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Yesterday, I noted that Arthur Folsom, the attorney representing terror suspect Najibullah Zazi, had earned some uncomfortable spotlight time due to questions about his ability to properly represent the defendant in such a high-profile case. And the criticism is only getting worse. The Denver Post's Mike Littwin, who'd earlier been worried about the repercussions of the Zazi matter whether he was guilty or not, comes after Folsom directly in today's column, "Zazi, Justice Need Strong Defense." As he writes, "Folsom will be long remembered as the lawyer who allowed his client to spend 28 hours talking to the FBI without immunity, without the promise of a deal, with nothing in return."
Hard to argue with that logic. What seemed to make sense from a media-spin standpoint promptly backfired, leaving Zazi in far worse legal shape than if he'd simply hunkered down and kept his yap shut. But Littwin's on shakier ground when he needles Folsom for hiring a publicist, Wendy Aiello. After the Zazi ordeal is behind him, he's going to need all the positive PR he can get.
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