In
CIA Leaks Case US Opposes Schulte Access
to Mirror Images of DEVLAN Citing CIPA
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon Thread Song
BBC
- Decrypt
- LightRead - Honduras
- re
CNN
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Aug 12 – In the conclusion of
the month long trial of
accused CIA leaker Joshua
Schulte, on the morning of
March 9 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.
Now after
the US Attorney's Office
re-indicted Schulte with a
grand jury either in White
Plains or Manhattan with
virtual juror(s), his lawyers
have asked for time to reply
since they cannot easily reach
him in MCC lock-down.
Meanwhile
on August 12 the US Attorney's
Office filed opposition to
Schulte's request for access
to DEVLAN, as they put it:
"Re: United States v. Joshua
Adam Schulte, S3 17 Cr. 548
(PAC) Dear Judge Crotty: We
write in response to the
defendant’s July 28, 2020
letter renewing his request
for full mirror images of the
Central Intelligence Agency’s
ESXi and NetApp servers. To be
clear, the defendant is, in
effect, requesting full access
to DEVLAN—a breathtaking
amount of highly classified
data that has no relevance to
the issues at trial or the
opinions offered by the
Government’s experts. Indeed,
a full image of the NetApp
server alone is enormous and
includes, among other things,
numerous daily backups of
DEVLAN’s components and final
copies of cyber tools that
were never disclosed by
WikiLeaks. In support of this
vast request, which the Court
has repeatedly denied, the
defendant mischaracterizes the
record and otherwise fails to
identify any specific aspect
of forensic discovery that was
deficient. The defendant’s
request should be denied once
again. By way of background,
on July 22, 2019, the Court
issued an order granting, in
part, the Government’s motion
pursuant to Section 4 of the
Classified Information
Procedures Act (“CIPA”). (Dkt.
124). As relevant here, the
Court reviewed and approved
the Government’s methodology
for producing forensic
discovery in this case." Watch
this site.
Inner City Press live tweeted
the July 1, 11 am conference
in the case:
Judge Crotty:
Have you seen the indictment?
Schulte: No. Shroff: We have
discussed it but he does not
have a copy. He pleads not
guilty. Judge Crotty: There
was a conference yesterday
with jury clerk. [Inner City
Press covered it:
http://innercitypress.com/sdny13cfaillabaldeicp063020.html
Inner City Press
@innercitypress · 25m Shroff:
We have asked if grand jury
was in White Plains or in
Manhattan with jurors by Zoom
or some other video
technology. [That's what came
out yesterday:
http://innercitypress.com/sdny13cfaillabaldeicp063020.html
Judge Crotty: Do you
contemplate motions? Shroff:
We don't know yet. Inner City
Press @innercitypress · 24m
Shroff: We need to meet with
Mr. Schulte in the SCIF. And
our expert, who is 78,
declines to travel to New
York. So I don't know. Inner
City Press @innercitypress ·
23m Shroff: We would want at
least 45 days before coming
back to court. We need to talk
with Mr. Schulte. Judge
Crotty: What are his
conditions of confinement -
solitary? Shroff: Yes. And
there is no movement from MCC
to court, so we can't get him
to the SCIF. Inner City Press
@innercitypress · 21m AUSA
Laroche: That's right, nor the
proffer room. Judge Crotty:
What'll it take to get Mr.
Schulte into the SCIF?
Laroche: It seems to depend on
phases. We think re-trial
could be discussed outside of
SCIF. Most of the exhibits are
no longer classified.
"Most."Shroff: I hear from
Federal Defenders the Court is
working to put the next phase
in motion. [Note: in a
proceeding today before Judge
Engelmayer which Inner City
Press is also covering, a FD
said David Patton told him he
say no idea when SDNY will
open.] Inner City Press
@innercitypress · 13m Judge
Crotty: Which trials go first
will be decided by an
assignment committee which
will coordinate with the EDNY.
So I think we should pick a
date. Shroff: We need a new
co-counsel. Mr. Branden has a
motion to withdraw. Inner City
Press @innercitypress · 11m
Shroff: I have a trial
in EDNY with client not yet
convicted of anything. So that
will go first. AUSA Laroche -
I disagree. Mr. Denton is
government counsel in that
case and it is not close to
ready for trial. Oversea
depositions. So this [Schulte]
should go 1st. Inner City
Press @innercitypress · 11m
Shroff: My expert won't come
to New York. There is no way I
can try this case in the
Fall. Judge Crotty:
Because of your prior
commitment with Judge Ross [of
EDNY]? Shroff: That's one of
the reasons. Mr. Laroche's
insistence should not change
anything.Shroff: What about
the grand jury motion? Judge
Crotty: Any date we select is
subject to review to the
assignment committee. Shroff:
I need to check to Judge Ross.
It's not up to Mr. Laroche.
Judge Crotty: The world
changed in March. Inner City
Press @innercitypress · 4m
Judge Crotty: OK, I'm
relieving Mr. Branden and
appointed Ms. Colson. Does she
have the appropriate security
clearances? Shroff: Could I
have four weeks? Courtroom
deputy: July 29? Shroff: How
about August 3? Judge Crotty:
August 3, then. Anything else?
Inner City Press
@innercitypress AUSA Laroche:
Since on the jury question
Judge Failla has set July 14
for a letter on issues in the
Balde case [which Inner City
Press also covers:
http://innercitypress.com/sdny13afaillabaldeicp052120.html
] let's put ours off until
after that. 11:36 AM · Jul 1,
2020·Twitter Web App View
Tweet activity 1 Like
Inner City Press
@innercitypress · 25s Replying
to @innercitypress
Shroff: We need to travel to
interview people. Judge
Crotty: But the
quarantine. Shroff:
Right. AUSA Laroche: We
move to dismiss Count 6 to the
S.2 indictment. Judge Crotty:
Granted. We are adjourned.
On June 9
the US Attorney's Office filed
this: (S3) SUPERSEDING
INDICTMENT FILED as to Joshua
Adam Schulte (1) count(s)
1sss, 2sss-3sss, 4sss, 5sss,
6sss, 7sss, 8sss, 9sss.
(jbo)." Full text on Patreon here.
Now Count
6 has been dismissed.
On June
17, the US Attorney has asked
for more time to respond to
Schulte's lawyers request for
Grand Jury information, citing
a decision in another SDNY
case Inner City Press is reporting
on: "Re: United States v.
Joshua Adam Schulte, S3 17 Cr.
548 (PAC) Dear Judge Crotty:
We write to respectfully
request additional time to
respond to the defendant’s
June 15, 2020, request for
records and papers used in
connection with the
constitution of the Master and
Qualified Jury Wheels in this
District. We have learned that
similar motions have been made
in other cases in this
District. See United States v.
Balde, No. 20 Cr. 281
(KPF); United States v.
Williams, No. 20 Cr. 286
(WHP); United States v. Baker,
No. 20 Cr. 288 (LJL); United
States v. Henry, No. 20 Cr.
293 (LJL). Yesterday in Balde,
Judge Failla issued an order
granting the Government’s
request to speak with Linda
Thomas, this District’s Jury
Administrator, prior to taking
a position on the motion in
that case, and scheduling a
call with the Government,
defense counsel, and Ms.
Thomas for June 30, 2020, at
2:00 p.m. (See No. 20 Cr. 281,
Dkt. 21, Exhibit A). In that
order, Judge Failla also
directed the Government to
coordinate with counsel in
“any other cases with similar
motions” so that they may also
participate on the call.
Accordingly, the Government
respectfully requests that the
Court adjourn the current June
19, 2020 response deadline so
that the Government and
defense counsel can
participate on the call with
Ms. Thomas prior to litigating
the defendant’s motion. If the
Court grants this request, the
Government respectfully
requests until July 7, 2020 to
file a substantive response to
the defendant’s motion." Watch
this site- and this.
More on Patreon here. Song
here.
Back on the
afternoon of February 28 the
US in an emergency hearing
dropped Count 2 against
Schulte, and admitted that it
can never be revived: jeopardy
has attached. Inner City Press
has obtained the transcript
and tweeted
and uploaded it here
on Scribd, on Patreon here.
On March
5, Judge Paul A. Crotty and
both side's lawyers held a
closed door proceeding in the
judge's robing room. Afterward
Assistant US Attorney Matthew
Laroche said that the
transcript should be sealed
until after a verdict.
Inner City
Press immediately wrote to
Judge Crotty and the docket,
for the fifth time in this
proceeding (here's III and
IV): "Dear Judge
Crotty: This
supplements the January 22, 23
and 26 and February 24, 2020
submissions on this topic on
behalf of Inner City Press and
in my personal capacity. Your
Honor on Janaury 31 ruled
inter alia that "[t]he
Government is directed to make
transcripts and exhibits
available to the public no
later than the evening after
the day of testimony." Docket
No. 293, at 15.
This morning after a robing
room discussion about Juror
Number 5 (and perhaps other
matters) from which the press
was excluded, AUSA Laroche
urged your Honor to seal the
transcript of that discussion
until AFTER there is a
verdict. That is unacceptable,
and inconsistent with your
previous order. The
purpose of this letter is to
formally request at the
earliest time - 10 minutes
after AUSA Laroche's
statement, your ruling on
which is unclear - that the
transcript of the robing room
proceeding be made available
immediately, as well as all
other exhibits which Inner
City Press has continued
available to the public on https://www.patreon.com/MatthewRussellLee."
Meanwhile,
as now excused Juror 5 left
the courthouse, Inner City
Press caught the tail / end of
her comments to two intrepid
tabloids. She specializes in
buttocks sculpting - and most
explosively, indicted that she
believed Schulte was naughty
but not guilty. This would
seem at a minimum to provide
fuel for a defense appeal in
the event of a conviction. But
first - the transcript. Watch
this site.
On March
4, the jury deliberated for a
full second day without
reaching a verdict. Or perhaps
the whole jury did not
deliberate - as Inner City
Press first tweeted (thread here),
the foreperson passed out a
note that Juror Number Four
(whose name was said) was
refusing to deliberate with
others, was conducting their
own inquiry into the evidence.
Schulte's lawyer Zas urged
Judge Crotty to let time
elapse before acting. Could
this type of independent
inquiry be more favorable to
Schulte than that US? Thread here;
Inner City Press is staying on
the case.
On March
3, the jury deliberated and
asked at least nine questions.
Inner City Press live tweeted
it, thread here.
There were questions about
locking and unlocking
computers, and if Schulte was
ever diagnosed with Asperger's
Syndrome, a matter raised in
cross-examination. Perhaps of
concern for the defense was
the lack of questions about
alternate suspect Michael.
At day's
end in Judge Crotty's
courtroom gallery it was only
Inner City Press and one of
the Assistant US Attorneys,
who waited to say he and
Schulte's lawyers would try to
answer some of the questions
the next day, March 4. Inner
City Press will be there -
watch this site.
On March 2
were the closing arguments,
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
(Crotty).
***
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