The latest row erupted on Friday when the justice ministry blocked a request by Milan judges to carry out an investigation in the United States into alleged financial wrongdoing by Mediaset, Mr Berlusconi’s media empire.<\/p>\n
The quarrel has pitted Justice Undersecretary Michele Vietti, a UDC member, against his superior, Justice Minister Roberto Castelli, from the Northern League. <\/p>\n
A controversial law passed last month granted Mr Berlusconi immunity from prosecution. But Mr Vietti and other UDC leaders argue that the law was intended to block only prosecutions, not investigations.<\/p>\n
Mr Vietti said the block on trials of top state officials should be enforced “only after a request for a trial is lodged” and the measure “does not affect inquiries”.<\/i><\/p>\n
[LINK<\/a>]<\/p>\n Reason<\/i><\/a> contributing editor Michael Young weighs in<\/a> on Italian journalist Elisabetta Burba.<\/p>\n Young dissects her credibility and feels her shortcomings add fuel to arguments the Silvio Berlusconi-owned magazine Panorama<\/i> was influenced by Silvio when it decided to pass on bad intelligence to the Bush administration.<\/p>\n He goes on to explain why, in his opinion, rather than simply blaming her for being a dreadful journalist, he considers her to be ‘a dangerous impostor<\/i>.’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The latest row erupted on Friday when the justice ministry blocked a request by Milan judges to carry out an investigation in the United States into alleged financial wrongdoing by Mediaset, Mr Berlusconi’s media empire. The quarrel has pitted Justice … Continue reading