While a backlash emerged Tuesday among French politicians of all stripes about whether their government and others should have rushed to embrace the cause of the jailed film director Roman Polanski, his American legal team picked up an influential new member: the lawyer Reid Weingarten, a well-known Washington power player and close friend and associate of Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.
The recruiting of Mr. Weingarten was a strong signal that Mr. Polanski’s legal team intends to push hard on the Washington end of the case... A former government lawyer who once worked in the Justice Department’s public integrity division, Mr. Weingarten is described as one of Mr. Holder’s closest friends, and joined him in founding the See Forever Foundation, which helps disadvantaged children.
Holder is not responsible for the decision of his friend. But if I were him, I'd be a little nervous about one of my best friends taking a role in a supremely controversial case.
This also tends to confirm the idea that the defense in this case is at least going to try and call in some of the favors the Hollywood left thinks they are owed by the Obama administration.
The Swiss government asked the U.S. Justice Department to release sealed transcripts in the Roman Polanski case just days before a Los Angeles judge was told that the Swiss did not request that information, according to a letter from Swiss officials that points to apparent miscommunication in the case.
The officials said that the denial of access to the information was the key factor in the refusal to extradite the film maker to the U.S., according to the letter to the U.S. Embassy in Bern, Switzerland.
A district attorney's spokeswoman said their office was never notified of the Swiss request and did not know that the Justice Department had turned it down.
The letter dated Monday was obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday night. It provided a time line of when the request was filed and when it was turned down.
The letter blamed the denial of extradition solidly on the refusal by the Justice Department to show transcripts of testimony by the film director's original prosecutor to Swiss officials.
Justice Department spokeswoman Laura Sweeney said she had no comment on the matter.
So....Polanski hires a pal of U.S. Attorney Eric Holder as his lawyer. Then, Holder's agency "accidentally" screws up the paperwork. And Polanski, darling of the Hollywood elite that donates so much money to this administration goes free.
