Joe Hynes Libel Clock: Week One

It's been more than a week since Brooklyn D.A. Joe Hynes threatened to sue Harpers Magazine and writer Chris Ketcham over a piece that accused him, among other sins, of fudging his legal residence. In honor of Bush Administration ally Richard Perle's ulimately empty libel threats against Seymour Hersh, we'll be checking in occasionally with Hynes's office over whether he'll be taking evidence of his residence to court. D.A. office spokesman Jerry Schmetterer said he expects a retraction. "If they give the retraction we're not going to file a suit." And by the way, why are officials of the D.A.'s office dealing with a libel suit that looks to me like personal, not public, business?