Defense lawyers in the John Liu campaign-finance case are worried that jurors may form a posse against their clients in the wake of a recent Post report that showed crusading Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara made up to look like a “Wild West sheriff.”
In a letter to the judge, lawyers for ex-Liu campaign treasurer Jia “Jenny” Hou said the “incendiary coverage” of last week’s blockbuster bribery charges against several local pols may have tainted the jury pool for next week’s trial of Hou and one-time Liu fund-raiser Xing Wu “Oliver” Pan.
The Manhattan federal court filing notes that “every local newspaper, as well as broadcast media, is discussing what is being called widespread political corruption.”
“For those not reading carefully, Sunday’s New York Post carried a photograph of Mr. Bharara dressed as a Wild West sheriff, with an accompanying article entitled, ‘Meet Preet Bharara, The Man Behind Wall Street, Albany Takedowns,’” wrote lawyers Gerald Lefcourt and Sheryl Reich, who reproduced the image in their 10-page letter.