6:00: Morning News

Former Performance Coal president returns to stand Monday as Blankenship trial enters 4th week

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The cross examination of a former Massey Energy mine group president continues Monday morning at the Charleston Federal Courthouse where the trial of former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship is entering its 4th full week.

Chris Blanchard, former Massey Marfork group & Performance Coal president

Thus far, Chris Blanchard, past president of Massey’s Marfork Coal Group which included Performance Coal’s Upper Big Branch Mine, has testified for more than nine hours. He first took the witness stand Thursday afternoon and spent the full day there Friday.

On Friday afternoon, Blanchard told Bill Taylor, one of Blankenship’s defense attorneys, he followed mine safety laws while overseeing operations at UBB and other mines. “I didn’t break any laws, sir,” Blanchard said.

He also testified Blankenship never told him to violate any laws to increase production.

Questioned by Taylor about his agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Blanchard said he was threatened with prosecution if he did not agree to take the stand to testify against his former boss. According to Blanchard, who has not been charged with any crimes, he had “two bad choices.”

Tom Peyton, a Nitro attorney and MetroNews legal analyst, said Blanchard’s Friday testimony appeared beneficial for the defense and places the prosecution in a tough spot with one of its own witnesses.

“They will be put in a position, probably on Monday, to do redirect examination where they will be essentially attacking their own witness,” Peyton said. “They have accused him of being a co-conspirator, meaning a criminal like Blankenship, they just chose to use him as a witness in this trial as opposed to indicting him and he (Blanchard) says he’s not (a criminal).”

Going forward with the questioning of Blanchard, once cross examination wraps up, Peyton said Steve Ruby, assistant U.S. attorney, will face a challenge.

“It’s a witness they put on the stand, that indicates you think he’s going to say something helpful to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which he did,” Peyton said. “Then you turn around, two days later, and start criticizing the same witness — obviously that’s a fine line there, but I think they have no choice but to do it in this case.”

In testimony Friday, Blanchard said UBB sections were staffed “more leanly” than sections at competing mines with UBB utilizing between 48 and 50 miners per section while other companies had 55 to 60. The additional workers, he said, were used for maintenance, safety and support work away from the mine face.

Bringing up UBB’s staffing numbers, according to Blanchard, would have cost $625,000 more a year, just a little above what UBB made each day if running at full production levels.

The three charges against Blankenship are conspiracy to violate mandatory mine safety and health standards, making false statements to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and securities fraud. If convicted of all three charges, 30 years would be the maximum prison time he could face.

Blankenship is not charged with causing the Apr. 5, 2010 explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine that killed 29 coal miners.

Testimony resumes at 9 a.m. Monday for what will be the 13th day of testimony in the trial that began with jury selection on Oct. 1 in front of U.S. District Judge Irene Berger.





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