By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Song Podcast Song II
BBC - Decrypt - VLOG - Thread - Source Trial
EDNY COURTHOUSE, Sept 14 – The morning of jury selection in the R.Kelly trial, which began on August 18 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.
During the proceedings, several times the prosecutor said an exhibit was being entered into evidence, but it was not even put on the screen for the press and public to see. Since August 23 to the morning of September 2, only one exhibit was made available.
Now on September 14 the US has filed a motion in limine to try to get into evidence two exhibits, arguing "the government seeks to introduce excerpts of two recordings recovered pursuant to a search warrant at a storage facility used by the defendant. The recorded excerpts show (1) the type of physical and psychological abuse the defendant employed to exert and maintain control over women and girls with whom he was engaged in sexual relationships; and (2) his regular use of audio and video recordings to maintain control of females and protect the charged enterprise. Government Exhibit 484, a video recording, shows the defendant entering a room with two women in it and accusing one of the women of lying. The defendant can then be heard beginning to physically assault the woman. He also directly threatens her, “If you lie to me, I’m gonna fuck you up.”
(The actually assault is not captured on the video tape as Case 1:19-cr-00286-AMD Document 206 Filed 09/14/21 Page 1 of 9 PageID #: 3588 2 they are then out of the view of the camera.) Notably, the video appears to have been taken by a stationary camera mounted somewhere overhead in the room. (The government has not identified either of the females depicted in Government Exhibit 484, but the recording makes clear that the defendant is upset about a sexual act that occurred between the two females, strongly suggesting that the defendant is in a sexual relationship with one or more of the females.).
A transcript of the recording is enclosed as Exhibit A. In Government Exhibit 485, an hour-long audio recording, the defendant, along with enterprise member George Kelly, also known as “Uncle Bug” and “June Bug,” who has been identified by multiple witnesses at trial, confronted Jane Doe #20, a woman whose identity is known to the government, about her purportedly stealing a Rolex watch from the defendant’s residence.1 (The government seeks to admit approximately 28 minutes of the audio recording.)
At the beginning of the recording, the defendant told Jane Doe #20 that he had “cameras everywhere” and said, “You know how I am with cameras.” He then explained that he had cameras in “my studio, my van and my garage of course.” When a male in the room (believed to be George Kelly, whom the defendant introduced to Jane Doe #20 earlier in the recording by saying “this is my uncle Bug”) added, “Bus,” the defendant then made clear that he also had cameras on the bus.
During the recording, the defendant also told Jane Doe #20 that his engineers had downloaded the videos that purportedly showed her stealing from the defendant. In the recording, Jane Doe #20 ultimately admitted to taking the watch, a t-shirt, earrings and “porno tapes.” When she admitted that she took the tapes, the defendant asked her what she intended to do with them and she said that she only intended to “watch them.” After Jane Doe #20 admitted to taking the items, the defendant berated, threatened and physically assaulted her." 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.
Previously, for Day 4, with victim(s) with pseudonym(s) projected to testify, here's the US Attorney's Office motion in limine to keep their identities from public disclosure:
"The government respectfully submits this memorandum of law in support of its motion in limine in advance of trial in this matter, currently scheduled to commence on August 9, 2021. This motion in limine seeks to protect the identities of certain charged victims referred to as Jane Doe #2, Jane Doe #3 and Jane Doe #5 in the third superseding indictment (hereinafter referred to as the “Victim-Witnesses”) that are expected to provide, and/or will be the subject of, sensitive and personal testimony concerning illegal sexual abuse, sexual contact and other acts committed by the defendant at trial.1 Specifically, the government moves the Court to: (1) permit the Victim-Witnesses to testify using a pseudonym or their first names only; (2) limit references to each of the Victim-Witnesses in open court to their pseudonyms or first names only; and (3) prevent public disclosure, via cross-examination or otherwise of the Victim-Witnesses respective addresses, names of family members or exact place of employment, if any."
Inner City Press is publishing the full motion on its DocumentCloud here, and song here.
On Day 3, Anthony Navarro said he's since worked with Taylor Swift, Jay-Z, & Kanye: “Most of the work [for them] is just professional work." And the rest of the work? There were eight more exhibits; Inner City Press immediately published four of them here.
On Day 2, Jerhonda Pace was cross examined, with Deveraux Cannick asking her about a settlement she signed stated that she agreed she never revealed to Kelly that she was a minor. Dr. Kris McGrath was questioned by AUSA Nadia Shihata Police Officer Garrick Amschl of the Olympia Fields Police Department testified. And (much) later, 20 exhibits, with Inner City Press immediately posting nine of them, here.
On Day 1 of the trial, August 18, after openings by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Cruz Melendez and then defense counsel Nicole Blank Becker, the first government witness, Jerhonda Pace ("Jane Doe #4") testified on direct examination. The docket reflects: "Witness sworn and testified. Exhibits marked and entered into evidence." But as of 9:45 pm, none of the exhibits were available.
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, which is scheduled to commence on August 18, 2021. This motion seeks to dismiss the predicate acts alleged in Count 1, numbers 12 and 14, as well as the Mann Act violations alleged in Count 6 through Count 9 and in Count 1 Racketeering Act 1, Racketeering Act 2, Racketeering Act 3, Racketeering 7, Racketeering Act 10 and dispute the venue in the third superseding indictment filed on March 13, 2020, pursuant to the Rule 12(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure."
Inner City Press is publishing the full memo on its DocumentCloud, here.
Inner City Press will continue to follow and report on the case. It is US v. Robert Sylvester Kelly, a/k/a R. Kelly, EDNY Docket No. 19-cr-286 (AMD). More on Patreon here.
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