By Matthew Russell Lee, Pod Exclusive Patreon
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - The Source
SDNY COURTHOUSE, May 21 – With South Korea's Moon Jae-In headed to DC, Inner City Press on May 20 asked noted North Korea expert Jean Lee about DPRK's hacking and what the Biden Administration will do. Question video here, follow up here, full video on Wilson Center site.
Now on May 21, after the summit, Moon and Joe Biden held a presser and Inner City Press live tweeted it, here:
Biden announces Ambassador Sung Kim as special envoy to the DPRK. Still no mentioning of hacking, or crypto / sanctions
Biden mentions K-Pop, but still not the SONY hack, or anything about North Korea other than the post to Ambassador Sung Kim. Did call Burma a junta
Biden: "First question, I'm told, is Mary Alice Parks of ABC News." Question is on Israel. Inner City Press @innercitypress · 15m Biden: I think my party still supports Israel.
Mary Alice Parks: Can I asked a question of President Moon? Have you been pressured to support Taiwan? Biden (to Moon) "Good luck." Moon: Fortunately there wasn't pressure.
Voice: We have a question from a Korean journalist over here. Two from the left. I
t's Yonhap News - says, I understanding Israel and Palestine is important, but the North Korea nuclear issue is equally important. What is the plan?
Moon: Very calibrated and gradual. Very flexible. In terms of the timeline for denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, we are of same mind. Biden: We closely studied what others tried, what worked and what hasn't worked. Nothing. On. Hacking.
Biden: Next question is Nancy Cordes of CBS. Cordes says one (North) Korea Q, one on Israel. Biden: I would not give Kim Jong Un all that he is looking for.
Cordes: Your relationship with Netanyahu? Biden: We got ceasefire because I keep things private.
Biden: Bibi Netanyahu has never broken his word to me. Abbas must be recognized as leader of the Palestinians. Bibi, the Prime Minister, knows my views. I spent a lot time with El Sisi on the phone, they've done a commendable job
Voice: Do we not have female journalists from Korea? A lady? From
Korea Herald. What about vaccines. Any good news for people of Korea?
Moon: For the sake of the ROK-US alliance, President Biden will vaccine the servicemembers in Korea. Biden: We'll do 550,000.
Presser ends with question about UFOs, and applause. Nothing on DRPK hacking.
On May 20, Jean Lee, who is working on a multi-part podcast with BCC called The Lazarus Heist, told Inner City Press it is not possible for the US to prosecute about North Korea's computer misdeeds. But beyond cases in the federal courts in California, there's the prosecution in SDNY of Virgil Griffith, which Inner City Press first reported on when he came through the Magistrates Court during the holidays.
Virgil Griffith, charged with violating North Korea sanctions in connection with a crypto-currency conference there, now faces trial in September 2021 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
This emerged at a telephone conference in the case on December 22. Griffith's defense lawyer Brian E. Klein spoke among other things about filings not yet placed in the public docket, only emailed to SDNY Judge P. Kevin Castel.
On February 11, Judge Castel held a proceeding about who knew what before and at the conference Griffith spoke at. A stipulation or agreement has been proposed, essentially that some people know, but the DPRK / Kim government as such did not. Inner City Press live tweeted the first proceeding, here.
And on February 23 the second proceeding, in two parts, here.
On March 12, citing the swearing into the office of US Attorney General of Merrick Garland the day before, the US Attorney's Office has asked for a three week delay for its Classified Information Procedures Act filings, since Garland must sign them on personal knowledge, under US v. Aref. Others might wonder if the change in Administration might result in a changed prosecutorial stance in this and certain other cases. But, three weeks - granted on March 15:
"MEMO ENDORSEMENT as to Virgil Griffith on re: [103] LETTER MOTION filed by USA addressed to Judge P. Kevin Castel from AUSAs Kimberly Ravener & Kyle Wirshba dated March 12, 2021 re: CIPA Motion Schedule. Pursuant to CES's instructions, the Government respectfully requests that the Court extend the date of its CIPA motion until April 9, 2021. ENDORSEMENT: OK. Application Granted. So Ordered: (Signed by Judge P. Kevin Castel).
On June 1, Griffith's lawyer filed a motion to dismiss for lack of venue, stating that Griffith's email to the North Korea Mission in New York, responded to, might not have been "received" in New York. Inner City Press is tweeting the photo here. Watch this site.
On May 28, from Judge Castel again to his credit, this: "ORDER as to Virgil Griffith. The government advises that the defendant consents to public disclosure of his ex parte and in camera application for a subpoena pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 17 (the Application) but does not consent to advance disclosure of the Application to the government. To enable the government to intelligently state its position on public disclosure, defendant shall transmit the Application to the government by 1 p.m. today, May 28, 2020. The government shall state whether it has any objection to public disclosure by 1 p.m. on May 29, 2020. The Court will thereafter rule on whether the Application should be publicly filed (Signed by Judge P. Kevin Castel on 5/28/20)(jw)." Watch this site.
The case is US v. Griffith, 20-cr-15 (Castel).
***
Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron.
