Thread by @meghanncuniff

Here's an update on @Tabs3Software saga in Avenatti's wire fraud trial. The full filing (on Google Drive: bit.ly/3y741a4) says this email was sent "in Advance of the Telephonic Status Conference Held Earlier this Afternoon Re Server Files."

That's the first I've heard of this afternoon's phone conference, so I'm trying to learn more about what went down. Stay tuned. As of right now, the case is still on Judge Selna's calendar tomorrow for 10:30 a.m. bit.ly/2WgEbmu

Some fun background on @Tabs3Software ("WHAT IS TABS?"): Its maker, Software Technology, Inc., was named the most innovative billing software of 2016 by @ALMMedia (a.k.a my employer! 😎). bwnews.pr/3mmqbmr

Oh one other thing - while this weekend is still shrouded in mystery, we do now know from Avenatti’s email that the search did NOT happen in Laguna Niguel, it happened in Los Angeles. Sorry, @LagunaNiguelCty. 🤷‍♀️

Avenatti just filed this motion calling for Judge Selna to review in camera (that means I don't get to go) any prior communications between @TheJusticeDept taint team that reviewed his law firm servers and the prosecutors on his case: bit.ly/382sRx4

Good find tonight: I'm rounding up all the old filings about Avenatti's quest to search his seized servers, and I found in my voluminous notes a draft of an Aug. 26, 2019, story I wrote on Judge Selna's rejection of the original request.

This is an interesting legal note. According to the minutes from Friday, the search order for this weekend involved Judge Selna extending (and modifying) the initial search warrants for the digital devices that a magistrate approved back in May 2019.

Here's gist of May 2019 warrant. It gives a clear picture of @TheJusticeDept's taint team process. "The Investigation Team will review only data from the SUBJECT DEVICES that has been released by the Privilege Review Team to the Investigation Team." bit.ly/3j8sQxV

Interesting fact: the warrant specifically precluded @TheJusticeDept's taint team from reviewing information related to Avenatti's representation of Stephanie "@StormyDaniels" Clifford, as well as Brett Kavanaugh's accuser Julie Swetnick.

.@USTreasury Special Agent Remoun Karlous, the co-lead investigator on Avenatti's case, said in his affidavit for the warrant that he was excluding @StormyDaniels and Swetnick, and he specifically noted the "political nature of these representations". bit.ly/3Dbxtzq

The warrant application spanned 330 pages. I've uploaded the PDFs to Google Drive.
Part 1: bit.ly/3Dbxtzq
Part 2: bit.ly/3mlN1KU
Part 3: bit.ly/3mpg2p1
(Because it's a search warrant, now seems like a good time to use the eyes emoji ---> 👀)

Bad link above. Here’s part 3. 👀
bit.ly/3grj5cn

Regarding today, it'll be a phone conference, but it'll be played in Judge Selna's courtroom, so there's no public call in number. The minutes from yesterday conference include this email from prosecutors in addition to the Avenatti email posted yesterday. bit.ly/3muQdnt

And yes, I'll be in court for 10:30 a.m. conference. It's possible they could come back in afternoon, too. Fortunately there's a police excessive force trial going on w/ Judge Carter (case I've covered previously for @timesocofficial), so I can check that out if there's lag time.

OK I am here at the federal courthouse in Santa Ana for a status conference in Michael Avenatti’s wire fraud trial. On the agenda today is a discussion about the weekend search for Avenatti’s Tabs law firm finance data.

Prosecutors and Avenatti will be - dare I say - *literally* phoning it in today as the 10:30 conference is a telephonic one. But the call will be played in open court, so here I am.

Right after I tweeted that about phoning it, Avenatti and his standby counsel Courtney Cummings Cefali walked in the courtroom. It's @TheJusticeDept's Patrick Fitzgerald who's joining the conference via telephone.

"Hi folks, Dean here."
"Brett Sagel's on the line."
So it's a mix of in person and on the phone.
"Mr. Wyman are you on?" the clerk.
"I'm on," a voice says.
"Hold on the judge will be out in just a second," the clerk says.

The U.S. Attorney's Office is just a couple floors down from where we are. "I'm in my office, do you want me in the courtroom?" Sagel asks.
Clerk says she'll ask Judge Selna. Now we wait.

"As I understand it, the Tabs password is now available," Judge Selna says. He references this joint status report that was just filed: bit.ly/3mseFWK

Fitzgerald getting some disclaimers in: Says he's not part of prosecution team, but "I'm not sure that the government would agree" with "characterization of these as DOJ files as opposed to Eagan Avenatti files is accurate."

Fitzgerald references "any term of art" "that has consequences for the case." (This is all about what prosecutors/investigators actually have in their possession v the taint team files.)
DOJ's Joseph Varani is doing a forensic search now using a list of keywords Avenatti provided

Selna says he wants a list of all Tabs and Quickbooks data that's located. "It doesn't need to be exhaustive, but I'd like to have that input before I consider Mr. Avenatti's motion." (The mistrial motion: bit.ly/3g5uRZX) They'll reconvene tomorrow at 8 a.m.

So now that they have the Tabs password, the computer with all the info is going to the @USAO_LosAngeles and will be ready about 11 a.m. Avenatti said he's going to LA after this to start looking. Avenatti says Varani found the password in the @TheJusticeDept's files.

Avenatti plans to drive to Los Angeles "and look at whatever's been made available to me." There was talk of a 4 p.m. phone conference today, but Selna said, "I don't want to district you. If I get the filing sometime this evening, I can review it and be ready. 8 a.m. tomorrow."

Avenatti says he’ll file an update this afternoon. @TheJusticeDept’s Fitzgerald says he’ll share any material that’s produced to defense to the prosecution team as well, so they can “advise the court” about the consequences of the material “if any, for the case.”

AUSA Sagel, still via phone, said he didn’t want to get in the way “of what is deemed the most important or the most pressing issue” but he’s had two defense witnesses contact him “asking us what they’re supposed to do” and wondering if they should be in court tomorrow.

“Do I have any other information to tell them? Are they supposed to be here tomorrow morning?” Sagel asked. (One of the witnesses, Avenatti's former law firm CPA, has a motion to quash her subpoena that's still undecided.)

“Everybody’s on hold,” Judge Selna said. “We’ll make adjustments in the schedule as is necessary after deciding” the mistrial motion. So, 8 a.m. tomorrow! I’ll post the filing as they come in today.

Regarding those Avenatti defense witnesses, prosecutors just filed a brief supporting video testimony, saying remote defense testimony “would not violate defendant’s
Confrontation Clause rights” bit.ly/3D9VaYM

Just picked up a CD with a few more Avenatti trial exhibits (the Tabs reports for Johnson and Barela) and the friendly employee I dealt with seemed truly befuddled by the $32 charge. Had to actually call her boss to confirm that yes, I really do have to pay $32 for this CD.

Regarding these Tabs reports, my story here discusses them: bit.ly/2W3ffQ1

Avenatti just filed motion calling for prosecutors to give him more materials regarding chart maker John Drum. Says government's in-camera filing shows a data drive "that the government provided to its expert in 2019 but never disclosed to the defendant." bit.ly/3gox7M8

Here's prosecutors' opposition to Avenatti's new Drum motion. "Had defendant asked ... the government would have informed defendant that the documents had all been produced." I've posted the one-page memo below, the full three-page filing is here: bit.ly/3ybWFlA

@threadreaderapp Unroll, please. Thank you! 🚀