorrect and suggests that they change the note.
"We listened to his concerns. We explained to Senator Ford the reasons we had issued the note," says White. "He insisted we were wrong."
White says Ford wanted them to revise the note.
"Senator was very aggressive in articulating his views," says White. "I wouldn't use the word hostile, but he was aggressive."
Ford wanted to have the issue resolved in this office without having the matter discussed publicly. He didn't want the 'errors' they had made to hit the public as that wouldn't look good for White's department. But that's not all. He suggested that he fire the analyst who worked on the document - the same analyst that was sitting in the chair beside White at this meeting.
After the meeting, White did take another look at note --just in case Ford happened to be right. But that wasn't the case...
"We were satisfied with the original fiscal note. It was correct," says White.
So White did not change the note. Instead Ford amended the bill. The amendment basically said they didn't have to use the recycling company if they didn't want to -giving people the option to recyle. This reduced the cost to the state and removed the fiscal note.
Who did what?
So what did Ford do to get the bill to the floor? Apparently nothing.
Under Scholl's questioning, Humphrey tells us it's the committee that votes and pushes the bill forward. The committee will also decide which amendments need to be made -- such as removing the 1-year in business clause.
In Ford's case, the e-cycle bill was motioned by Miller, seconded by Senator Cohen and then the rest of the group voted "aye" in favor of the bill.
According to the transcript, Senator Jackson even remarked that the bill was a good idea and that there is surplus property out there.
"It's incredible all the equipment that is out there," says Jackson.
So what happens if a bill is so bad, it doesn't make constitutional requirements? The answer simple -- they don't make the cut. Humphrey says the lawyers will have to correct them before they go to the Senate.
But get this...Humphrey says that Senators amending bills is rare.
"Since I've been custodian since 1999, I can't recall any other Senator amending a bill," says Humphrey.
So now let's clarify:
Can a Senator take money for any reason from a lobbyist?
"No" says Humphrey.
Under Scholl's questioning, Humphrey tells us it's the committee that votes and pushes the bill forward. The committee will also decide which amendments need to be made -- such as removing the 1-year in business clause.
In Ford's case, the e-cycle bill was motioned by Miller, seconded by Senator Cohen and then the rest of the group voted "aye" in favor of the bill.
According to the transcript, Senator Jackson even remarked that the bill was a good idea and that there is surplus property out there.
"It's incredible all the equipment that is out there," says Jackson.
So what happens if a bill is so bad, it doesn't make constitutional requirements? The answer simple -- they don't make the cut. Humphrey says the lawyers will have to correct them before they go to the Senate.
But get this...Humphrey says that Senators amending bills is rare.
"Since I've been custodian since 1999, I can't recall any other Senator amending a bill," says Humphrey.
So now let's clarify:
Can a Senator take money for any reason from a lobbyist?
"No" says Humphrey.
Is it illegal to accept money?
Senators are expected to give their opinions when talking about a bill.
"Would it be illegal for them to accept money to do this?" asks the prosecutor.
"Yes, it would..." says Humphrey.
That was Discenza's last question. Now it's time for Scholl.
He starts talking about Ford's consulting jobs. Scholl asks if there is anything illegal if the Senator is a consultant. Humphrey says no there is not. In fact, Senators are not restricted at all in what type of secondary employment they accept. Humphrey also tells the court that Senator's don't have to reveal what specific consulting projects they are working on.
Now that Scholl has that established, he wants to know exactly how many votes it takes to get a bill passed.
"It takes 17 votes to pass a bill," says Humphrey.
"So Mr.Ford could not pass a bill on his own?" asks Scholl.
"No one vote could pass a bill," says Humphrey.
"Would it be illegal for them to accept money to do this?" asks the prosecutor.
"Yes, it would..." says Humphrey.
That was Discenza's last question. Now it's time for Scholl.
He starts talking about Ford's consulting jobs. Scholl asks if there is anything illegal if the Senator is a consultant. Humphrey says no there is not. In fact, Senators are not restricted at all in what type of secondary employment they accept. Humphrey also tells the court that Senator's don't have to reveal what specific consulting projects they are working on.
Now that Scholl has that established, he wants to know exactly how many votes it takes to get a bill passed.
"It takes 17 votes to pass a bill," says Humphrey.
"So Mr.Ford could not pass a bill on his own?" asks Scholl.
"No one vote could pass a bill," says Humphrey.
The Ayes of March
Even during the Senate meetings, Ford is not safe from being recorded. Humphrey tells the court that they record all meetings. March 5, 2005 was one of these sessions.
"Ah, Sentate Bill 94 has to do with our surplus property. If, Mr. Chairman, if I could get a motion to second the bill I have had amended by the Comptroller's office," says Ford.
Ford tells the Senate what E-Cycle does. He tells them that they pick up the surplus equipment and dispose of it. He says that the amended version has a clause so vendors can bid on the surplus equipment and the compnay with the highest bid would get to have the surplus equipment.
"...May be charged a fee to dispose the equipment," says one of the members. "What if the cost of disposing the equipment costs more than the fee paid for the surplus?"
Ford doesn't think this will happen.
"Why are we requiring that someone be in business for one year prior," asks another member.
Ford says that this was put in the clause to make sure that people are following the recycling guidelines.
"I think the standards can be mandated through the contract to protect the interests of the state," says the member, rejecting Ford's statement.
The Senate votes and they decide to take out the 1-year clause. They then vote on the bill and the majority wins. In fact, there is not one "nay" in the group.
"Nine 'ayes' are going to send it to Finance Committee," says Senator Cohen who chairs this meeting.
Senator Steve Cohen, then remembers it doesn't have to go to Finance.
"Scatch that. Nine 'ayes' sends it to the floor," says Senator Cohen.
"Ah, Sentate Bill 94 has to do with our surplus property. If, Mr. Chairman, if I could get a motion to second the bill I have had amended by the Comptroller's office," says Ford.
Ford tells the Senate what E-Cycle does. He tells them that they pick up the surplus equipment and dispose of it. He says that the amended version has a clause so vendors can bid on the surplus equipment and the compnay with the highest bid would get to have the surplus equipment.
"...May be charged a fee to dispose the equipment," says one of the members. "What if the cost of disposing the equipment costs more than the fee paid for the surplus?"
Ford doesn't think this will happen.
"Why are we requiring that someone be in business for one year prior," asks another member.
Ford says that this was put in the clause to make sure that people are following the recycling guidelines.
"I think the standards can be mandated through the contract to protect the interests of the state," says the member, rejecting Ford's statement.
The Senate votes and they decide to take out the 1-year clause. They then vote on the bill and the majority wins. In fact, there is not one "nay" in the group.
"Nine 'ayes' are going to send it to Finance Committee," says Senator Cohen who chairs this meeting.
Senator Steve Cohen, then remembers it doesn't have to go to Finance.
"Scatch that. Nine 'ayes' sends it to the floor," says Senator Cohen.
Groom's side noticably missing
Being in court is kind of like attending a wedding. On one side you have the press (the bride's side) and the other side you have the family and friends of the person on trial (the groom's side). If you have ever been to a wedding or have taken the plunge, you know that whether you admit it or not, you want to be on the side that has more people. It's petty, but that's the way it is.
Sitting in a trial is the same. As the press, we sit on the right hand side and take up three to four rows out of the 6 benches available. There's a few of us techie bloggers continously typing, a couple court artists and then the reporters for the newspapers, radio and TV networks.
Throughout the trial, Ford's family has filled at least three of the rows on their side of the court. There's his girlfriend, his daughter from LA and a couple other family members - even Jake Ford has dropped by to support John. Then there's usually a few curious spectators who want to hear the trial first hand and watch the evidence with the jury. In fact, earlier this week, there were times that all of the benches on "that" side were full.
But not today. Today only five spectators have shown up and Ford's family is noticabily missing.
Where have all the Ford's gone?
Sitting in a trial is the same. As the press, we sit on the right hand side and take up three to four rows out of the 6 benches available. There's a few of us techie bloggers continously typing, a couple court artists and then the reporters for the newspapers, radio and TV networks.
Throughout the trial, Ford's family has filled at least three of the rows on their side of the court. There's his girlfriend, his daughter from LA and a couple other family members - even Jake Ford has dropped by to support John. Then there's usually a few curious spectators who want to hear the trial first hand and watch the evidence with the jury. In fact, earlier this week, there were times that all of the benches on "that" side were full.
But not today. Today only five spectators have shown up and Ford's family is noticabily missing.
Where have all the Ford's gone?
E-Cycle passes through the senate
Ford worked hard at getting this bill passed and it almost made it through all the steps before the FBI pulled the plug.
According to Humphrey, John Ford's bill was referred to the state and local government. The jacket of bill 94 (exhibit 197) shows that the primary sponsor was Senator Ford and the co-sponsors were Senator Crutchfield and Senator Jeff Miller.
Humphrey tell us that on January 31 the E-Cycle bill passed first consideration. It passed second consideration on Feb 2, 2005 and then it was referred to the state and local government committee.
"It was sent to the calendar and passed out of the committee on March 15, 2005," says Humphrey.
He says the bill appeared with an amendment. The amendment says that if amended, this bill wouldn't cost the State anything. If the bill had a cost that exceeded $100,000, the bill would have had to go to the finance committee.
"This is a very common amendment," says Humphrey.
John Ford actually created two bills. The first bill (number 28) never went down to the Senate for a vote. This was the one that E-Cycle had asked Ford to change because they wanted the vendor of preference when it come to surplus computer equipment.
According to Humphrey, John Ford's bill was referred to the state and local government. The jacket of bill 94 (exhibit 197) shows that the primary sponsor was Senator Ford and the co-sponsors were Senator Crutchfield and Senator Jeff Miller.
Humphrey tell us that on January 31 the E-Cycle bill passed first consideration. It passed second consideration on Feb 2, 2005 and then it was referred to the state and local government committee.
"It was sent to the calendar and passed out of the committee on March 15, 2005," says Humphrey.
He says the bill appeared with an amendment. The amendment says that if amended, this bill wouldn't cost the State anything. If the bill had a cost that exceeded $100,000, the bill would have had to go to the finance committee.
"This is a very common amendment," says Humphrey.
John Ford actually created two bills. The first bill (number 28) never went down to the Senate for a vote. This was the one that E-Cycle had asked Ford to change because they wanted the vendor of preference when it come to surplus computer equipment.
How the bill system works
Amidst all the sex, lies and video tape, the core of the John Ford Bribery Trial has to do with getting a bill passed -- a legislative bill for E-Cycle. Humphrey tells us how this works.
"Sometimes the Senate will draft the bill while other times they will look at bills already drafted," says Humphrey.
All bills are placed in a jacket and the senate is required to sign the jacket. Humphrey says it is then filed and sent to his office. Once received by Humphrey's office, it is given a number.
"We then go through of process of notice requirements," says Humphrey.
There are three considerations the bill has to go through. Immediately upon filing it's distributed to the public and to the press - this is called the first consideration.
It's then held until the next time the Senate is in session. At that time, the bill reaches second consideration -- this gives the public more time to know about the bill and a chance to approach their city council if they have issues. The bill then goes to the standing committee.
A standing committee is a group of senators that meet and sign bills such as the Finance Committee. Once the bill is passed to the chairman, he can start lobbying. But the Senator who proposed the bill still need to have the bill heard.
"To have a bill being hear, the Senator sponsoring the bill will contact the chairman to ask that it be put on the agenda," says Humphrey.
But - and this is the key point -- if the Senator proposing the bill doesn't get it to go through the committee the bill will die.
"Sometimes the Senate will draft the bill while other times they will look at bills already drafted," says Humphrey.
All bills are placed in a jacket and the senate is required to sign the jacket. Humphrey says it is then filed and sent to his office. Once received by Humphrey's office, it is given a number.
"We then go through of process of notice requirements," says Humphrey.
There are three considerations the bill has to go through. Immediately upon filing it's distributed to the public and to the press - this is called the first consideration.
It's then held until the next time the Senate is in session. At that time, the bill reaches second consideration -- this gives the public more time to know about the bill and a chance to approach their city council if they have issues. The bill then goes to the standing committee.
A standing committee is a group of senators that meet and sign bills such as the Finance Committee. Once the bill is passed to the chairman, he can start lobbying. But the Senator who proposed the bill still need to have the bill heard.
"To have a bill being hear, the Senator sponsoring the bill will contact the chairman to ask that it be put on the agenda," says Humphrey.
But - and this is the key point -- if the Senator proposing the bill doesn't get it to go through the committee the bill will die.
Another Witness takes the stand
And we're back...
On Thursday, four witnesses were called to stand and we may hear four more today.
We start today with Russell Andrew Humphrey. Humphrey resides in Franklin Tennessee and he's the Chief Clerk of the Tennessee Senate. Basically he's the custodian of all the records in the Senate.
While we all can't wait to find out what Humphrey has to say and why he's been called up to the stand, Descenza told the judge this morning (before the jury arrived) that his second most important witness will most likely take the stand before lunch. He didn't say who that person was, so we'll have to wait.
In the meantime, Humphrey has just identified former Senator Ford.
"He right over there. He's wearing a blue shirt and dark suit," says Humphrey.
On Thursday, four witnesses were called to stand and we may hear four more today.
We start today with Russell Andrew Humphrey. Humphrey resides in Franklin Tennessee and he's the Chief Clerk of the Tennessee Senate. Basically he's the custodian of all the records in the Senate.
While we all can't wait to find out what Humphrey has to say and why he's been called up to the stand, Descenza told the judge this morning (before the jury arrived) that his second most important witness will most likely take the stand before lunch. He didn't say who that person was, so we'll have to wait.
In the meantime, Humphrey has just identified former Senator Ford.
"He right over there. He's wearing a blue shirt and dark suit," says Humphrey.
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