An interesting new document from Nxivm bookkeeper Kathy Russell’s attorney hit the court file today. It’s a memo supporting her motion to dismiss charges against her, and it argues that she was taken advantage of by prosecutors when they asked her to testify to the grand jury last May.
Russell’s attorneys Justine A. Harris and Amanda Ravich say that when Russell was asked to appear before the grand jury, she was told by prosecutors that she was not a target of the investigation.
But now, they say, new evidence obtained in discovery shows that by the time Russell appeared, the government already had evidence that she’d committed numerous crimes.
“At the time the government specifically told Ms. Russell that she was not a target, it had already obtained substantial evidence implicating her in criminal conduct,” the attorneys write, “include witness statements directly linking Ms. Russell to the commission of a variety of crimes, including tax evasion and visa fraud.” (Emphasis theirs.)
Take a look at that again. Kathy Russell’s attorneys are telling Judge Nicholas Garaufis that there is substantial evidence showing that their client was involved in a variety of criminal activity.
It’s just that the government should have told her that when they asked her to appear before the grand jury, and so the government forfeits the whole ball of wax, they argue.
We’d love to hear from our legal experts, how’s that for an argument just a few days before jury selection is slated to begin in the Nxivm trial?
Russell’s attorneys have asked for an emergency evidentiary hearing to take place tomorrow or Friday.
Also in the court file was a new memo from Seagram heiress Clare Bronfman’s attorneys about her motions to dismiss and request to be severed from Keith Raniere in a separate trial. A quick look through has us thinking these are the usual points being made about charges not being specific enough or inadequately papered or relying on the wrong case law, etc. But our legal experts can tell us if this is unusual in some way.
Here are the documents…
Nxivm Doc 498: Kathy Russell Motion to Dismiss by Tony Ortega on Scribd
Nxivm Doc 499: Clare Bronfman Motion to Dismiss by Tony Ortega on Scribd
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Posted by Tony Ortega on April 3, 2019 at 18:20
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Tony Ortega is a journalist who was formerly the editor of The Village Voice. He’s written about Scientology since 1995, and in May 2015 released a book about Scientology’s harassment of Paulette Cooper titled ‘The Unbreakable Miss Lovely,’ and more recently a compilation of his stories, ‘Battlefield Scientology.’ He continues to monitor breaking developments in the Scientology world, as well as other subjects at The Underground Bunker. You can reach him by sending him a message at tonyo94 AT gmail.com (Drop him a line if you’d like to get an e-mail whenever a new story is posted.)
