Until now, neither defense or prosecution had declared publicly whether they would call Mickelson to testify, although he had been listed as a possible witness for the defense. That was ruled out during a conference between lawyers and the judge on Friday, by Walters\u2019 attorney Barry Berke.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cHe is on our witness list, but we understand from his counsel he would invoke his Fifth Amendment if called,\u201d said Berke, according to a transcript of the conference. \u201cSo he will not be called as a witness, although his name will be mentioned.”<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nMickelson\u2019s lawyer Gregory Craig declared his client to be \u201cinnocent of any wrongdoing,\u201d at the time the accusations surfaced. \u201cPhil was an innocent bystander to alleged wrongdoing by others that he was unaware of,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Last week, when asked directly by the Associated Press about whether he expected to testify, Mickelson himself said \u201cI\u2019m not part of that \u2026 I\u2019m out. I won\u2019t be called. \u201d<\/p>\n
Gambling, Hookers and Bat Phones<\/b><\/h2>\n During the first week of the trial last week, the court heard the testimony of the prosecution\u2019s star witness, Davis, who asserted that he acted as a \u201cvirtual conduit\u201d of insider tips for Walters, provided via a pre-paid cellphone set up which the pair referred to as their \u201cbat phones.\u201d<\/p>\n
Davis said that Walters\u2019 demands for insider tips became more insistent after Walters loaned him almost $1 million, a sum he blew on gambling and prostitutes, by his own admission.<\/p>\n
Walters contends that Davis is lying. \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Golfer Phil Mickelson would \u201ctake the fifth\u201d if called to testify in the ongoing trial of his friend Billy Walters and will therefore not be called as a witness for the defense, according to Walters\u2019 lawyer. The possibility of the five-time major winner making an appearance in court has been the cause of a lot […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":47428,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,21,10,60,16],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Phil Mickelson Would \u201cTake the Fifth\u201d if Called to Testify in Billy Walters Trial<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n