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by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack

SDNY COURTHOUSE, Feb 16 – For a criminal trial in January 2026 the US Attorney's Office asked U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Jessica G.L. Clarke to seal the courtroom for a main witness. She did, and Inner City Press which was covering or trying to cover the trial was told

Judge Clarke has ordered that the Government would make the daily transcript of the UC’s testimony available to the public through the court reporter’s office and publish redacted versions of the exhibits, including the Buy Videos, to the public.

   Inner City Press immediately - January 29 - asked the Office for the exhibits. Nothing. The exhibits were not shown in the audio-only room. The trial ended, in a guilty verdict. Still no exhibits.

On February 13, after Judge Clarke had ordered the Office to explain by February 20, the AUSA filed a letter blaming Inner City Press, saying darkly that it reports on cooperating witnesses - in open court - and that it might publish the exhibits if provided. Well, yes, as we've done for example in an EDNY case before Judge Komitee

  Inner City Press immediately filed opposition into the docket, here.

After another round, finally some but not all exhibits, here

Then on Sunday, February 15 Judge Clarke to her credit followed up and docketed, "it appears that Mr. Lee has offered to accept the videos without sound. As such, in its February 18, 2026 letter, the Government shall also respond to whether it has any objection to providing the videos to Mr. Lee without sound, with the UC’s face blurred, along with the corresponding transcripts for those buy videos."

Inner City Press has again asked for them.

For now, the partial exhibits given include, for example, multiple photos of the defendant with cash spread out on the floor - including one-dollar bills - and singing along with rap songs in a discount store, in front of small plastic keyboards for sale, lyrics including "'Scuse me while I count this bread."

 Then there is dialogue like, "My girl Givin me the bread tomorrow..." "I got u"

 There's a four-second video with lyrics "Wartime hoppin' in the whip," with a purple Pokemon.

Watch this site.

The case is USA v. Conyers, et al., 1:23-cr-457 (Clarke)

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