Ex-U.S. attorney takes stand: 'I don't owe anyone $100 billion'
By Jason Meisner
Tribune reporter
5:04 p.m. CDT, June 17, 2014
Former U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald is no stranger to the inside of a federal courtroom, but on Tuesday he found himself in an unusual position: on the witness stand testifying at a bizarre trial of a sovereign citizen follower who allegedly had tried to place a bogus $100 billion lien on his residence.
Prosecutors contend Cherron Phillips had retaliated against Fitzgerald and other top federal court officials in Chicago after she had been barred from the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse following her allegedly disruptive behavior at proceedings in her brother Devon’s drug case.
Near the end of his testimony, Fitzgerald drew smiles from some jurors when was asked whether he owed Devon Phillips $100 billion as the lien claimed. Fitzgerald leaned forward in the witness chair, raised one eyebrow and spoke directly into the microphone.
“I don’t owe anyone $100 billion, and I don’t believe I owe Devon Phillips a penny,” Fitzgerald said.
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