>Howard still deferred to Chuck, but it was clear that
>Jimmy had absolved himself of further scrutiny (for now).

Chuck's reaction to Howard's "Chuck, is that good with you?" (paraphrasing) was a half shrug and silence. It didn't appear to me that he was at all convinced that Jimmy was doing things straight. I read that reaction to say "yea he vocally covered himself but I still don't believe a word he's saying". At no point did I think "Jimmy's winning him over," or think his reaction said "I'm convinced!"

In other words, his reaction to me said that he was willing to drop the subject for that moment because continuing to press Jimmy after he gave what everyone else saw as a great explanation would make *HIM* (Chuck) look bad, so he'll save his ongoing vocal disapproval and doubts for another day.

We'll see how it progresses of course. But we're definitely seeing Chuck's ongoing reactions to Jimmy far, far differently.