Berlusconi in new scandal over Italy judge dinner
Silvio Berlusconi
Premier Silvio Berlusconi is steeped in a new scandal over a dinner he had at the home of a constitutional court judge who will rule on a key decision whether to grant him immunity from prosecution while in office.
 Opposition lawmakers have called for the removal of the judge  Luigi Mazzella  and a colleague who participated in the mid-May dinner  saying there would never be any way to know whether Berlusconi influenced their deliberations on the immunity issue.
 The court began debating the constitutionality of a law last month that grants Berlusconi  the Italian president and two parliament speakers immunity from prosecution. Berlusconi's forces had pushed the legislation through parliament last summer  saying it was necessary for the government to function.
 At the time the bill was passed  Berlusconi was on trial on corruption charges in Milan  fueling criticism that the bill was tailor-made to save him from prosecution. The premier's trial was suspended pending a decision from the constitutional court  which is expected soon.
 Cabinet minister Elio Vito defended the premier  saying Berlusconi hadn't organized any meeting about the legislation but was rather invited to a dinner by a friend well before the court began deliberating the case.
 Berlusconi has long been dogged by conflict of interest allegations as well as corruption charges stemming from his years as a billionaire media mogul. He has either been acquitted -- sometimes thanks to laws passed by his own government -- or seen cases against him expire under the statute of limitations. He has always maintained his innocence  claiming he is the victim of a conspiracy of left-leaning magistrates.
[TGT] is steeped in a new scandal over a dinner [TGT] had at the home of a constitutional court judge who will rule on a key decision whether to grant [TGT] immunity from prosecution while in office.
 Opposition lawmakers have called for the removal of the judge  Luigi Mazzella  and a colleague who participated in the mid-May dinner  saying there would never be any way to know whether [TGT] influenced their deliberations on the immunity issue.
 The court began debating the constitutionality of a law last month that grants Berlusconi  the Italian president and two parliament speakers immunity from prosecution. [TGT]'s forces had pushed the legislation through parliament last summer  saying it was necessary for the government to function.
 At the time the bill was passed  [TGT] was on trial on corruption charges in Milan  fueling criticism that the bill was tailor-made to save [TGT] from prosecution. The premier's trial was suspended pending a decision from the constitutional court  which is expected soon.
 Cabinet minister Elio Vito defended the premier  saying [TGT] hadn't organized any meeting about the legislation but was rather invited to a dinner by a friend well before the court began deliberating the case.
 [TGT] has long been dogged by conflict of interest allegations as well as corruption charges stemming from [TGT] years as a billionaire media mogul. [TGT] has either been acquitted -- sometimes thanks to laws passed by [TGT] own government -- or seen cases against [TGT] expire under the statute of limitations. [TGT] has always maintained [TGT] innocence  claiming [TGT] is the victim of a conspiracy of left-leaning magistrates.