Now Lanny Davis Has Penn State Talking In Circles

Try to follow along: Tim Curley, the on-leave Penn State athletic director, told the grand jury investigating Jerry Sandusky that Cynthia Baldwin, Penn State's counsel at the time, was present as his lawyer when he testified in January of last year. But Lanny Davis, the attorney Penn State hired in December to guide it through this mess, now says Baldwin was there that day on behalf of Penn State, and that she wasn't representing Curley or Gary Schultz, the two PSU administrators charged with perjury and failure to report abuse in connection with Sandusky's alleged crimes.

Baldwin, a former Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice who resigned as Penn State's counsel a couple of weeks ago, would not talk to Sara Ganim of the Patriot-News of Harrisburg. But she did authorize Davis to do so on her behalf, and this is Ganim's concise summary of what Davis told her Baldwin did:

• December 2010: Baldwin tells Curley and Schultz she "represents the university" and they can get their own attorneys.

• January 2011: Baldwin drives them to the grand jury. On the trip, the three apparently do not discuss the investigation or who will represent the two men.

• In the judge's chambers: After Baldwin announces she is representing Penn State, she is simply allowed to walk into the grand jury room to listen to the testimony of Curley and Schultz even though she has not said she represents them.

• In the grand jury room: Baldwin doesn't remember hearing Curley and Schultz identify her as counsel. Baldwin skips Paterno's testimony.

• On the drive home: The subject of representation doesn't come up.

Odd, no? Now consider this: Davis also says Baldwin did not inform Penn State's Board of Trustees that the grand jury was looking into allegations that Sandusky's abuse may have taken place on Penn State's campus because she was bound by the grand jury's rules of secrecy. But, as one legal expert told the Patriot-News, why was she there when Curley and Schultz testified? Graham Spanier, the since-fired university president, was permitted to discuss the nature of his testimony at that May briefing with the board, but according to Davis, Spanier decided not to. Which, of course, begs the question why?

And, finally, this:

Davis said that Baldwin specifically cited the March article in the Patriot-News during her May briefing to the trustees. The article detailed the alleged 1998 assault in the Penn State football locker room showers that was part of the investigation.

That would be the same story that members of the board, plus Rodney Erickson, Penn State's new president, have publicly said they never read.

Special Report: Penn State counsel Cynthia Baldwin's role before grand jury could affect Tim Curley and Gary Schultz's perjury case, experts say [PennLive]