EDNY COURTHOUSE,
March 30 – The morning of jury
selection in the R.Kelly
trial, which began on August
18, 2021 with no call-in line
and no Press or public in the
courtroom, his lawyers
docketed a motion
to dismiss, below.
On
September 2, Inner City Press
went to the EDNY courthouse in
Brooklyn, before 9 am. There
were supporters of R.Kelly on
the sidewalk in front, one
with a tiara; there was other
journalists. On a delay
occasioned by the flooding of
the subway system, all entered
and up to the (overflow)
Courtroom on the sixth floor.
On TV
screens, at first two lawyers
milled about, then others,
then Judge Ann Donnelly
herself. Why she decided not
only to ban the Press and
public from the actual
courtroom, where the reactions
of the jury for example could
be gauged, but worse to have
no call-in line, is not known.
Now is why,
when she played some of the
audio the prosecutors
presented to the jurors, it
was only for only some members
of the media, rather than have
it made available as a
judicial document. Later on
September 27, nine jury guilty
verdicts for R.Kelly, whose
lawyer Devereaux Cannick said,
"I'm sure we'll be appealing."
Sentencing was set for May 4,
2022.
On March 30,
2022, this: "SCHEDULING ORDER
as to Robert Sylvester Kelly.
The Court has received the
defendant's [279] motion to
continue sentencing. The
government's response is due
by April 4, 2022, and the
defendant's reply, if any, is
due by April 7, 2022. Ordered
by Judge Ann M. Donnelly on
3/30/2022."
During the
proceedings, several times the
prosecutor said an exhibit was
being entered into evidence,
but it was not even put on the
screen for the press and
public to see. Since August 23
to the morning of September 2,
only one exhibit was made
available.
Late on
September 22-23, the US
Attorney's Office filed a
letter seeking to block some
references including "The
defendant seeks to admit a
statement by Jane that Jane
“denies telling Government
that Kelly masturbated while
she was singing when she met
him at Dolphin hotel” and
cites the transcript at page
1151 for the purported
inconsistent statement...
Because Jane did not deny that
the defendant masturbated in
the room – and instead only
that she did not recall
telling the government that he
masturbated in the room, there
is nothing inconsistent." Oh.
Full US letter on Patreon
here.
On
September 14 the US filed a motion
in limine to try to get into
evidence two exhibits, arguing
"the government seeks to
introduce excerpts of two
recordings recovered pursuant
to a search warrant at a
storage facility used by the
defendant. The recorded
excerpts show (1) the type of
physical and psychological
abuse the defendant employed
to exert and maintain control
over women and girls with whom
he was engaged in sexual
relationships; and (2) his
regular use of audio and video
recordings to maintain control
of females and protect the
charged enterprise.
Government Exhibit 484, a
video recording, shows the
defendant entering a room with
two women in it and accusing
one of the women of lying. The
defendant can then be heard
beginning to physically
assault the woman. He also
directly threatens her, “If
you lie to me, I’m gonna fuck
you up.”
(The
actually assault is not
captured on the video tape as
Case 1:19-cr-00286-AMD
Document 206 Filed 09/14/21
Page 1 of 9 PageID #: 3588 2
they are then out of the view
of the camera.) Notably, the
video appears to have been
taken by a stationary camera
mounted somewhere overhead in
the room. (The government has
not identified either of the
females depicted in Government
Exhibit 484, but the recording
makes clear that the defendant
is upset about a sexual act
that occurred between the two
females, strongly suggesting
that the defendant is in a
sexual relationship with one
or more of the females.).
A transcript of
the recording is enclosed as
Exhibit A. In Government
Exhibit 485, an hour-long
audio recording, the
defendant, along with
enterprise member George
Kelly, also known as “Uncle
Bug” and “June Bug,” who has
been identified by multiple
witnesses at trial, confronted
Jane Doe #20, a woman whose
identity is known to the
government, about her
purportedly stealing a Rolex
watch from the defendant’s
residence.1 (The
government seeks to admit
approximately 28 minutes of
the audio recording.)
At the beginning
of the recording, the
defendant told Jane Doe #20
that he had “cameras
everywhere” and said, “You
know how I am with cameras.”
He then explained that he had
cameras in “my studio, my van
and my garage of course.” When
a male in the room (believed
to be George Kelly, whom the
defendant introduced to Jane
Doe #20 earlier in the
recording by saying “this is
my uncle Bug”) added, “Bus,”
the defendant then made clear
that he also had cameras on
the bus.
During the
recording, the defendant also
told Jane Doe #20 that his
engineers had downloaded the
videos that purportedly showed
her stealing from the
defendant. In the recording,
Jane Doe #20 ultimately
admitted to taking the watch,
a t-shirt, earrings and “porno
tapes.” When she admitted that
she took the tapes, the
defendant asked her what she
intended to do with them and
she said that she only
intended to “watch them.”
After Jane Doe #20 admitted to
taking the items, the
defendant berated, threatened
and physically assaulted her."
Full motion on Inner City
Press' DocumentCloud here.
September
2 witnesses began with a Mr.
Yong Fe Wu (phonetic), a
forensic biologist in
Illinois. He put big numbers
on the screen -- look, Ma,
thirty zeros! - but when
R.Kelly's lawyer Cannick asked
if if weren't possible that
the semen-stained shirt he
tested hadn't been taken by
someone coming over the fence,
he replied, I don't know that
story.
Next up
was Homeland Security Special
Agent Chris Wilson, not to be
confused with the next
witness, Chris' cousin Mike.
Chris testified at length
about photos and text messages
extracted from two iPhones and
one laptop taken from R.Kelly.
Then Mike Kelly,
who was present at the arrest
on July 11, 2019 in Chicago's
Trump building, testified
about an iPad.
During
this, the woman in the tiara,
whose birthday it was and is
and who said she was spending
it with the "King of R&B,"
fell asleep on the back bench
of the overflow courtroom and,
to be honest, began to snore.
A Court Security
Officer came in and told her,
you can't sleep in the
courtroom, you have to go
outside. But she sat up and
remarked, accurately, "This is
the boring part."
And needlessly
opaque - no exhibits, no call
in line. Watch this site. And
this vlog;
hear this
podcast.
Previously,
reverse chronological:
With less
transparency each week, now no
exhibits have been made
available since August 23. On
the morning of August 21, the
defense filed a request for
access to legal mail and
documents they say have been
withheld for more than two
months (photo of letter
Tweeted here)
and now full letter on Inner
City Press' DocumentCloud here
"RE: United
States v. Robert Kelly
Criminal Docket No.: 19-286
(AMD) Dear Judge Donnelly: The
defense writes to respectfully
request that the Court Order
that the Bureau of Prisons and
U.S. Marshals provide Mr.
Kelly with his legal mail and
documents that were collected
when he was moved from MCC
Chicago to MDC Brooklyn. Mr.
Kelly was moved to MDC
Brooklyn over two months ago
and his mail and legal
documents from MCC Chicago
have not been delivered.
Accordingly, it is
respectfully requested that
the Court Order that the BOP
and U.S. Marshals provide Mr.
Kelly his legal mail and
documents from MCC Chicago."
Watch this site - & this.
Previously,
for
Day 4, with victim(s)
with
pseudonym(s)
projected to
testify,
here's the US
Attorney's
Office motion
in limine to
keep their
identities
from public
disclosure:
"The
government
respectfully
submits this
memorandum of
law in support
of its
motion in
limine in
advance of
trial in this
matter,
currently
scheduled to
commence
on
August 9,
2021. This
motion in
limine seeks
to protect the
identities of
certain
charged
victims
referred to as
Jane Doe #2,
Jane Doe #3
and Jane Doe
#5 in the
third
superseding
indictment
(hereinafter
referred to as
the
“Victim-Witnesses”)
that are
expected to
provide,
and/or will be
the subject
of, sensitive
and personal
testimony
concerning
illegal
sexual
abuse, sexual
contact and
other acts
committed by
the defendant
at
trial.1
Specifically,
the
government
moves the
Court to: (1)
permit the
Victim-Witnesses
to testify
using a
pseudonym or
their first
names only;
(2) limit
references to
each of the
Victim-Witnesses
in open
court to their
pseudonyms or
first names
only; and (3)
prevent public
disclosure,
via
cross-examination
or otherwise
of the
Victim-Witnesses
respective
addresses,
names of
family members
or exact place
of employment,
if any."
Inner
City Press is
publishing
the full
motion on its
DocumentCloud
here,
and song here.
On Day
3, Anthony
Navarro said
he's since
worked with
Taylor Swift,
Jay-Z, &
Kanye: “Most
of the work
[for them] is
just
professional
work." And the
rest of
the work?
There were
eight more
exhibits; Inner
City Press
immediately
published four
of them here.
On
Day 2,
Jerhonda Pace
was cross
examined, with
Deveraux
Cannick asking
her about a
settlement she
signed stated
that she
agreed she
never revealed
to Kelly that
she was a
minor. Dr.
Kris McGrath
was questioned
by AUSA Nadia
Shihata
Police Officer
Garrick Amschl
of the Olympia
Fields Police
Department
testified. And
(much) later,
20 exhibits,
with Inner
City Press
immediately
posting nine
of them, here.
As Inner City
Press noted
mid-day, Judge
Donnelly
admonished
R.Kelly's
defense... for
a tweet. Inner
City Press has
reached out
and will
report
results. For
now, this.
On Day 1 of
the trial, August 18, after
openings by Assistant U.S.
Attorney Maria Cruz Melendez
and then defense counsel Nicole
Blank Becker, the first
government witness, Jerhonda
Pace ("Jane Doe #4") testified
on direct examination. The
docket reflects: "Witness
sworn and testified. Exhibits
marked and entered into
evidence." But as of 9:45 pm,
none of the exhibits were
available.
Inner City
Press which successfully
advocated for the restoration
of call-in access to January 6
proceedings in the District
for the District of Columbia,
did an August 18 stand-up
outside the U.S. District
Court for the Southern
District of New York, here
From the motion
to dismiss: "Mr. r. Kelly
respectfully submits this
memorandum of law in support
of his pre-trial motion
to dismiss in advance of trial
in this matter, which is
scheduled to commence on
August 18, 2021. This
motion seeks to dismiss the
predicate acts alleged in
Count 1, numbers 12 and 14, as
well as the Mann Act
violations alleged in Count 6
through Count 9 and in Count 1
Racketeering Act 1,
Racketeering Act 2,
Racketeering Act 3,
Racketeering 7, Racketeering
Act 10 and dispute the
venue in the third superseding
indictment filed on March 13,
2020, pursuant to the Rule
12(b)(2) of the Federal
Rules of Criminal Procedure."
Inner City
Press is publishing the full
memo on its DocumentCloud, here.
Inner City Press will continue
to follow and report on the
case. It is US v. Robert
Sylvester Kelly, a/k/a R.
Kelly, EDNY Docket No.
19-cr-286 (AMD). More on Patreon here.
***
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