Hue - Morning Coffee

Everybody seems to have found the Starbucks nearby. The Landis team is definately catering at this point as Amber and her "crew" carried today's provisions into the "war room". Arnie Baker carried at least a case of bottled water as well. Perhaps USADA got wind of my classic "who is drinking what water" post and cut them off from the public dole!

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Caroline from the UCLA WADA lab has been vigorously taking notes and passing them to USADA attorney Dunn, in open hearing. They have conferred quite a bit. She is clearly here to help them. There is no evidence from the UCLA WADA lab in this case. She is here, not Prof. Catlin, who has retired, to testify that UCLA has a one metabolite threshold. That is a 30 minute issue so I surmise that her 24/7 attendance here is as a USADA "helper". She is now virtually at counsel table with them, no note passing today.

Mr Campbell made an early appearance to arrange his space. Neither of the other two have appeared thus far.

The way the Panel keeps track of time is like they do in a mock trial or high school forensics competition. Time is kept for both direct and cross examination and there has been a count down from 25 hours each.

Mr. Brunet commences the hearing and the first order of business is to "sequester" the second LNDD lab technician, Ms. Ferlot (?) in the USADA witness room so she may not hear the cross examination of Ms. Monongu. She is admonished not to hear or discuss the evidence by Mr Brunet. Oddly, she has brought her own interpreter. That may not bode well given yesterday's fiasco. Mr. Jacobs begins the cross examination of Ms. Monongu.

Ms Monongu had no difficulty dealing with the direct examination questions yesterday but today she isn't tracking Mr Jacobs' questions very well. The machine, for example, seems to have been "broken"-Brunet's term as he is trying to help) more than a few times since she has been at LNDD but she is having a terrible time, now trying to "remember".

McLaren speaks! He suggests that Jacobs narrow his questioning about how often the machine has appeared broken to her to "this year". Jacobs didn't find the suggestion helpful but got the message and adopted "10" as the number he would proceed with.

I'm very troubled that Brunet and McLaren might be the only two people in this hearing room who are "buying" the memory loss and lack of precision Ms. Monongu has had throughout her testimony. Yesterday her testimony was largely "lead" and "summarized" by USADA's attorneys. It wasn't precise then ,either although she could agree with conclusions she was lead into. Today, she will not be lead. She can't remember. She also can't find references in the WADA technical manual that she has on her lap............ in French.

TBV is summarizing her testimony as it occurs but you have to be here to actually take this in. Ms Monongu seems to be a very nice woman. However, she is not an embodiment of science or scientific accuracy in my opinion. She is a technician without the usual precision usually required of a technician in any court in which I am aware.

When Ms Monongu "signs off" on another "scientists" work, she reviews the paper file, as she did with the Landis "B" sample, she does not actually watch the other "scientist" perform the functions indicated. That is interesting but entirely consistant with the WADA Code, I'm sure.

I'll start a new entry as the matter is in recess.