the defense lawyer down to a toothpick here. he s saying, hey, this was her stuff the government seized. we should be able to do whatever we want with it. you can t stop us from giving it to the press. the judge says, seriously, it s evidence in a criminal trial and if what is seized from her is relevant to other ongoing open investigations, then of course, you can t do anything you want with it. on that last point of the transcript how his client has already been questioned by other parts of the government he raises congressional investigations and stuff, that actually ends up being important, too. we ll come back to ha in a second. there s one last thing you should see from the hearing today. i mentioned there was a discussion about sex related allegations. this is that part. it does not go well for the defense lawyer. remember where this came from. last week, the prosecutors laid out a case for the judge maria butina shouldn t be released on bail. they were arguing she s a flight ri
it does not go well for the defense lawyer. remember where this came from. last week, the prosecutors laid out a case for the judge maria butina shouldn t be released on bail. they were arguing she s a flight risk and might go back to russia. there s no reason to expect she would feel bound to stay in the united states and face this trial. in order to make that case the prosecutors argued what appeared to be her personal ties, even her emotional ties to the united states, they argued those ties weren t real. this is what they filed with the court last week under the headline butina s quote tie to the united states is a duplicitas relationship. during the course of the investigation the fbi determined maria butina gained access through u.s. person 1 to an extensive network of u.s. persons in positions to influence political activities in the united states. butina, age 29 and u.s. person
have already been introduced to the intelligence committee. the judge: if those documents are the result of a subpoena you can go and say they are the subject of a subpoena. this is the judge whittling the defense lawyer down to a toothpick here. he s saying, hey, this was her stuff the government seized. we should be able to do whatever we want with it. you can t stop us from giving it to the press. the judge says, seriously, it s evidence in a criminal trial and if what is seized from her is relevant to other ongoing open investigations of course you can t do anything you want with it. on that last point of the transcript how his client has already been questioned by other parts of the government he raises congressional investigation and stuff that is critically important. we ll come back in a second. there s this one last thing you should see from the hearing today. i mentioned there was a discussion about sex related allegations. this is that part.
relates to ongoing cases and potentially other cases, as well. the judge goes with that. here s the defense lawyer. your honor, the government s theory is that the documents and items possessed by my client before they were seized by the government somehow become confidential once they re seized by the government. when the government gives them back they can protect them under a protective order. the judge jumps in, mr. drus col, if material that was seized that was in the possession of the defendant concerns material, for example, on her computer that the government is using in connection with an ongoing investigation, well, merely because it was in the possession of your client doesn t mean that it doesn t need to be because there are ongoing investigations. the fact it was in your client s possession doesn t give it some kind of tas is manic position. i m not understanding your position. defense lawyer. it s my position it s the government s burden to say what
particular pieces of evidence to take them to the news media we don t want that violation of local rules. the judge. right. i think, mr. driscoll, you re certainly entitled to discovery and to know the basis of the charges against your client in accordance to the local rules but not sure you re entitled to certain pieces of evidence to rebut media reports. i m sure it s not pleasant to read incorrect things about your client. no lawyer likes that. and my goal is to get this case resolved in an expeditious and fair manner. as to when you get that information you will get it as any other in this trial. no, i m not helping you figure out why the golf said that thing about you and your client and trading sex for a job. the prosecution said part of butina ease operation in this country was she was supposedly involved with this older man a political activist in south