Thread by @nickwallis

This is a summary of the most explosive moment in the Depp v NGN trial so far. It concerns the cross-examination and re-examination of Kate James, a former personal assistant to Amber Heard. To set the scene:

Kate James was giving evidence via videolink from LA. We were...

watching in court 38 as first Sasha Wass QC for NGN cross-examined Kate James and then Robert Sherborne for Johnny Depp re-examined her.

Kate James only made her second witness statement three days ago. Looking at the transcript (and I may be misreading his words)...

… that Robert Sherborne was only made aware of Kate James’ second witness statement today. He certainly says at one point
"Sorry, I did not have a chance to look at this until it was raised just as I came into court"

… so it is possible that Depp’s counsel did not know what they were sitting on until today. Kate James second statement was made on Monday, so it’s possible - trial prep is intense and RS may have been focusing on other witnesses earlier this week.

What follows is from the transcript, so it is verbatim. I am going to cut it down a bit, but it is all direct quotes, and I am going to take it from where things started to get interesting between James and Sasha Wass QC, cross-examining for NGN.

MS. WASS: As I understand it, Ms. James, you worked during the daytime hours because obviously you had childcare obligations correct.

A. Correct.

Q. When was it that you say you saw Ms. Heard drinking these vast quantities of wine?

A. I knew she drank the wine because when I would go in the
morning, I would see the empty bottles, and not only that, I would receive a barrage of drunken text messages between the hours of 2 and 4 in ...

… the morning on a very regular basis, incoherent, abusive text messages between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m., on average, on an almost daily basis.

Q. I am going to ask you about some texts between yourself and Ms. Heard…. This is a conversation between you -- that is Kate at the top -- and Ms. Heard on 24th May 2014.

Q. You received these texts from Ms. Heard, I suggest, after she had been on a plane journey with Mr. Depp. Do you remember a plane journey?

A. Correct.

Q. Do you remember contacting Ms. Heard after she had returned on a plane journey from Boston, having travelled from New York, where she was filming The Adderall Diaries with James Franco?

A. I believe she contacted me first, ma'am.

Q. She contacted you. What she says here ----

A. Yes.

Q. ---- in the text, and I will read it, is: "I have to leave JD. He's just freaked out on me. He is drinking again. It’s bad, worse than ever. I need out. ...(reads to the words)… Please, Stephen will help arrange".

Then, the next text reads: "Also, can you please see if you can redirect all of his texts to me to Whitney's phone, or just block him entirely. I need to make this move".

Q. Having seen those texts, are you reminded about -- (Pause) Are you reminded about what the subject-matter was?

A. Yes, I remember the day very clearly, trust me.

Q. Ms. Heard went to stay in a hotel?

A. I do not know why because she had an apartment, but yes.

Q. She had an apartment that she was sharing with Mr. Depp in the Eastern Columbia Building?

A. No, excuse me, ma'am, she had her own apartment that was still being paid for and maintained by Mr. Depp, which was on Orange Avenue. You may have heard of that apartment before.

Q. We have heard of that apartment. I suggest ----

A. That apartment was still fully functioning and liveable, so I do not know why she went to The Chateau.

Q. She did go to The Chateau, as you call it, the hotel?

A. Yes, she went to The Chateau with four of her friends and they basically had a pool party all day.

Q. She had friends who were supporting her in a traumatic event?

A. And drinking and swimming and sunbathing and having fun.

Q. Ms. James, do you think, when you consider Ms. Heard, you are able to be objective and impartial and fair?

A. Uh-huh.

Q. Or do you think you are bitter and twisted and have been influenced by Mr. Depp and his associates, who have encouraged you to give this vicious evidence against Ms. Heard?

A. Absolutely not. I am gainfully and happily employed for the past five years to one of the nicest people I have ever met. I am extremely happy and content in my life. I am here for my own reasons and you know what those reasons are...

… by reading my second witness statement. I am a sexual violence survivor and it is very, very serious to take that stance if you are not one, and I am one, and so that is the reason I am here.

…. Because I take offence ----

MR. JUSTICE NICOL: Ms. James ----

A. ---- at somebody ----

MR. JUSTICE NICOL. Ms. James, I have understood your answer….

…. Could I ask you again, please, to confine yourself to answering the questions that Ms. Wass or Mr. Sherborne put to you.

MS. WASS: My Lord, in the light of the answers I have had, I do not propose to ask any more questions of this witness.

MR. JUSTICE NICOL: Yes.

And Ms Wass sat down.

And David Sherborne got up. And after a bit of legal argument, he addressed Kate Jones.

Actually let me just clarify what the argument was about. Ms Wass tried to say that what Mr Sherborne was about to ask Kate Jones about might have to be heard in private. Mr Sherborne pointed out that...

… Kate Jones was responding to Amber Heard’s fifth witness statement which had no privacy order applied for or attached to it. So the judge let Mr Sherborne address Ms Jones:

(again, this is from today’s official transcript)

MR. SHERBORNE: Ms. James, just very riefly, can you explain why you took exception to what Ms. Heard had said in her fifth witness statement?

A. Because Ms. Heard referred to a conversation we had about me being violently raped at a certain point in Brazil and she used that as her own story.

Q. Ms. James, just a bit slower, otherwise the judge cannot take a note.

A. Sorry. She referred directly to a violent rape that occurred
to me 26 years ago, and she twisted it into her own story and she used it for her own use.

…
MR. SHERBORNE: This is the last question I am going to ask you about this. In paragraph 7 of your witness statement, just summarising, you say this: "As I perused the documents, much to my utter shock and dismay...

… I discovered that Ms. Heard had stolen my sexual violence conversation with her and twisted it into her own story to benefit herself."

A. Correct.

[David (sorry I called him Robert at the top of this thread - I apologise) Sherborne asks a few more questions then…]

Q. I wonder if you can help us with this, Ms. James. We have
very, very few texts between you and Ms. Heard and I think I am right in saying -- I will be corrected if I am wrong —

...only the ones that Ms. Heard has provided to the defendants for use. Can you help us at all as to why there are so few texts?

A. Yes, because I was using a phone that was logged into her
iCloud account, so I could update her calendar, and then when she terminated my employment...

… she deleted all of the texts out of the Cloud, any texts that were abusive. Of course, she saved obviously the ones that were not.

[and then into the home straight]

MR. SHERBORNE: Have you come to this court to lie on Mr. Depp’s behalf?

A. Absolutely not.

Q. Have you come to this court to lie at all, Ms. James?

A. Absolutely not.

Q. Did you have to come and give evidence?

A. Well, I was subpoenaed, so yes, I believe that is a legality of being subpoenaed.

Q. Since you left Ms. Heard's employment, have you been unemployed?

A. I have had the best job of my life for the past five years with one of the kindest men in Hollywood, so I am very grateful and very blessed.

Q. Can I ask you this one question. Before you were employed by Ms. Heard, was she the first well-known person that you have ever been employed by in Hollywood?

A. She was probably the least known person I have ever worked for in Hollywood, to be honest.

MR. SHERBORNE: Thank you very much, Ms. James. I have no further questions.

And with that, Ms James left the witness box.

If you want to have a read of everything - it’s all here - including Kate James’ statements and today’s transcript:

nickwallis.com/depp-trial

Thanks again for all the tweets and tips. Goodnight.