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Vault 7 Leak Trial Schulte Crossing Leonis
Is Barred From Naming Names or Locations
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon Thread Song
BBC
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SDNY COURTHOUSE,
June 17 – 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:
CIA' Leonis: Josh told me he was going
to fight back. It caught me off guard. He was
going to put up a fight about a management
decision. That's not the way people talk in a
professional environment.
AUSA: Did you ever retaliate against him?
Leonis: No. AUSA: Mr. Schulte wrote he has
incurred the wrath of his supervisor Karen.
How was Karen?
CIA's Leonis: Karen cared so much about
people. She'd walk the halls and ask you about
your family... We asked Josh and Amol to go to
the Employee Assistance Program
Leonis: This not the kind of thing you want to
deal with, 3 weeks into a job [as supervisor].
I just wanted to help people build tools to
collect intelligence for our country. AUSA: Is
there classified info in this email? Leonis:
The 3d graf talks about developers
Leonis: And it talks about a
vulnerability in one of our network. And it
talks about foreign office West. So it gave
the location. And it had the name of an
undercover officer. So in my read, it is not
unclassified.
Judge Furman: Jurors, I approved the
substitution of the phrase "Foreign Office
West" for the actual location. Just so you
understand. Leonis: After Vault 7 was
published, we became a crime scene. The
investigators bought cameras into the SCIF,
which was strange AUSA: No further questions.
Judge Furman: Cross-examination.
Schulte: Good morning. CIA's Leonis: Good
morning.
Schulte: Didn't I have a great relationship
with my management before you? Leonis: I can't
say. Schulte: You didn't have my file? Leonis:
No.
Schulte: I was promoted every year until my
last year, right? Leonis: I don't know.
Schulte: You didn't have access to promotion
records? Leonis: I don't remember. Schulte:
But you began keeping a dossier (says the "R")
on me, in a white binder, right? Leonis: No.
Schulte: You never kept a white binder?
Leonis: Later we did. Schulte: Before you
became a manager at the CIA, where did you
work before? AUSA: Objection! Judge Furman:
Sustained. Schulte: Had you ever managed
people? Leonis: No.
Schulte: Did you ever get training on conflict
resolution? CIA Leonis: I had experience in
getting people to sit down and talk. Schulte:
Just hash things out.. When Jeremy Weber wrote
to you, not copying me, did you know he had
stopped talking with me? Leonis: No. Schulte:
So this email that Mr. Weber sent --
Leonis: Mr. Weber should not have sent that
email. Schulte: So that's over-reaching. Let's
go to 1062. Mr. Weber is escalating the issue
directly to you, correct? Leonis: I'm in his
management chain.
Schulte: You never asked me my side of the
story, right? CIA's Leonis: I needed more
information -
Schulte: I'm sorry, sir, just answer yes or
no. Leonis: No.
Schulte: You could have called a meeting
between us and resolved it? Leonis: I needed
info first.
CIA's Leonis: My concern was who had admin
privileges to the libraries. Schulte: What
does that entail? Leonis: Control over the
libraries. Being able to change or modify
things. Schulte: But you also said everyone
has the ability to do that, to write code
Schulte: So on April 18 you begin to
write the memo of warning, right? CIA Leonis:
No. Schulte: You didn't? Leonis: It was a
memorandum. Schulte: You wrote it without even
speaking with me, right?
Leonis: We were going to talk with you about
it. Schulte: The question is, you had decided
on April 18 you were going to issue me the
memorandum? Leonis: Yes. But then we were
going to have a conversation.
Schulte: But H.R. wasn't even there,
right? CIA Leonis: I think they were there.
Schulte: But they didn't sign the memorandum
as a witness. Aren't they supposed to sign the
memo? AUSA: Objection. Judge Furman:
Sustained.
Schulte: Did you know that the Atlassian
tools were installed by Patrick? AUSA:
Objection! Judge Furman: Sustained.
Schulte: This cut-off had only to do with
Atlassian, and no other servers like IRC,
right? AUSA: Objection. Judge Furman:
Sustained. It speaks for itself, Mr. Schulte.
Schulte: Are you aware of Dave D. who worked
in RDB? CIA's Leonis: I don't know how to
answer your question.
Schulte: Uh, with yes or no? Leonis: I'm aware
of a Dave. Schulte: And he moved. Leonis: Yes.
Judge Furman: OK, jurors, we'll take our break
now.
Do not discuss the case. And Mr. Leonis, you
remain on cross examination, do not discuss it
with the government. Thread will continue.
Jury entering!
Judge Furman: You may proceed. Schulte: Good
afternoon. Before testifying, you met with
AUSA Denton 15 times, correct?
CIA's Leonis: Less. Maybe 10. Schulte: Some
lasted several hours, right? Leonis: Maybe two
hours.
Schulte: Brutal Kangaroo is the project,
right? CIA's Leonis: It is the tool suite.
Schulte: Shattered Assurance is one of the
tools, and uses Drifting Deadline, right?
Leonis: That's what it says here. Judge
Furman: I think we've covered this.
Schulte: Let's talk about Weekly Activity
Reports. Did I submit mine to you? Leonis:
Yes. Schulte: I'd like to read this --
Judge Furman: Don't. It's in evidence. Move
on. [With jury out of room, Judge Furman urged
Schulte to finish his cross of Leonis today
Leonis: Shattered Assurance was inside
Brutal Kangaroo. It was your job to --
Schulte: I object, Judge.
Judge Furman: Overruled. Schulte: I move to
introduce the stipulation 3008. Judge
Furman: You don't have to read the first
paragraph.
Judge Furman: I'm giving you fifteen or twenty
minutes more. Schulte: Can we have a sidebar?
Judge Furman: No. Let's do it more quickly
please.
Schulte: I want to talk about the 'fight back'
statement. Is there not a formal way for CIA
employees to fight back?
CIA Leonis: Fight back is not language
we use. But there are mechanisms to address
concerns. Schulte: Did you know that through
the CIA's formal process my performance report
(PAR) was modified? Leonis: No.
Schulte: How do you characterize my demeanor
at the meeting? Leonis: You were
frustrated. Schulte: When was the first
time you talked to me about access to Brutal
Kangaroo? Leonis: We said, all projects.
Schulte: But project were transferred with me.
CIA Leonis: You were told which projects
would could take with you. Schulte: It never
said Brutal Kangaroo. Judge Furman: Mr.
Schulte, you may not testify. Put on your mask
and let me see counsel at sidebar.
[After long sidebar] Schulte: OK I want
to talk about security. Did you know that the
CCI site was an SC Zero cite?
AUSA: Objection. Judge Furman: Just yes or no.
CIA's Leonis: Yes. Schulte: And what does that
mean? AUSA: Objection. Judge Furman:
Sustained.
Schulte: The CIA interviews and tests
applicant there, right? CIA's Leonis: I don't
know.
AUSA: Your Honor we are getting into the issue
that came up the other day. Schulte: May
stand-by counsel hand a copy -- AUSA: We
object! Judge Furman: At the sidebar again.
[Back up] Schulte: I want to ask you
about DEVLAN. Have you heard it described as
the Wild, Wild West?
CIA's Leonis: No. Never heard that. Schulte:
Did you know that a developer put the Stash
backup on a public page? Leonis: No.
Schulte: Is it CIA policy to basically close
up shop after a leak? AUSA: Objection. Judge
Furman: Sustained. Let's wrap this up.
Schulte: Are you aware of the Wikileaks task
force? CIA's Leonis: Yes. But I was not party
to it.
Schulte: No further questions. Judge Furman:
Any re-direct? AUSA: No, Your Honor. Judge
Furman: Mr. Leonis you are free to go. Have a
nice weekend. Next witness. Patrick of
Microsoft, an "incident response" specialist;
previously with "an FFRDC called MITRE."
Patrick: I did work with the FBI's Cyber
Action Team. We'd deploy to victim
organizations. I personally deployed about
five times. AUSA: What is a virtual
machines? Patrick: Essentially a computer
inside a computer.
AUSA: What is an insider threat investigation?
Patrick: Where we suspect someone inside the
company did it. AUSA: Have you been trained?
Patrick: Yes, in cyber security. AUSA:
Any awards? Patrick: Yes. Internal awards.
Also from the Polish military intelligence
AUSA: Did you investigate Wikileaks
publications? Patrick Leedom: Yes. Of Vault 7
and Vault 8. AUSA: Where did the leak come
from in Confluence? Patrick: From back-up
files. The March 3 back-up.
\
Judge Furman: It's 2:47 pm so we'll end
for the week. [With jury gone] AUSA: Mr
Schulte wants 18 witnesses. Some raise CIPA
issues; some have not been subpoenaed.
Judge Furman: Then they're not subject to
subpoena. Maybe we'll have a classified
hearing next week
Schulte: They are not
letting me use the laptop in the MDC.
Judge Furman: Did you ask them? I am
surprised. As I said at the sidebar, I
urge you to pare down your questions. Your
cross examination of Mr. Leonis was not
efficient. Sometimes less is more.
And with that, Judge Furman leaves the
bench
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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