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In North Korea Crypto Case Inner City Press Challenged Sealing Now US Does Not Oppose Release

By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - The Source

SDNY COURTHOUSE, May 29 – Virgil Griffith, charged with violating North Korea sanctions in connection with a crypto-currency conference there, will now seek to get the case moved for lack of venue out of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.   

This emerged at a telephone conference in the case on May 18. Griffith's defense lawyer Brian E. Klein said he is ready to file a motion on venue as early as this Friday May 22, based on "ex parte, in camera" filings he made with SDNY Judge P. Kevin Castel. 

   Inner City Press, which has covered the case from Griffith's first appearance in the SDNY Magistrates Court to his Christmas holiday legal moves to get released to home confinement in Alabama, immediately sought the still-sealed documents in this criminal case.

  Judge Castel to his credit the same day asked each side's counsel to respond: "The Court has received an application from Inner City Press for the unsealing of certain applications by the defendant for the issuance of subpoenas. The parties shall respond to the application by May 22, 2020. If there is no objection, the Court will order the applications and any resulting order unsealed."

    Now on May 29, the US Attorney's Office has finally said it does not oppose release: "Re: United States v. Virgil Griffith, 20 Cr. 15 (PKC) Dear Judge Castel: Pursuant to the Court’s May 28, 2020 order, the Government writes to inform the Court that it has no objection to the public disclosure of the defendant’s ex parte and in camera applications for subpoenas pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 17. Respectfully submitted, GEOFFREY S. BERMAN United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York." Watch this site.

On May the US Attorney's office initially responded, saying it would like to get the documents and then decide whether they should be released. But this is the same US Attorney's office which has refused to release the exhibits they used in the scam crypto OneCoin case, while DOJ denied expedited processing in 2019 to Inner City Press' request for expedited processing of its FOIA request for the exhibits - and has not responded since.

 Now on March 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). 

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