27th Witness Called in Blankenship Trial

The prosecution called its final direct witness Tuesday in the trial of former Massey Energy Chief Executive Officer Don Blankenship. FBI special agent James Lafferty is the federal government’s 27th and final witnessk, and prosecutors used him to introduce hundreds of mine safety violations along with documents that showed Blankenship had millions of dollars in compensation at stake linked to coal production, stock prices and company profit and that safety violations had no affect on his compensation. The trial takes a break today. It’s unclear how many witnesses the defense will call, or if Blankenship himself will testify. Blankenship is on trial for charges of conspiring to violate mine safety laws and lying to federal financial regulators about safety at the Upper Big Branch mine.