| Narcos
Honduras Defense Closing Says Leo Is Lying
US Again Cites JOH Jury Back Monday
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon Song Filing
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
March 19 – Honduras President
Juan Orlando Hernandez took a
briefcase of cash and said he
would stuff drugs up the noses
of the gringos, a jury was
told on March 16. The audio
call-in line, at the demand of
the prosecutors was cut off
during that testimony (then
turned back on later).
But Inner City
Press live tweeted it, morning
here
and then the afternoon, about
the video(s), here.
On March
19, the US Attorney's Office
closing argument said that
Juan Orlando Hernandez wanted
to trafficking drugs, offered
to help the defendant re-open
his drug lab in Cerro Negro
and was in his phone. It was
assisted by Commissioner
Martinez, trained by the UN
which refuses to answer and
bans the Press. Inner City
Press live tweeted the US
closing, here.
Podcast here.
Next, the
defense gave its closing ("Leo
[Rivera] is lying") and the US
its rebuttal. Judge Castel
read his instructions and the
jury went to begin deliberate.
It went barely back 5 (a
defense lawyer said he had to
catch last Long Island Rail
Road train) and will resume
Monday at 9 am. Inner City
Press live tweeted, here:
Fuentes' lawyer is trashing Leonel
Rivera, calling his despicable and with a bad
memory. "Leo is lying."
Now Fuentes' lawyer is questioning Sanchez'
testimony that he went and found the video of
Juan Orlando Hernandez bragging of stealing
from the social security system....
Fuentes' lawyer: Guns are legal in many parts
of the US and people are proud of them and
have photos of them on their phones. Put to
rest the emojis of the sapos, the frogs. Even
if it were to mean snitch, the father is in
prison, the son is mad, right?
Fuentes' lawyer, to jurors: This is the last
time I get to talk to you. Geovanny is
confident you will find the government has
failed to find him guilty beyond a reasonable
doubt. Thank you.
US rebuttal summation by AUSA Gutwillig: The
defense just told you about the nightmare of
the defendant when he was arrested. But he
caused a nightmare with his drugs, and by
corrupting his own country. I'm not
going to talk about how guns are like dogs...
AUSA: Yes, Jose Sanchez was scared. He came in
here and testified against the president of
his country, conspiring to bring drugs into
the US.
AUSA: The defendant not only had on his phone
the personal cell phone of the president, Juan
Orlando Hernandez - as the Tony Hernandez
trial came out with evidence against JOH, he
searched for driving instructions to the Casa
Presidencial
AUSA: The DEA couldn't just go down and get
evidence in Honduras - "Honduras is run by
Juan Orlando Hernandez, one of the defendants
co-conspirators." AUSA: The video you heard
about (of JOH talking about stealing from
social security, and with the Defendant),
don't you think we would have shown it if we
had it? The argument that we are withholding
it is absurd.
AUSA: These were just the only two
meetings Jose Sanchez saw. Geovanny Fuentes
told Leo Rivera, in the MCC (Jail), that he
bribes Juan Orlando Hernandez. Take a look at
the driving instruction information to see
when. This is not a complicated case, not a
close one
AUSA: This is a horrific story, and it is a
simple one. Find the defendant guilty.
Judge Castel: You may retire for lunch. Do not
discuss the case. You have not heard my
instructions on the law.
[Later]
Judge Castel is finishing up his instructions.
We have the exhibits loaded. Discuss and
weight your views, and adopt a conclusion that
in your good conscience appears to be in
accord with the evidence and the law.
Judge Castel: That concludes my instructions.
Please stand and stretch while I consult with
the lawyers at the sidebar. [Then] Jurors 14,
15 and 16, you may leave. But still do
not discuss the case: you are on call to be
recalled if necessary. [Alternates]
Deputy Marshal is sworn in; jurors are heading
out to the jury room. Judge Castel (to
the lawyers) You need to be within eight
minutes of this courtroom. Judge Castel
praises the lawyers, and adjourns. The waiting
begins.
For those asking, the two defense
lawyers remain waiting at their table.
Geovanny Fuentes is waiting in the holding
cell. Earlier, he was twiddling his thumbs
like in the post-arrest interview video. There
was a moment when all the lawyers, but not
him, stood up
Update of 4:42 pm - it appears there is a jury
note; the deputy has handed a piece of paper
to the defense lawyers. The one who came in on
Long Island Railroad says he has to leave to
5:20 to get home. #MTAcuts
Explanation: #MTAcuts means: due to recent
budget and schedule cuts by the Metropolitan
Transit Authority / Long Island Railroad,
request by jury in Honduras drug trafficking
case to stay late will be limited to 5:40 or
even 5:20, for lawyer to catch train
That is to say, All politics is local.
Now the prosecutors are back. So the jury note
should be official read out loud by Judge
Castel shortly.
Judge Castel has still not announced it, but
defense lawyer is saying, it's great, jury is
leaving and we can leave. Now he's negotiating
for later start on Monday. Who knew the Long
Island Railroad schedule would paly a role in
#NarcosHonduras?
Update: While still no official announcement,
Inner City Press understands that jury will be
coming back in on Monday not at 9:30 but
rather 9 am.
The question
remains: Does the right to
access to Federal court
proceedings extend to
listen-only telephone lines,
in the time of COVID and
beyond? Should it?
The
question has been further
raised in the ongoing Honduras
narco-trafficking case US v.
Geovanny Fuentes, which Inner
City Press has been covering
in-person in the U.S. District
Court for the Southern
District of New York, where it
is "in-house press."
On
the morning of March 13, Inner
City Press filed a challenge
to the cut-off of audio access
to the US v. Fuentes trial,
citing the First Amendment,
COVID and real-world politics,
see here
and below.
Late on
the evening of March 14, the
US Attorney's Office filed a
three page letter into the
docket, specifically arguing
the the call-in line be
eliminated for two entire
Witnesses and everything they
say. US Attorney's Office's
letter, now uploaded on Inner
City Press' DocumentCloud, here.
Inner City
Press has immediately
responded in opposition, here,
stating among other things
that "the US Attorney's Office
seeks to specifically ban
public access to two of their
Witnesses, while saying that a
transcript would be available
at some unspecified date
afterwards. Given that the
Office has yet to unseal
improperly redacted portions
of their filings, there is
little reason to have
confidence in the speed of
transcription, or that such
transcripts would not be too
expensive for the public or
media.
Inner City Press
after its first filing waited
nine hours, including this song,
here, to report about
it. Full first letter on Inner
City Press' DocumentCloud, here.
Inner City
Press itself obeys all
existing rules and is grateful
for the additional access as
in-house media (particularly
since it is banned
from covering the UN, which
now Constitutional rights such
as the First Amendment exist).
But others
have rights too - including
journalists and regular
citizens of Honduras. If the
SDNY prosecutors are going to
exercises essentially
universal jurisdiction for any
wire transfer that passes
through lower Manhattan, how
ever briefly, they should not
oppose access to their trials
by those impacted, for better
and worse.
Judge Castel is a
good judge, in Inner City
Press' experience. When
petitioned he has ordered the
unsealing of certain court
documents, in a North Korea crypto-currency
conference case and the tech /
child sex sentencing
of Peter Bright former of
ArsTechnica, both of which
Inner City Press covered and requested.
And Judge Castel is certainly
in the mainstream in his March
12 psoition. But should it be
rethought? Is there a right?
Should there be? Watch this
site.
The case is US v. Diaz, 15-cr-379
(Castel).
***
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