"And THAT introduces a whole new dynamic."
And that new dynamic would be that there was culpability on Olde Monmouth's part that they wanted to get out from under, right?
So what?
I don't see anything there that excuses anybody else's actions. Do you?
If both Pensley and Olde Monmouth suddenly realized that they might have a problem and concocted a scheme to lessen their share of culpability by throwing SM under the bus, do his actions not properly place him there anyway? Where are you going with this? You wouldn't be trying something similar in the opposite direction, would you?
If there was no broker did SM not forge opinion letters?
Not at the table, Carlos.