Lawyer in federal perjury case takes stand, insists he didn't coach witnesses to lie
A Chicago lawyer facing felony obstruction and perjury charges in federal court for allegedly coaching witnesses to lie took the stand Tuesday in his own defense.
Beau Brindley, 37, insisted that he hadn’t done so, the Chicago Tribune (reg. req.) reports.
“When they are on the stand under oath, the only direction I give them is that they have to tell the absolute truth, and that’s it,” he said.
Prosecutors had contended that detailed question-and-answer scripts seized from Brindley’s law office approximately a year ago were evidence of his coaching. But, in fact, Brindley said, he did nothing wrong—the scripts were a good way to prepare witnesses for trial, and he got the idea by watching prosecutors write out testimony for witnesses in grand jury appearances.
The Q-and-As were routinely used to communicate between lawyers in his firm, Brindley said, and were revised as associates spoke to witnesses and got new information, the Chicago Sun-Times (sub. req.) reports.
“We’re not going to go into court and hear something we’re not expecting,” he testified.
Earlier in the bench trial before U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber, Brindley’s lawyer, Cynthia Giacchetti, emphasized that the witnesses against Brindley have an incentive to lie, the Chicago Tribune (reg. req.) reported last week.
“It’s very clear that if they wanted to open the jail doors, all they had to say was three little words: ‘Brindley did it,’ ” Giacchetti told the judge. “They did it to help themselves.”
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Lawyer goes on trial for allegedly coaching witnesses to lie; scripted Q-and-A cited”
