Edward Tufte forum: Indictments as presentations: evidence and advocacy

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Indictments as presentations: evidence and advocacy

Patrick Fitzgerald's indictment of Scooter Libby and the press-conference (where each reporter had a handout copy of the indictment in hand) was a remarkable presentation. Now Mark Leibovich of the Washington Post has written an interesting account of the Abramoff documents.

I hope a Kindly Contributor can provide links to both indictments and the Fitzgerald press conference, as well as what must be an immense collection of indictment presentations, and indeed judicial opinions, that combine evidence and advocacy.

-- Edward Tufte

Response to Indictments as literature

Correction of original link posted by ET:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/03/AR2006010301873_pf.html

Libby indictment:
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/osc/documents/libby_indictment_28102005.pdf

Abramoff plea agreement:
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/press_room/press_releases/2006_4370_2_abramoff_pleaagree010306.pdf

DOJ press release re Abramoff:
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/press_room/press_releases/2006_4370_1_formerLobbyist_guilty010306.pdf

Fitzgerald press conference, 28 October 2005:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/28/AR2005102801340.html

-- Jim Linnehan (email)

I would like to offer this diagram based on Attachment A of the Ambrahoff plea agreement as an attempt to illustrate the relationships in the document. The diagram is in the spirit of Mark Lombardi's narrative structures: solid lines are transfers of things or money; dashed lines represent influence; dotted lines are relationships. In a way, the diagrams attemps to summarize various aspects of the 15 pages Attachment A.

-- Dave Froberg (email)

Here is the arrest warrant for Claude Allen, former Domestic Advisor to the President, written at times in Elmore Leonard style (note the tense changes), or maybe Leonard writes in arrest warrant style:

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/docs/allen-charges/?resultpage=1&;

Martin Amis wrote a wonderful essay on Elmore Leonard's use of verb tenses, published in Amis, The War Against Cliche. Is the essay posted on the internet?

-- Edward Tufte

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