Defense team to argue FBI facilitated "Whitey" Bulger's crimes, analyst says

(CBS News) Opening statements are set to take place Wednesday in the Bostontrial of reputed mob boss, James "Whitey" Bulger. On Tuesday, a shouting match erupted in the courtroom between a federal prosecutor and Bulger's lawyer over an allegation that Massachusetts State Police closed an investigation into a key witness, convicted hit man John Martorano.

At one point during the courtroom outburst, U.S. District Judge Denise Casper intervened, saying, "Counsel, counsel. Ok, seriously? Seriously?"

CBS News analyst Rikki Klieman told "CBS This Morning" that the proceedings will likely remain contentious, with the prosecution and defense teams "going at each other," as they did Tuesday.

Klieman touched on the jury selection process leading up to the trial, which she called "lightning fast."

"We wind up with eight men, four women out of 875 [potential jurors]. We don't know their identities. (They are) probably smart. We do know they're mostly middle-aged, white, two African Americans, and one Asian," Klieman said.

Klieman explained that the prosecution will seek to prove Bulger is a murderer and guilty of multiple charges of racketeering.

"You've got the prosecution that is saying, 'This is a stone cold killer.' He's been accused of 19 homicides in the midst of over 30 charges involving racketeering. He was head of the mob...what [the prosecution wants] to see from the government is to say, 'This man must be brought to justice after 18 years on the run.'"

Klieman said Bulger's defense team will look to demonstrate that FBI corruption played a major role in Bulger's life of crime, drawing on his close relationship with FBI John Connelly to make their point.

According to Klieman, "The defense is going to say, 'Nonsense that it's only Whitey Bulger here on trial. The government should be on trial. The FBI was corrupt. The FBI caused Bulger's reign of terror because they permitted it, they allowed it and they are the people that Whitey Bulger wants to expose.'"