By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Song Podcast Song II
BBC - Decrypt - VLOG - Thread - Source Trial
SDNY COURTHOUSE, July 20 – After the conviction and sentencing of R.Kelly in the Eastern District of New York, on July 18 jury selection became for the trial of his associate Donnell Russell for threats to try to stop a screening of the documentary "Surviving R.Kelly." As with the EDNY trial (below), but in more detail, Inner City Press live tweeted the second and last day ( first day here) of jury selection here.
On July 20, there were opening arguments and witnesses - seemingly, more than half of the case. Inner City Press live tweeted here:
OK - Trial of #RKelly "associate" Donnell Russell set to kick off with oral arguments, after 2-day jury selection. Yesterday Judge Gardephe kept out of evidence a text about "call me Daddy."
All rise! Judge Gardephe: I understand the lawyers have an issue? Assistant US Attorney: Yes, we have agreed on redactions. Judge Gardephe: Do I understand we will hear testimony today from the person who received the call? AUSA: Yes.
Opening arguments. Assistant US Attorney: The defendant called and said someone had a gun and would shoot up the theater. He wanted to shut down the show. You see, that show was a documentary about the defendant's boss, recording artist RKelly.
AUSA: In that show, women said things that would expose RKelly and cost him money. There was a live panel discussion scheduled, to hear the women speak about R.Kelly. The defendant wanted to keep these woman quiet. This threat worked. The theater was evacuated
AUSA: That was because the defendant picked up the phone & made that threat. He knew that his words would sabotage the event. And that's exactly when happened. The defendant committed Federal crimes. That is why you're here today. That is what this trial is about.
AUSA Lara Pomerantz: "The defendant worked for #RKelly as his manager." If R. Kelly was making lots of money, the defendant stood to gain. If not, it hurt the defendant's bottom line. Lifetime had produced a docu-series about R.Kelly, devastating to his career
AUSA: Lifetime partnered with a theater in NYC, to host the premiere on Dec 4, 2018. The defendant sent an email pretending to be someone else, that he invented. Why? Because he wanted to convince Lifetime by smearing the women in the docu-series.
AUSA: On Dec 4, the defendant called the theater nine times, trying to get someone who worked at the theater on the phone. He spoke with an employee and pretended to be someone else, just like in the email. He pretended to be a lawyer representing RKelly
AUSA: Then the theater go an online submission from this so-called lawyer, who was the defendant, a cease and desist demand. But the event was going forward. He had a co-conspirator on the inside, named Kash Jones
AUSA: The defendant called two NYPD stations; he blocked his phone number. He called the FDNY and an affiliate. Then he called, from his home in Chicago, the theater here in Manhattan. The same employee answered. This time, the defendant said someone had a gun
AUSA: The defendant said, Someone in the event has a gun and is going to shoot up the place. The theater employee was scared. He had just been told someone was going to shoot up a theater full of people. He spoke to his managers and called 911.
AUSA: The theater was evacuated. The airing of the docu-series was cut short. There was no panel discussion. The defendant texted Kash Jones, his person on the inside, that the police may be coming. Then he texted her again & said, Delete my text about the police
AUSA: This was a terrifying inter-state threat, to sabotage an event to protect RKelly and his own business. As a result, he is charged in two counts: inter-state threat, and conspiracy to do the same thing
AUSA: How will we prove this to you? You'll hear from people who were at the theater that night, including the employee who took the defendant's calls.... You'll see the emails between the defendant and Kash Jones.
AUSA: You will see interviews the defendant did saying, Yes there was a threat, and that he was happy about it. This will be a short trial...
Donnell Russell's lawyer Freedman: Some of what you will hear will not be about Don Russell, but instead about #RKelly. But this trial is not about R. Kelly - it is about Don Russell. Your job is to hear evidence. It is hard. Inner City Press @innercitypress · 7h Freedman: You're going to have to separate out the evidence about #RKelly. You told us, when you filled out the questionnaire, that you can put aside the information about R. Kelly and be fair and impartial.
Freedman: It's like the game of telephone - I know some of you remember it. A message gets garbled as it moves around. But some of the evidence does relate to Mr. Russell. He's an entertainment executive. In 2018 he tried to help Robert Sylvester Kelly, #RKelly
Freedman: Mr. Russell did try to get Lifetime to cease and desist, by saying the documentary infringed on Mr. Kelly's copyright. He did contact Kash Jones. You'll see their text messages. Yes he kept calling the theater, to talk about copyright infringement
Freedman: Mr Russell was in Chicago, so he couldn't just call NYC 911. So he called the stations. And he told Kash Jones about it. You see, it was a busy day, the theater was getting a lot of phone calls. The desk staffer got a call from a different guy...
Freedman: This other guy told the employee there was someone in the theater with a gun. The evidence is not going to be black and white. You're not going to hear that call, only the employee about it. Remember, the game of telephone.
Freedman: You'll hear the 911 call, but not the threat call. At some point, the police did come. And someone said, let's look at the phone log. The employee didn't know which call had been the threat. But Mr. Russell's name was on the call log.
Freedman: We are asking you to pay close attention to the evidence. There is evidence he was pleased with the result, which he had hoped for. But it doesn't show that he made that threat. In that interview, he'd going to say he was raising copyright.
Freedman: A lot of the evidence, I'm not going to dispute. It may not make you think highly of him. You may not think it was a good idea. But you're going to have to decide if there's enough evidence about the threat call to find that he made it.
Freedman: Mr. Russell is not guilty. Thank you. Judge Gardephe: First witness. AUSA Davis: The government calls Isaiah Hemingway... What do you do for work? Hemingway: I worked at the theater, it was a members-only club on 25th Street between Madison and Park Ave
AUSA: Did you attend an event involving #RKelly? Hemingway: Yes, the premiere of Surviving R. Kelly. AUSA: Did you recognize anyone? Hemingway: R. Kelly's ex-wife. AUSA: Then what happened? Hemingway: They suddenly said we had to evacuate. I was scared.
AUSA: Show the witness and counsel Gov Exhibit 202. What is it? Hemingway: A picture I took of the screening room. AUSA: The government offers Exhibit 202. Judge Gardephe: Any objection? Freedman: No. Judge Gardephe: It is admitted [into evidence]
AUSA: No further questions. Judge Gardephe: Cross examination. Freedman: We've never met, correct? Hemingway: Correct. Freedman: When you met with the US on June 23, you weren't sure if anyone said there had been a threat, right? Hemingway: I don't know the date
Freedman: You read the press, about a gun threat, right? Hemingway: Yes, I read the press. But I knew if we had to evacuate, I knew there had to have been a threat. I saw law enforcement.
Freedman: Even the evacuation, it took you a couple of minutes to decide it was serious, right? Hemingway: I was just thinking in the spur of the moment. Freedman: You yourself never heard a threat, right? Hemingway: No. But I knew it was serious.
Freeman: Nothing further. Judge Gardephe: Next witness. AUSA Pomerantz: First some photographs, we'll put them on a board: Donnell Russell, Kash Jones... Judge Gardephe: If no objection, go right ahead.
AUSA: And the 911 call, as evidence. Freedman: No objection. OK, jury is back from break. AUSA Davis: I want to focus on communications between 7:12 & 7:27 pm. What's this? Witness: Donnell Russell made a phone call. And uses *67.
AUSA Davis: Pull up Gov't Exhibit 902. What's this? Witness: Russell using another number. AUSA: At this time, we would like to play Govt Exhibit 701. Judge Gardephe: Go ahead. 911 call is played, from Adrian, citing "an anonymous phone call... I hope you understand my urgency."
Now prosecution plays video of Donnell Russell saying he sent cease and desist communications to Lifetime and others. AUSA Davis: No further questions. Judge Gardephe: Cross examination. Freedman: Where do you live - the Bronx or Manhattan? AUSA: Objection. Freedman: Do you live in NYC?
Witness: I no longer live in NYC. Judge Gardephe: You need to speak up Mr. Freedman. Freedman: I'm a bit trapped in here [in plexiglass COVID protection booth] You worked with the prosecutors on all this, right? Witness: Yes.
Next witness is former Neuehouse Member Services Manager Adrian Krasniqi, until 2021. AUSA: What was your job in 2018? Krasniqi: Member Services Manager. AUSA: What did you do at the front desk? Krasniqi: Answer emails and the phone.
AUSA: On Dec 4, 2018 what was there? Krasniqi: A screening of Surviving R. Kelly in our screening room. There were about 70 people. AUSA: The call you received, what did the caller sound like? Krasniqi: Deep voice, professional. The call was brief.
AUSA: What Gov Exhibit 1203? Krasniqi: A Post-It note with my handwriting on it. It says a representative of RKelly's legal team, cease and desist, copyright, 6:32 pm.
AUSA: What did you do? Krasniqi: Spoke to my manager. She said, tell 'em to put it in writing. AUSA: What was the next call? Krasniqi: A threat about a gun. The voice was deep and serious, very much like a thug. AUSA: Did you think it was the same person as the copyright threat? Krasniqi: They were similar deep male voices.
AUSA: What did you do? Krasniqi: Contacted a colleague Kastriot Pacarada. We flagged down our general manager Alison Hunt. She told me to call the police. I called 911. [911 call is played]
911 operator: So there were shots fired in the building? Krasniqi: No, there was an anonymous call about a gun. AUSA: In 2018 did you sometimes use drugs? Krasniqi: I smoked weed. But not that day.
AUSA: No further questions. Judge Gardephe: Cross examination. Freedman: You spoke a lot with the prosecutors - seven times since June, right? Krasniqi: I guess. Freedman: And that night, you called your dad? Krasniqi: I don't remember.
Freedman: And the first caller, about cease and desist, the caller sounded professional, you said, right? Krasniqi: He sounded like a lawyer. Freedman: And the second caller, you called him a thug?
Krasniqi: He had a Brooklyn accent. I was living in Brooklyn.
Freedman: Is this a photo of the phone at the front desk? AUSA: Objection! Judge Gardephe: Overruled. Krasniqi: It looks like it.
Freedman asks about mushrooms and acid. On re-direct, AUSA Pomerantz ask if he took either that day (no) & if when sober he has a good memory (he says he does). And with that, the trial day is over.
This case is US v. Russell, 20-cr-538 (Gardephe)
The morning of jury selection in the R.Kelly trial, which began on August 18, 2021 with no call-in line and no Press or public in the courtroom, his lawyers docketed a motion to dismiss, below.
On September 2, Inner City Press went to the EDNY courthouse in Brooklyn, before 9 am. There were supporters of R.Kelly on the sidewalk in front, one with a tiara; there was other journalists. On a delay occasioned by the flooding of the subway system, all entered and up to the (overflow) Courtroom on the sixth floor.
On TV screens, at first two lawyers milled about, then others, then Judge Ann Donnelly herself. Why she decided not only to ban the Press and public from the actual courtroom, where the reactions of the jury for example could be gauged, but worse to have no call-in line, is not known.
Now is why, when she played some of the audio the prosecutors presented to the jurors, it was only for only some members of the media, rather than have it made available as a judicial document. Later on September 27, nine jury guilty verdicts for R.Kelly, whose lawyer Devereaux Cannick said, "I'm sure we'll be appealing."
On June 8, the US filed its sentencing memo, asking for more than 25 years. "Based on a total offense level of 45 and a criminal history category of I, the applicable Guidelines range is life imprisonment. II. A Sentence in Excess of 25 Years is Warranted The government respectfully submits that a sentence in excess of 25 years is appropriate in light of all relevant factors, including the nature and circumstances of the offense, the history and characteristics of the defendant, and the need for the sentence to reflect the seriousness of the offense, to promote respect for the law, to provide just punishment, to afford adequate deterrence and to protect the public" Memo on Inner City Press' DocumentCloud here.
On June 29, in a proceeding of which no live tweeting was permitted, R.Kelly was sentenced to 30 years. He did not speak prior to sentencing, unlike for example Ghislaine Maxwell the previous day in SDNY. (She got 20 years). We'll have more on this.
Full motion on Inner City Press' DocumentCloud here.
September 2 witnesses began with a Mr. Yong Fe Wu (phonetic), a forensic biologist in Illinois. He put big numbers on the screen -- look, Ma, thirty zeros! - but when R.Kelly's lawyer Cannick asked if if weren't possible that the semen-stained shirt he tested hadn't been taken by someone coming over the fence, he replied, I don't know that story.
Next up was Homeland Security Special Agent Chris Wilson, not to be confused with the next witness, Chris' cousin Mike. Chris testified at length about photos and text messages extracted from two iPhones and one laptop taken from R.Kelly.
Then Mike Kelly, who was present at the arrest on July 11, 2019 in Chicago's Trump building, testified about an iPad.
During this, the woman in the tiara, whose birthday it was and is and who said she was spending it with the "King of R&B," fell asleep on the back bench of the overflow courtroom and, to be honest, began to snore.
A Court Security Officer came in and told her, you can't sleep in the courtroom, you have to go outside. But she sat up and remarked, accurately, "This is the boring part."
And needlessly opaque - no exhibits, no call in line. Watch this site. And this vlog; hear this podcast.
Previously, reverse chronological:
With less transparency each week, now no exhibits have been made available since August 23. On the morning of August 21, the defense filed a request for access to legal mail and documents they say have been withheld for more than two months (photo of letter Tweeted here) and now full letter on Inner City Press' DocumentCloud here
"RE: United States v. Robert Kelly Criminal Docket No.: 19-286 (AMD) Dear Judge Donnelly: The defense writes to respectfully request that the Court Order that the Bureau of Prisons and U.S. Marshals provide Mr. Kelly with his legal mail and documents that were collected when he was moved from MCC Chicago to MDC Brooklyn. Mr. Kelly was moved to MDC Brooklyn over two months ago and his mail and legal documents from MCC Chicago have not been delivered. Accordingly, it is respectfully requested that the Court Order that the BOP and U.S. Marshals provide Mr. Kelly his legal mail and documents from MCC Chicago." Watch this site - & this.
Inner City Press published the full motion on its DocumentCloud here, and song here.
Watch this site, and on Twitter, @InnerCityPress
Inner City Press which successfully advocated for the restoration of call-in access to January 6 proceedings in the District for the District of Columbia, did an August 18 stand-up outside the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, here
From the motion to dismiss: "Mr. r. Kelly respectfully submits this memorandum of law in support of his pre-trial motion to dismiss in advance of trial in this matter."
Inner City Press published the full memo on its DocumentCloud, here.
Inner City Press will continue to follow and report on these cases. EDNY is US v. Robert Sylvester Kelly, a/k/a R. Kelly, EDNY Docket No. 19-cr-286 (AMD).
Criminal in SDNY is This case is US v. Russell, 20-cr-538 (Gardephe). More on Patreon here.
***
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.
