SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Oct 21 - In the Lev Parnas and
Andrey Kukushkin jury trial,
the first witnesses testified
on the afternoon of October
13. Inner City Press live
tweeted it here
and here.
Vlog here.
On October
14, Parnas' lawyer Joseph Bondy accused the
US Attorney's Office of racism, and AUSA
Hagen Scotten of threatening him with or
about a sidearm. Inner City Press live
tweeted it here
podcast here
On
the morning of October
15, before the jury came in, the
defense successfully argued to
have the jury instructed that the
Times Square
"street fight / racist"
video shown the day
before is not
relevant and is excluded.
Inner City Press
live tweeted
it here,
podcast here.
On October 18
to 1 pm, there
was more cross
examiation of
Van Rensburg,
and the beginning on
Caroline
Booth.
Inner City Press
live tweeted here
(podcast here)
(vlog here)
During the
afternoon of
October 18,
Bondy cross
examined Rep Pete Sessions' (now Liz
Cheney's)
staffer
Caroline
Boothe, mortgage
broker Ross
and lawyer /
notary
Preminger. The
question of
Parnas testifying
arose. Inner
City Press
live tweeted
it here.
On the morning
of October
19, an
argument out
of hearing of
the jury about
what Parnas could
be cross
examined
about, if he
testified.
Inner City
Press live
tweeted it here
(and podcast
here)
On the
afternoon of
October 19,
Ahearn of
America First
Action
was put on the
stand by the
defense, with
whether
Parnas will
follow him to
the stand
still left open.
Inner City
Press live tweeted
here and
below.
On
October
20 - drum roll
- the time for
Parnas to
decide to
testify or not
came. And... he did
not. Inner
City Press
live tweeted
it here: (and podcast
here)
And on
October 21,
the summations
or closing
arguments; Inner
City Press
live tweeted here
and here:
now
closing
arguments in
US v. Parnas
&
Kukushkin
Assistant US
Attorney Hagen
"Sidearm"
Scotten: Here
is what Ms.
Van Rensburg
did - exactly
what Parnas
told her to
do. Here are
the phone
records.
Special Agent
Thomas found
this form in
Mr. Parnas'
home, for
joining
Trump's
campaign
finance
committee
AUSA Scotten:
Joe Ahearn
testified that
Parnas knew
the rule
against
foreign
nationals
contributing.
As to
Kukushkin,
maybe he
wasn't
interested in
the news, but
he kept up
with what was
important to
him: cannabis
and illegal
campaign
contributions
AUSA Scotten:
Here is
Muraviev,
mooning the
Statue of
Liberty. This
is who
Kukushkin was
working with.
Kukushkin must
have known he
was a bad man.
AUSA Scotten
concludes
with, You'll
return the
only verdicts
supported by
the evidence,
guilty.
OK - now
Parnas'
closing
arguments in
US v. Parnas
&
Kukushkin, by
Parnas' lawyer
Joseph
Bondy.
Parnas' lawyer
Bondy: I'm
going to start
with a story.
A monk lived
at the base of
a mountain in
China. He
said, I wonder
what it's like
up there. He
asked those
who came down.
He went up -
and realized
no one else
could replace
his judgment.
Like you here.
Bondy: I don't
have a bunch
of graphics.
I'm going to
speak to you
with my mouth.
We have fewer
and fewer
criminal
trials in this
country. I'm
going to start
with what Mr.
Hagen told
you. He showed
the statue of
liberty. Isn't
there a reason
for some to
moon it?
Bondy:
You're going
to reach a
verdict today,
or whenever.
And it will
go. Did you
uphold the
law? You are
the last
defense. Use
your power, as
you could like
to have that
power used. In
America
sometimes we
don't realize
the value of
things until
they're gone
Bondy: I wrote
about you on
Post-Its. We
studied you.
What did you
see? Lev had
some good
ideas. He was
over his head,
but he had
good ideas:
cannabis, the
War on Drugs.
He brought a
message of
legalization
into the
President's
lair
Bondy:
Madeleine
Espinosa told
you she
couldn't show
where the
money came
from. Count 5
and 6, this
FEC affidavit.
The judge will
tell you it
has to be
material to be
a violation.
The FEC keeps
the thresholds
internal,
confidential.
The FEC
witness
refused to say
Bondy:
Lev's home
looked like a
home. The FBI
found a safe -
oh my God!
They cut in
half. And
found nothing,
only
propaganda
from the Trump
campaign.
Judge
Oetken, to
jurors: Can
you put off
lunch for a
bit? Yes? You
may proceed,
Mr. Bondy.
Bondy: Thank
you. So Joe
Ahearn advised
Lev how to ask
about
cannabis, but
vaguely.
Bondy:
When I sit
down, Mr.
Kukushkin's
counsel will
I'm sure try
to portray Lev
as a con
artist.
Judge
Oetken: Let's
take lunch.
Then we'll
hear from Mr.
Kukushkin's
counsel, then
the
government's
rebuttal [by
AUSA Roos].
Now summation
by Kukushkin's
lawyer Gerald
Lefcourt: Look
what they
said,
Kukushkin
needs hand
holding
on
simply issues.
It's a great
opportunity
for us.
[Pause] That's
what this case
is about. Why
would you want
to be in a
joint venture
with a retard?
Lefcourt:
The testimony
of Kimberly
Espinoza, she
said at first
the money came
from the
coffee
company,
Strauss
Coffee.
So what do you
have? Muraview
and Kukushkin
got ripped
off. They
other party
was totally
pretending.
They thought
my client was
retarded.
Now
before AUSA
Roos'
rebuttal, AUSA
Hagen
"Sidearm"
Scotten quoted
another AUSA,
look at the
rug, this is
Federal court,
this should
not happen to
- directing it
at Gerald
Lefcourt. He
says, we get
no remedy,
we're the
government,
that's just
how it is.
Now AUSA
Roos, on
rebuttal, is
bringing it to
a close. Roos:
This issue of
the FEC not
making public
a rule about
materiality is
just a
distraction.
Judge Oetken
will tell you
want
materiality
is.
AUSA
Roos: I'm
about to sit
down. Pay
attention,
follow Judge
Oetken's
instructions
and use your
common sense.
Now is the
time to find
them guilty.
Judge
Oetken: The
final step is
my reading of
the
instructions.
I'm going into
the witness
box, to take
off my mask.
Judge Oetken:
I'm sorry that
we've kept you
so late but I
am almost
done. Only
discuss the
case when all
jurors are
present.
You'll begin
in the
morning. See
you then.
Adjourned.
On October 11
Kukushkin asked to exclude a
slew of Government Exhibits,
full 8-page letter on Patreon
here.
On October 5
Judge Oetken held the final
pre-trial conference in
advance of October 12 jury
selection. Inner City Press
live tweeted it here
and below (podcast here)
Late on October 7
the US Attorney's Office has
written to Judge Oetken
seeking rulings in advance to
admit exhibits including "The
Inaugural Committee Articles,
the FEC Complaint Article, the
Time cover, and the Russian
Roots Emails." Full letter on
Patreon here.
And now, song here.
On September 10, Igor "The
Glue" Fruman pleaded guilty.
Inner City Press live tweeted
it here
(with vlog;
podcast here)
The
case is US
v. Parnas, et
al.,
19-cr-00725
(Oetken).
***
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.
Feedback:
Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
Box 20047, Dag Hammarskjold
Station NY NY 10017
Reporter's mobile (and weekends):
718-716-3540
Other, earlier Inner City Press are
listed here,
and some are available in the ProQuest
service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
Copyright 2006-2020 Inner City
Press, Inc. To request reprint or other
permission, e-contact Editorial [at]
innercitypress.com for
,
