Thread by @JordanOnRecord

Good morning all. The trial of Thomas Robertson resumes today with cross-examination of fellow former officer Jacob Fracker.

https://twitter.com/JordanOnRecord/status/1511817581308661760

Some legal wrangling this morning as: 1.) A juror reports a close COVID-positive contact, and 2.) DOJ wants to enter evidence rebutting what they say are false statements entered by the defense about Thomas Robertson's military service.

Here's a preview of what we'll see today. The DOJ's case-in-chief is getting close to the end, although they now have this request to rebut Robertson's military service representations. They'll have a chance to put on a rebuttal case, likely tomorrow.

https://twitter.com/JordanOnRecord/status/1511813412455596032

Fracker has taken the stand. Defense attorney Mark Rollins is leading the cross-examination. Rollins asks if Fracker and Robertson would commonly bring gas masks to events because of coverage they'd seen of protests over the summer of 2020? Fracker says yes.

Fracker says he and Robertson never discussed impeding police on Jan. 6. He never saw him make contact with an officer with his stick. He thinks it's fair to say Robertson would never want to harm a police officer.

Fracker says he and Robertson never had a verbal agreement about entering the Capitol or doing anything else on Jan. 6. He also says he wasn't familiar with the layout of the building.

"You're not always truthful in your social media posts, is that right?" Rollins asks Fracker.

"I like to beef it up a little," Fracker says. Later says he claimed he urinated in Speaker Pelosi's office for "cool points."

"At any time while you were in the Crypt was there an agreement between you and TJ to obstruct Congress?" Rollins asks.

"Not a verbal agreement," Fracker says.

Rollins asks if he & TJ wanted to disrupt Congress.

"It felt like everybody in that room wanted that," Fracker says.

Rollins: "You saw people that day doing violent acts."

Fracker: "Yes."

Rollins: "Were you doing violent acts?"

Fracker: "No."

Rollins: "Do you think you should be treated the same way as those people doing violent acts?"

Objection from DOJ sustained.

Getting more clarity on something the DOJ said yesterday, which was that Thomas Robertson gave Fracker $30,000. Fracker says that was to cover his wages and legal fees and help him provide for his family after they both got fired from the Rocky Mount PD.

Rollins now pressing Fracker on getting rid of his phone. Asks if there was really anything that incriminating on there? Says he uploaded most of the stuff on his phone to the cloud or social media anyway.

Rollins: "Do you really think you did anything greater than trespass?"

Fracker: "Sitting here today, yes. At the time, no."

No further questions from Rollins.

AUSA Risa Berkower: "What did you want to happen that day?"

Fracker: "I guess I wanted the election results overturned."

Berkower plays a video of the mob confronting and pushing police out of the Crypt.

Berkower: "30 seconds after you met up with TJ in that room, this is what happened, right?"

Fracker: "Yes."

Berkower: "When you left that day, you thought you had done enough, and the crowd had done enough, to overturn the election, right?"

Fracker: "Yes."

Why didn't you help police on Jan. 6, Berkower asks?

Fracker: "I think, as a cop, I felt they should have been on our side. Like, marching with us."

Fracker has been excused as a witness.

DOJ certainly convicted him, at least, of a crime while he was on the stand (he's pleaded guilty to conspiracy). Will be interesting if jurors speak after the trial to see how they viewed his testimony about Robertson.

With the jury out on a break, Judge Cooper says it was error for the defense to enter evidence about Robertson's reputation/military history (specifically false claims about being a Ranger) but that it was invited error because the DOJ did not object.

Judge Cooper says if the defense enters evidence about Robertson's reputation for peacefulness, the DOJ can rebut with evidence of instances that are contrary to that reputation.

We're back from a short break and the DOJ has called FBI Special Agent Kathryn Camilleri. She's the lead case agent on the Thomas Robertson case. Says she normally investigates international terrorism but, like many DOJ employees, was assigned to help w/ #CapitolRiot cases.

Camilleri says she's reviewed hours of video of Thomas Robertson at the Capitol and never saw him limp once. Robertson's attorneys have suggested he had the walking stick because of an injury he sustained while serving as a DoD contractor in the Middle East.

Rollins cross-examining Camilleri now about the search warrants. Camilleri says as law enforcement officers, Fracker and Robertson should have known the FBI would want their phones, even before a warrant was issued for them.

Camilleri has been excused. Court is breaking for lunch.

Thomas Robertson's attorneys now say they are going to call 0-1 character witnesses on his behalf (down from 3-4 they said they might call yesterday). If it's one, it will take ~5 minutes. That will likely eliminate the need for the DOJ to put on a rebuttal case.

Now Robertson's attorneys says it's 2 character witnesses, each will take 5 minutes. Robertson will NOT take the stand in his defense. DOJ has decided not to call their second witness today, so the defense's two will be the final testimony of the trial.

Defense's first witness will be Rocky Mount Police Officer George Bobbouine. He describes Thomas Robertson as his best friend.

First questions are about whether Robertson uses a walking stick. Bobbouine says Robertson got "blown up" in Afghanistan.

Bobbouine says he was going to go to D.C. with Robertson on Jan. 6 but he had to get his wisdom teeth taken out.

That's it for defense questioning.

AUSA Liz Aloi: "You haven't seen any of the evidence in this case? So you don't actually know what happened on Jan. 6, do you?"

BOBBOUINE: "No."

Final defense witness is Edward Lovato, who met Robertson while in the police academy.

Lovato says he remembers Robertson using a cane and a walking stick after he was injured in Afghanistan.

AUSA Aloi asks Lovato the same questions as Bobbouine, gets the same answers and he is excused.

Very brief rebuttal case coming from DOJ. The lead FBI case agent is coming back to the stand.

AUSA Berkower asking Special Agent Camilleri about communications between Robertson and a friend who's also a former FBI agent.

In the message, sent after J6, Thomas Robertson describes his physical fitness, says, "I'm as dangerous as I'll ever be."

The government rests its rebuttal case.

Next up are jury instructions. Jurors are going to be excused until 3:15 while defense and DOJ hammer out some final disagreements.

Closing arguments will be TOMORROW morning. Jurors will get instructions today and then be dismissed for the evening.