Here’s a little ironic twist that kicked off the jury selection for the trial of David Safavian, the White House official accused of illegally assisting Jack Abramoff.
As you may recall, the Washington Post published the first big piece outing Abramoff’s misdeeds. So it was a surprise that the very first jury selectee called for consideration was a Post reporter. What are the odds?
Metro scribbler Del Quentin Wilber was asked if he had formed an opinion of Jack Abramoff. Wilber said he believed the Post‘s reporting on the man, and thought it was accurate and fair. That was more than enough, I’m sure, to get him bounced from the jury — although a colleague who was there says the defense tried to get him out before he could be asked a single question.
I spoke briefly with Wilber from his Post office; he confirmed that he was the first picked, but didn’t want to comment on the record. Good sport.
