The trial of Cardinal Angelo Becciu is still in its preliminary phase. The cardinal's lawyers insist that they cannot prepare a defense because they haven't received all of the evidence the prosecution is using to accuse him.
The prosecution denies the claim, and the president of the tribunal, Giuseppe Pignatone has ordered that the prosecutor and an specialist on the defense both check to see what evidence remains.
For the first time, Cardinal Becciu did not attend the proceedings, since his lawyers criticized a previous interrogation in which a primary witness was asked about whether the Cardinal had an intimate relationship with one of the defendants, which the witness then dismissed. The Cardinal's lawyers pointed out that the procedural code prohibits asking questions about the moral conduct of the defendants, and that such an inquiry was out of place.
The prosecutor has also announced that he is re-filing charges against 4 other defendants which were dropped months ago due to lack of evidence.
Judge Giuseppe Pignatone has summoned them to the court for February 18, to decide whether to pursue those charges as well.
JRB
TR: JM
