Justice John Gomery's finding three years ago that former prime minister Jean Chrétien and his chief of staff shared some responsibility for the federal sponsorship scandal has been struck down by the Federal Court. - Judge Max Teitelbaum ruled Thursday there was an appearance of bias in Gomery's 2005 report. He rejected the part of the report that said Chrétien and Jean Pelletier had erred in their oversight of the sponsorship program. - Teitelbaum also sharply criticized Gomery's behaviour, saying he prejudged situations, was not impartial and was preoccupied with the media. - He said Gomery made "inappropriate and ill-advised comments," including the statement that Chrétien's handing out of golf balls emblazoned with his name was "small-town cheap." - That had a detrimental effect on the fairness of the hearings into the sponsorship affair, because the public could conclude that Gomery had prejudged the issues he was supposed to...