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By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Thread Song
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SDNY COURTHOUSE, June 29 – When jury selection was completed for the retrial of accused CIA Vault 7 leaker Joshua Schulte, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Jesse M. Furman told the jurors, Do not read or say anything about the case. Inner City Press was there, and live tweeted here.

Judge Furman: I'm going to announce the selected jurors. [He reads out 16 names. Inner City Press took fast notes - on on Patreon here]

Inner City Press has filed opposing the sealing of the courtroom for CIA witnesses, and once the witnesses begin anticipates making other filings.

The June 14, 2022 opening arguments, as live tweeted by Inner City Press, are here.

On June 15, Schulte in his own defense engaged in his first cross examination, of FBI Agent Evanchec. Inner City Press live tweeted it here.

On June 16, Schulte completed his cross of Evanchec - then the US put on CIA supervisor Anthony Leonis in a (mostly) sealed courtroom, Inner City Press which seeks to unseal was there then live tweeted here.

On June 17, Leonis finished his direct and was cross examined by Schulte, with a deadline to finish before the end of the trial day. Inner City Press live tweeted it here.

On June 21, MITRE's (and now Microsoft's) Patrick Leedom did direct and then some cross examination by Schulte. Inner City Press live tweeted here.

On June 24 the trial resumed and Inner City Press live tweeted here.

On June 27, FBI agent Michael Berger was cross examined, thread here.

On June 28, Day 8, the courtroom went sealed again, and without at least one of the feeds that was supposed to exist. Inside, "Jeremy Weber" was being cross-examined by Schulte. At day's end Schulte told Judge Furman he has ten more pages of questions for Weber, after finishing with 50 pages.  The next witness, too, is sealed. But Inner City Press is staying on the case, and the background (see a launch of sorts, here).

On June 29, Schulte cross examined Weber at the opening, and waited for cooperator Carlos, about use of cell phone(s) in MCC, at the end. Inner City Press live tweeted, here:

OK - US v. Josh Schulte trial, Day 9 starts with a second juror out with COVID. Judge Furman says they'll plow forward but that it's reaching the point no more jurors can be excused or lost. Weber still on stand. Cross examination continues.

 Schulte: Fair to say that be the time I complained about Amol, you had stopped liking me?

Weber: I was tired of the drama. Schulte: You were talking to Amol, right? Weber: I think Amol went on vacation.

 Schulte: At some point you spoke in court for Amol, right? Weber: I did. Schulte: And you went out for a beer with him, correct? Weber: I don't recall. Schulte: I refer you to page 6. Read it to yourself. Weber: I have a vague recollection of it.

 Schulte: You are aware that Amol later admitted to the allegations, right? Weber: I am not aware of that. Schulte: You were aware Amol was struggling with multiple other personal issues, right?

AUSA: Objection! Judge Furman: Sustained

Schulte: You are aware that there had recently been a shooting incident at a Navy base, right? Let's move on to the cutting off of my access. You cut me off without sending me an e-mail right? Weber: Yes. Schulte: The policy was to send an email, right? Weber: No.

 Schulte: And you also didn't tell me face to face, right? Weber: Correct. Schulte: If you didn't tell me my access had been cut off, how was I supposed to know? Weber: I wasn't thinking about that.

Schulte: So you changed me from Write to Read on Brutal Kangaroo, right? Weber: I did. Schulte: And Shattered Assurance too, correct? Weber: Yes.

Schulte: You would agree I am very litigious, right? AUSA: Objection! Judge Furman: Sustained. Schulte: I challenged my Performance Review, right? AUSA: Objection. Judge Furman: Overruled.

Schulte: To your knowledge I always advocated my position by legal means, correct? AUSA: Objection. Judge Furman: Yes. Schulte: I had no security violations, right? Weber: You plugged a thumb drive into a computer that wasn't supposed to have one.

Schulte: But that was when I was an intern, right? Weber: I believe so. Schulte: No further questions. Thread will continue.

AUSA: Did they come a time when the CIA made a criminal referral? Witness: Yes.  AUSA: What effect did that referral have? Witness: The investigation was by the FBI, walled off.  AUSA: Any relationship with the Wikileaks Task Force? Witness: It was walled off.

 Cross examination. Schulte: This email was the first time you ever heard of me? Witness: Correct. Schulte: Before this you had not had any conversation with Karen, right? Witness: Yes. Schulte: Where were you when you got this email? Witness: In my office.

 Next witness will be in Spanish. Judge Furman tells jurors to rely only on the English translation, even if they speak Spanish. Vamos a ver.

AUSA: Where do you live?

Witness Carlos Betances: Rockland County.

AUSA: Where you arrested in 2018?

Betances: Yes, in the Bronx. AUSA: Were you in the MCC? Betances: Yes, in March 2018. AUSA: Do you see anyone who was in with you? Betances: Yes. Josh.

 AUSA: Where is Josh sitting? Betances: Between the two ladies. AUSA: Have you pled guilty to crimes? Betances: Yes - drug, mail fraud, entering the country illegal. AUSA: And ID theft? Betances: Yes. AUSA: And contraband in jail? Betances: Yes.

 AUSA: Did the defendant ask for your help with cell phones? Betances: Yes. It was Omar [Amanat], Chino, him and me. They asked me for help to bring the phone in.  [Inner City Press covered the Omar Amanat case, here

  AUSA: When did you start taking photos in the MCC? Betances: I was watching to make sure guard weren't coming. I overheard Josh... AUSA: Did Josh, Chino and Omar know you were taking the pictures? Betances: No. AUSA: Who used the Samsung phone? Betances: Josh. He said there were things he could do better on a Samsung than on an iPhone. Judge Furman: It's 2:45 and we'll leave it here for the day. [Jury exits]

 Schulte: The government can't have its cake and eat it too.

 Schulte: We tried to get it declassified, they said no. But then they ask about it. They can't have it both ways. Judge Furman: Mr. Denton? AUSA: No one identified the tool or the vendor. Judge Furman: But you asked, are you familiar with the vendor referred to

 Judge Furman: There has been some slippage - I remind the parties I would like to begin on time tomorrow. [This is not an issue for Schulte: he is transported from the MDC by the Marshals] Adjourned.

The trial and this coverage will continue.

 Here's from Judge Furman June 13 Order: "as discussed on the record at the classified hearing held  on June 8, 2022, the Court concludes that the particular statement Defendant seeks to admit is  admissible. The Court further concludes that the information should likely be admitted as a  stipulation, which would give Defendant “substantially the same ability to make his defense as  would disclosure of ” a portion of the document itself, pursuant to CIPA Section 6(c). See 18.  U.S.C. app. 3 § 6(c). Accordingly, the parties shall propose an agreed upon stipulation or  competing stipulations for the Court’s approval no later than June 17, 2022."

Previously, in the conclusion of the month long trial of accused CIA leaker Joshua Schulte, on the morning of March 9, 2020 the jury returned guilty verdicts on Counts 8 and 10, with mistrial granted on all other counts. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Paul A. Crotty set March 26 for the next date. 

Then it was moved to April 22 (then May 18). March 9 thread here. Song here.

  On November 9, 2021, a status conference was held before Judge Jesse M. Furman to whom the case was reassigned. Inner City Press live tweeted it here - the upshot was a May 23, 2022 trial date was set. Vlog here.

 That has since been moved to June, with the admonition that it will not be further moved. Schulte has raised issues of how his right to represent himself is possible with law library, turned off computers and printer paper issues in the MDC.

  This was was one of the issues at a May 18 pre-trial conference held on Courtroom 15A of 500 Pearl Street, where Judge Furman has been overseeing a drug trial Inner City Press is also covering, along with other criminal and civil trials. It stepped out - then found that a window had been opened to oppose courtroom sealing. It wrote in to Judge Furman, see below and The New Yorker of June 16: "Matthew Russell Lee, an independent journalist who covered the first trial, recently filed an objection to the government’s motion to seal the courtroom during testimony from C.I.A. officers, but it appears that that condition will again apply."

On June 8 there was a final pre-trial conference, also in courtroom 15A; Inner City Press live tweeted:

OK- at #CIA #Vault7 leak case of US v. Schulte, Inner City Press which has opposed sealing is here, with half dozen gov't reps.

Now US wants to quash subpoena on a witness.

Judge: I would like to avoid sidebars... esp due to Mr Schulte's US Marshals issue. [He has 2 Marshals sitting behind him]

 AUSA: When we move to sealed witnesses... Judge: We'll have the jury leave too, to make no one is in the courtroom who shouldn't be. Openings at earliest Tuesday [and probably later]. Four alternates.

 Judge: 10 peremptories for the defense.  6 for the US. I'll tell jurors Mr Schulte is charged with 9 crimes [incl with] Wikileaks. 

Schulte: Stress that I am presumed innocent.

 Judge: I intend to ask jurors if they are vaccinated and boosted.

AUSA: We want our experts and former case agent in the court during other witnesses' testimony. Judge: Experts yes, case agent no.

Judge: Witnesses cannot read transcripts or media. A/V dry run, you can do it when in the courtroom, Mr Schulte.

Schulte: I'll be here til 4 on my Friday SCIF day.

 Judge: We'll take up the rest in our classified setting. Adjourned.

 Then the prosecutors and Marshals stood around Schulte as he tried to charge his laptop. The continued session would be elsewhere in the courthouse, sealed.

 Back on April 13, 2022, Judge Furman held a conference with Schulte present. Inner City Press live tweeted it here....

Previously, Judge Crotty held another proceeding with Schulte and his stand-by counsel. Schulte was moved to the MDC: "JOSHUA ADAM SCHULTE Register Number: 79471-054 Age:     33 Race:     White Sex:     Male Located at: Brooklyn MDC Release Date: UNKNOWN." [And see its Oct 15 MCC video here]

  On March 2, 2021 were the closing arguments [in the first trial], which Inner City Press tweeted, thread here

 More on Patreon here.

See Inner City Press filing into the docket on Big Cases Bot, here. Watch this site. The case is US v. Schulte, 17-cr-548 (Furman).

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