Thread by @innercitypress

OK - now US v. Schulte / #Vault7 CIA leaks trial, opening arguments.
Judge Furman: Are you ready, Mr. Schulte?
Schulte: Yes.
Inner City Press will live tweet, thread below

https://twitter.com/innercitypress/status/1536724571449090048

Judge Furman: If folks in the back could clear away from the doors, the jury will be entering in a moment... Ok, Mr. Denton.
AUSA Denton: Joshua Schulte is responsible for the largest leak in CIA history, and put officers at risk. When confronted, he lied.

AUSA Denton: He stole custom-built software used to track terorrists. Those filed were posted on Wikileaks. It was devastating. Operations came to a crashing halt. Allies wondered if their info could be leaked. The FBI sprang into action

AUSA Denton: They found his man's crimes. He hacked and leaked cyber tools. Joshua Schulte was one of the CIA's own. He built the tools. He violated his oath to protect the US, and he violated the law. Why did he do it? Out of spite.

AUSA Denton: He felt the CIA had disrespected him. He wanted payback. His vendetta continued in jail. He got a cellphone in jail and leaked again, plotted a campaign. He committed espionage, computer hacking, and he lied to the FBI. My name is David Denton.

AUSA Denton: Joshua Schulte built sophisticated cyber tools, in a secret building with armed guards. Those there were vetted, that they could be trusted.
[Really?]

AUSA Denton: Schulte was made a software administrator with super-access. He made back-ups... He falsely accused his co-worker of making a death threat. But the CIA found it was not true. Schulte got angry and acted. The CIA locked it down, changed the codes

AUSA Denton: But the CIA did not change one particular key. And Schulte used it. He heard it too would be changed. That was the day he stole the info that Wikileaks posted. He used a snap shot, or reversion, before it was locked down.

AUSA Denton: He spent an hour inside the snapshot. He used his powers and copied the entire CIA cyber arsenal. He stole a complete copy - same as was published on Wikileaks. He unwound his reversion. Schulte started deleting log files. But he couldn't get them all

AUSA Denton: He downloaded software to hide his identity. He researched how to transfer, and how to destroy digital evidence at home. He tried to wipe his home computer clean - he followed the exact instructions of Wikileaks. He took a job in NY [at Bloomberg]

AUSA Denton: After Wikileaks published, Schulte lied to the FBI. Then, in jail, he used a secret phone to create accounts on social media. In jail notebooks he wrote, I will stage my information war

AUSA Denton: After Wikileaks published, Schulte lied to the FBI. Then, in jail, he used a secret phone to create accounts on social media. In jail notebooks he wrote, I will stage my information war

AUSA Denton: Ladies and gentlemen, you'll see how the agents identified Schulte and his back up version. Forensic experts will show you what he did. His digital fingerprints were all over it. They found the trail.

AUSA Denton: You'll hear from Schulte's co-workers, covert operatives at the CIA
[in a sealed courtroom: documentcloud.org/documents/2205…

AUSA Denton: Schulte got the nickname "Nuclear Option." His mounting anger at the CIA, the agency tried to address it. You'll see the log files. You'll watch Defendant declare on video he wanted his supervisors to be punished. You'll see him in jail on the phone

[Here's a still from first Schulte trial

AUSA Denton: He wrote that he would break of all diplomatic relations... At the end of the trial we'll talk to you again. For now, do three things. First, pay close attention. 2d, follow Judge Furman's instructions. 3d, Use your common sense -

AUSA Denton: This man is guilty. Thank you.
Judge Furman: Now, defendant's opening statement.
Schulte: The evidence does not fit. There is no information war. I did not commit these crimes. Good afternoon. My name is Josh Schulte. I was born in 1988 in Texas.

Schulte: I worked at IBM. Then I wanted to serve my country. I was 12 yrs old on September 11, 2001. I applied to NSA and CIA after one semester. After successful background checks I was hired in 2010. I assisted on a case to verify the location of Osama Bin Laden

Schulte: I then worked at Bloomberg LLP. I was there when Wikileaks published. It was embarrassing for the CIA. They did not know when it was taken, how much or who. They still don't know. DEVLAN was so insecure it was nicknamed the Wild Wild West

Schulte: The evidence will show that an individual, after Snowden's leaks, said it could happen to DEVLAN. It was impossible to find the leaker. They could not admit it. To save face, they had to blame someone. They selected me as the patsy.

Schulte: The CIA told the FBI to go after me. This was a political witch hunt from day one. The government is manipulating the data. If you miss a day at work, they say you were committing a crime. It's spin and manipulation.

Schulte: This is the government's twilight zone. There were innocent explanations for everything. The first aspect of the government's fantasy is my motive. By 2016, sure life had given me lemons. But I made lemonade.

Schulte: They say I was driven to insanity. I stood up for myself. When I lost, I moved on with my life. Why Wikileaks? Why not just on the Internet to expose everything. Wikileaks only published a small segment of it.

Schulte: This does not jibe with my loyal personality and patriotism. The government says I broke the rules of the CIA. But there were no rules on DEVLAN. But it was just a co-worker, using his access to power. They try to conflate servers and permissions.

Schulte: In reality, the back door was the front door. I would not have had to go back in time. It was all unsecure. They say the March 3, 2016 version was taken for emotional reasons. The computer I used at CIA was preserved. I could have wiped it.

Schulte: Their evidence proves my innocence. They have the logs. Not one was deleted. The commanders were not executed. But they plan to convict me regardless of my innocence. Someone stole their crown jewels. It's not a good look for the CIA.

Schulte: My CIA work station shows I only connected to one drive & connected it to a write-blocker. My computer did not have the space to store the back ups. That's reasonable doubt. My CIA work station proves my innocence. Then they seized all my home computers

Schulte: I had huge servers. These are my habits and hobbies. I stayed up late. I was playing an online game. The evidence will prove my innocence. They will wave a back up file in your face. They don't know which one was stolen.

Schulte: The government claims that Wikileaks sat on the info for a whole year. Really? An organization that wants to spread news? Does the NYT sit on a story for a year? You release it. The timeline does not make sense.

Schulte: Yes, I am incarcerated. These fine gentlemen here are Marshals. You will see a lot of them. I have been in jail five years - you cannot know the pain.
Judge Furman: Move on.
Schulte: Uh, ok. I was suffering from strain and anxiety.

Schulte: I wanted to publish the Presumption of Innocence. And it was, on Facebook... Then, the CIA reclassified things. Then they accuse me of thought-crime. Orwell's 1984 was prophetic. My notebooks were labeled Attorney Client Privilege.

Schulte: The government cherry picks the evidence to deceive you. The info war was about my unclassified redress of grievances. President Zelenskyy of Ukraine has likewise engaged in an information war to gain hearts and minds

Schulte: I ask the jury to realize how serious this trial is. Treat me as you'd like to be treated. The government will go first for everything. At the end in summation they will go first AND last. You will find I am innocent. After 5 years, justice will be done.