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By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Song Filing
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - ESPN

SDNY COURTHOUSE, March 16 – 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. But Inner City Press live tweeted it, here:

Now "Witness-1" for whom the US Attorney's Office demanded cut of the call-in line, is on the stand. Pending the transcripts they said would be quickly available (where?), Inner City Press will live tweet:

 AUSA: Did you see other individuals on the defendant's property at Cerro Negro that day? How were they dressed? Witness-1: Como personas de la ciudad [Like city people]

Witness-1: I gave them the money, and I pulled back from the property. AUSA: Focusing on the 2d time you delivered money to Cerro Negro, how long after the 1st time was it? W1: 3 months. AUSA: Who asked you to go there? W1: Mi jefe.

 Judge Castel: We'll take our mid-morning break. Juror Number 1, if you don't mind remaining behind for a moment.

 Judge Castel (to Juror # 1, we are not describing the juror): So what's going on? [Answer] Judge Castel: Am I correct this was not on the record during jury selection? I said the trial was expected to last 2 weeks. I don't believe this was brought to my attention

Judge Castel: When I was in college, if I missed a class, I got the notes from someone else. But jury service is not like that. This would stop it for all jurors. Another juror has a commitment the week after. Shutting it down Friday would extend it for everyone

Juror 1: Understood. Judge Castel: Thank you very much. We are all in this together. I appreciate it, and I know the parties do too. Inner City Press @innercitypress · 58m Judge Castel is back, he asks if the parties object to him doing a sentencing while this jury is empaneled. AUSAs say they want time to check back in the office. Fuentes' lawyer: In MCC jail they intend to move him, for God knows what reason.

 Judge Castel tells AUSA to look into. Says trial -- apparently still without call-in line - will start late tomorrow. AUSA: Mr. Sanchez, who is this (Exhibit 315)

Witness-1: Julio Cesar Barahona. AUSA: And when they referred to "the Boss," who did you understand it to be? Fuentes' lawyer: Objection! Judge Castel: I'll allow it. Witness-1: Juan Orlando Hernandez.

 Witness-1: I made out the check, my boss signed it, and I gave it to Julio Cesar Barahona. AUSA: What did you think "Help the fellow out" meant? Witness-1 (after objection overruled): To help Geovanny Fuentes.

 AUSA: While Juan Orlando Hernandez was running for president, for what purpose would he could to Graneros? Witness-1: For campaign support.

AUSA: How did he receive campaign contributions? Witness-1: As a check from Graneros. AUSA: Who gave him the checks? W1: Me

 AUSA: How much did he get every months? W1: 250,000 Lempiras. AUSA: Did you see him talking with Fuad Jarufe? W1: Yes. AUSA: Did Juan Orlando Hernandez say what he would do when he became president? W1: He said, We will be untouchable.

AUSA: Beyond the business-owners, who did Juan Orlando Hernandez say would support him? W1: The military. AUSA: Show Government Exhibit 318 Defense: No objection.

W2: It's Juan Orlando Hernandez... and "Chinchia" AUSA: Did you see Leopoldo Crivelli with Juan Orlando Hernandez? W1: Yes. He is called "Polo." AUSA: What did Juan Orlando Hernandez say? W1: Los Hondurenos son pendejos.

AUSA: Were you present for meetings between the defendant and Juan Orlando Hernandez? W1: Yes. AUSA: Where was the 1st one? W1: In the office of my boss in Graneros. My boss told me in the morning, "Viene Juan Orlando hoy."

AUSA: What did you see there? W1: A military helicopter. AUSA: Where did the meeting happen? W1: At the round table. AUSA: Why were you there? W1: There were dollars to be transferred. Present were Juan Orlando Hernandez and the defendant

AUSA: When you arrived, where was Juan Jarufe? W1: Round table (mesa redonda). AUSA: Where were Juan Orlando Hernandez and the defendant? W1: En la mesa redonda. I sat on the blue chair, about a meter or meter and a half from them.

 AUSA: What was your reaction to seeing them together? W1: Temor. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. AUSA: Why were you afraid? W1: I was seeing a candidate for president with a narco-trafficker, together. Defense: Objection! Judge Castel: Overruled.

 AUSA: How did the defendant address Juan Orlando Hernandez?

Witness-1: Juancho. AUSA: Did you call him Juancho? Witness-1: No. Witness-1 (narrative) Juan Orlando Hernandez said, By the time the Americans become aware, we'll be untouchable. We'll put drugs up the noses of the gringos and they won't even be aware of it [dar se cuenta]

 AUSA: What did gringos refer to? Witness-1: The North American people. AUSA: You mentioned amending the law, what'd you mean by that? Fuentes' lawyer: Objection! Judge Castel: What did you understand those referring to amending to mean? W1: Eliminating extradition. Inner City Press @innercitypress · 14m AUSA: Do you know who Tony Hernandez is? W1: The brother of Juan Orlando Hernandez. AUSA: What did Juan Orlando Hernandez say about Tony? W1: That the defendant should follow the instructions of Tony Hernandez, in the drug business.

 AUSA: Did the defendant have anything with him? Witness-1: Un maletin / a briefcase. AUSA: Did he open it? When? W1: When Juan Orlando Hernandez said he would put the drugs in the noses of the gringos, then the briefcase was opened. It was full of dollars.

 Witness-1: The defendant gave it to Juan Orlando Hernandez. He said, Para que te ayuda con la compana / so that it helps you with the campaign.

 AUSA: What did Juan Orlando Hernandez do with it? Witness-1: He gave it to me and said, Jose, cambia lo. I said, En nombre que quien quiere el cheque? Then I counted it, on the round table. Juan Orlando Hernandez was there.

 AUSA: What was Juan Orlando Hernandez doing?

W1: Tomando un trago y chequeando su celular (Having a drink and checking his phone). 

Judge Castel: We'll take a lunch break. Don't discuss the case.

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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