By Alabama Public Radio
Birmingham, AL – A federal judge says former HealthSouth C-E-O Richard Scrushy could be jailed over pretrial publicity in his fraud case. A hearing Wednesday suggested Scrushy approved the release of a defense statement that was critical of the government's witnesses. Scrushy's spokesperson, Charlie Russell, testified Scrushy approved the statement during a conference call. But Scrushy's eight lawyers told the judge they were either not present or unaware of the statement before its public release. The judge withheld a decision on whether to hold the defense in contempt of court for violating a protective order she issued to keep publicity at a minimum.