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Aug. 31, 2000

A glimpse at the legal strategy Tom Welch and Dave Johnson plan to use to defend themselves in the Olympic bribery case.

Lawyers for the pair have filed the first significant motion in the case, asking a judge for a delay. News Specialist John Daley has details.

Lawyers for Welch and Johnson have filed a five-page motion. It asks a judge to extend both the trial date and the time for filing pretrial motions.

But it also gives us an early look at how lawyers for Welch and Johnson are likely to attack the government's case.

The day Tom Welch and Dave Johnson were arraigned in the Olympic bribery case, there were a few hints to reporters about the legal skirmishes to come.

Dave Johnson/Olympic Defendant/ Aug. 8: "I THINK YOU'RE GOING TO FIND OUT A LOT. I THINK YOU'VE GOT A LOT AHEAD OF YOU. BUT PLEASE HELP THEM FIND THE TRAVEL ACT. WHEN THEY WERE BOOKING US THEY HAD A PROBLEM FINDING IT."

The defense team clearly sees some holes in the government's case, according to a pretrial motion filed by the pair's attorneys.

The motion argues "This case presents novel and complex legal issues." Among them: the "validity" of the fraud counts...which depend on the "imaginative use of the mail and wire fraud and Travel Act statutues." ...and the government's reliance on the "rarely construed Utah commercial bribery statute."

Former federal prosecutor Robert Litt says motions like this are routine.

He says the motion explores "not whether or not they did it, but is this a crime?"

It's a longshot, but Litt says "if the judge says this isn't a crime, then essentially the case gets thrown out."

The motions also represent a formal request for more time for the Welch/Johnson defense team to both prepare its case and file more pretrial motions.

A trial date had been set for mid-October, but the lawyers are asking for a delay. Not surprising given the work they've got ahead of them.

Max Wheeler/Johnson's Attorney/August 7: "I THINK THAT, CONSERVATIVELY SPEAKING, IT WILL TAKE AT LEAST A YEAR TO GO THROUGH THE MATERIALS THE GOVERNMENT HAS ASSEMBLED. THEY TELL US THERE ARE 400 BANKER BOXES FULL OF DOCUMENTS AND I DON'T EXPECT THAT'LL BE EVERYTHING. SO WE HAVE A LOT TO DO."

Pretrial motions of this kind are routine in cases like this.

Legal experts tell me it's also routine for a judge to turn them down. But expect a rash of similar defense motions to be filed over the coming months.