The trial would not be Mr. Berlusconi's first. Over the years, he has emerged largely unscathed from a dizzying list of legal troubles, including charges of corruption, tax evasion and bribing judges. In each case, he was either acquitted on appeal or the statute of limitations in the cases ran out.

The author neglects to mention that in one case acquittal was granted on the dubious grounds of good behavior since he had got himself elected Council President. As for the Statute of Limitations the author further neglects that Berlusconi had ad personam laws passed that greatly reduced the statute of limitations for his alleged crimes and greatly lengthened trials.  In other cases he passed a law abolishing the crime.

In all rulings the facts were asserted as corresponding to truth. This resulted in such curious sentences as, "The facts have been found to be true, but they no longer constitute a crime." In other cases, fall guys such as Cesare Previti took the rap. The present case of Mills, definitively condemned for false testimony, for which Berlusconi must stand trial concerns a case in which Mills' testimony effectively let Berlusconi off the hook in a trial. This is of course one of those cases Ms. Donadio neglects to mention.