US: The US ambassador to Ireland, James C. Kenny, has appeared as a witness in the criminal trial of former Illinois governor George Ryan in Chicago this week.
He disclosed on the stand that he was questioned by the FBI about his dealings with Mr Ryan as he was being vetted for his ambassador's post.
Mr Kenny did not say whether the FBI's interviews with him in connection with the investigation of the former governor accounted for the nine-month delay between the time his name was first disclosed as President George Bush's choice to be ambassador to Ireland in January 2003 and his ultimate approval by the US Senate that October.
On Wednesday, Mr Kenny's lawyer said there was no suggestion the delay was related to the Ryan inquiries.
Mr Ryan is accused of using his office as governor to enrich himself, his family and friends. Mr Kenny chaired his finance committee during his campaign for governor in 1998 but has not been implicated in any wrongdoing.
Prosecutors put him on the stand on Monday to contradict Mr Ryan's assertion that he had suggested that Mr Ryan's close friend and now co-accused Larry Warner replace him on the board that oversees Navy Pier and McCormick Place in Chicago.
Mr Kenny testified that he never suggested Mr Warner as his replacement.
While on the stand, he said the FBI first came to interview him at his office on November 19th, 2002. He had just been offered the position of ambassador to Ireland to replace Richard Egan, who would be leaving the following month. Mr Kenny had filled out a background check for the FBI and he assumed that was what they had arrived at his office to talk about.
"It turned out to be something else," Mr Kenny testified. The agents were there to ask about his relationship with Mr Ryan and Mr Warner. The latter is accused of using his friendship with Mr Ryan to cash in on state contracts.
Mr Kenny told the FBI agents that he did not remember ever discussing the post with Mr Warner but, later that night, after looking over his appointment books, he remembered he did go to lunch with Mr Warner to talk about the position. So he called back the agents, who came back to interview him again.
At that time Mr Ryan had left the governor's seat under a cloud and was abroad, while his former chief of staff was on trial on corruption charges. Mr Ryan was widely expected to be next.
Mr Kenny, an executive of his family's construction company, had long been active in raising money for the Republican Party and had been touted as a possible state party chair or candidate for congress when Mr Bush floated his name for ambassador.
The process, however, dragged on. In May 2004, senators Edward Kennedy and Christopher Dodd complained to then-secretary of state Colin Powell that the people of Ireland felt "slighted" that there was no ambassador since Mr Egan left in December.
Mr Bush waited until October to bring him before the Senate for approval, prompting more questions about the delay.
Abdon Pallasch covers legal affairs for the Chicago Sun-Times