which he feared would fall dramatically if the company disappointed Wall Street. Weingarten, his attorney, said on Tuesday that Ebbers would ultimately be vindicated, saying that three key defense witnesses could not testify because the judge would not order prosecutors to grant them immunity. "We're all devastated," Weingarten said. "We honestly and truthfully believe in our client." Weingarten also defended his decision to put Ebbers on the witness stand, and said he felt that Sullivan's credibility had been damaged during cross-examination. If the jury fully believed Sullivan, Weingarten said, they would have returned a verdict in far less than eight days. While Ebbers faces what could be life in prison at his June sentencing, WorldCom has emerged from its 2002 bankruptcy under a new name, MCI, and is now at the center of a takeover battle between Qwest Communications International Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc.
