Thread by @meghanncuniff

Good morning from Los Angeles, where testimony continues in rapper Tory Lanez’s trial over the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion. Megan’s ex-friend Kelsey Harris is to testify today. Lanez’s lawyer says she’s the real shooter. Follow this 🧵 for updates from the courthouse.

Here is my @LawCrimeNews article on Megan's testimony yesterday. There is a lot in here that didn't make the tweets. A few moments of laughter in the courtroom, and some snickering when @TheeStallion answered that @ToryLanez is "5-foot-3 or 5-foot-4." bit.ly/3YqFV8k

Btw, I realized that comparing some of the vile garbage that passes for “coverage” of the Megan Thee Stallion shooting to tabloid coverage is an insult to what really is a storied history of real yet boundary-crossing tabloid reporting.

Especially in the heydey of print, some of those tabloids were doing serious albeit arguably unethical reporting. Some of the stuff that passes for "coverage" of the Tory Lanez trial is pure idiocy produced by obviously malicious trash talkers. It’s gross.

The kids at my regular coffee shop this morning were shocked when I told them it is indisputable that Megan Thee Stallion was shot. That’s how weird and wrong some of the coverage of this has been.

Prosecutors Alexander Bott and Kathy Ta arrived at the courthouse a few moments ago for the third day of rapper Tory Lanez’s assault trial for the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion.

I’m still outside awaiting Tory’s arrival and getting a little concerned because court is supposed to start in a few minutes and I don’t want @LASuperiorCourt saying I can’t go in because I’m late, but it’s not like anything can start until Tory gets here.

I decided to head in because while @LASuperiorCourt may be OK with a criminal defendant arriving late for trial, I doubt they’ll be OK with a journalist doing so. The lines to get in have already formed on the 15th floor.

Tory Lanez is now here in the 15th floor hallway. I’m not familiar with his crew, but he was speaking with this woman with a large afro, seen here talking to his attorney yesterday. She was seated next to Lanez’s five-year-old son yesterday during Megan’s testimony.

We are still all standing in the hallway outside Judge David Herriford’s courtroom, 30 minutes after the trial was supposed to start. No clue what’s going on other than the unofficial Olympic sport of @LASuperiorCourt that is wasting people’s time.

The court takes a standard 90-minute break at noon, so we’re only going to hear probably 45 minutes of testimony, tops, this morning. Then we go 1:30 to 4:30 with a 15-minute break, but the 1:30 start time is always more like 1:45ish.

Trial is on the 90-minute break, following a tense moment with Kelsey Harris on the stand. Harris' lawyer told Judge Herriford this morning that Harris planned to invoke her 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination, but prosecutors granted her immunity, so she's testifying.

But Kelsey really struggled when Deputy DA Kathy Ta asked her about Tory threatening to shoot her while they were in the Escalade, before Megan exited and was shot. She did not want to answer.

Kelsey even asked Judge Herriford, "Do I have to answer that?" after Ta asked what Tory said.
"Yes," the judge told her.
Ta asked, "What did he do and what did he say?" and Kelsey answered, "Can I take my 5th?"

The judge allowed Kelsey to consult with her attorney, Daniel Nardoni, privately. They returned to the witness stand moments later, but Kelsey again didn't want to answer when Ta asked about Tory threatening to shoot her.

The criminal implications Kelsey is facing here are non-existent - the prosecutors said this morning they are not going to charge her with a crime. And that question wasn't one that generally would draw incriminating statements by her. But she really did not want to answer.

Back on the witness stand, Kelsey told DA Kathy Ta, "Again, I want to answer my 5th Amendment."
She was told she had to answer, but as she stayed silent, Ta asked her, "Kelsey, why don't you want to answer that question?"
"It's just, I don't know," Kelsey answered.

Ta asked about Kelsey having to testify in front of Tory and whether that bothered her, and about her not wanting to be here.
"I don't know - it don't bother me," Kelsey said of Tory's presence. "I just, I don't want to be here."
Then Judge Herriford called the 90-minute break.

I imagine we'll hear more about this when Kelsey's testimony resumes at 1:30 (wishful/fantastical thinking around here, it'll be more like 1:45), but if Tory hadn't said anything about shooting her, I think her reaction to that question would have been a lot different.

DA Kathy Ta had a record of a previous interview with Kelsey in which she talked about Tory threatening to shoot her, and she asked if she could use it to try to refresh Kelsey's memory on the witness stand, but Kelsey's answer didn't legally allow for it.

For typical recollection refreshments, the witness indicates to the lawyer that yes, if you show me that my memory could be refreshed. But Kelsey didn't say anything like that to Ta. She just clearly doesn't want to talk about it.

I think we'll hear more about what happened at Kylie Jenner's house when Lanez's lawyer cross-examines Kelsey, but Kelsey did clarify for the courtroom that what was happening at Kylie's house that night was NOT a party. It was just a few people hanging out.

Kelsey steadfastly reminded Ta of that throughout the exam, so Ta would call it a gathering instead of a party.

Kelsey also recounted some of what happened at Kylie's house just before she left with Megan and Tory and Megan was shot.
"I'm sorry, can I cuss?" Kelsey asked Ta.
Ta: "Yes."
"She's like 'bitch' we gotta get the fuck out," Kelsey testified, quoting Megan.

Regarding Kelsey invoking the 5th then being granted immunity, judges don't just allow 5th pleas no questions asked. Judge Herriford had to have discussed it this morning, but the way things work around @LASuperiorCourt, any member of the public hoping to see that is out of luck.

I’m back on the 15th floor, lined up to get into Judge Herriford’s courtroom for more testimony from Kelsey Harris in Tory Lanez’s criminal trial over the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion. Tory’s lawyer admits Megan was shot but says Kelsey was the one who shot her, not Tory.

We are on a break after slow testimony from Kelsey that could be described as combative if she wasn't also so stoic. She say she told prosecutors things in her September interview with them that weren't true. But she also testified that she is not the one who shot Megan.

Tory is conferencing with his lawyers on a bench across from me in the hallway. His happy-go-lucky five-year-old son cutely pranced over to him and got in his lap during the discussion, and Tory is now holding him in a bear hug like position as he talks with attorneys.

Kelsey's testimony is going to take some time to really explain in an article, because her denials were also mixed with admissions that corroborated key details Deputy DA Kathy Ta was trying to get in, such as Tory offering her $1 million.

Judge Herriford ended trial early as DA Kathy Ta pressed Kelsey about the aftermath of the shooting, Tory’s apologetic phone call, her meeting with him. It wasn’t going anywhere. Kelsey will be back for continued direct exam at 10:30, which in @LASuperiorCourt means maybe 11ish.

Tory Lanez exited the courthouse about 4:15 holding his son. I was expecting them to walk out the other way but they walked right at me because I was in the middle of the stairs so I moved to the side and tried to avoid the mob.

Tory shook hands with his lawyer George Mgdesyan before leaving. I’ll be back at the courthouse tomorrow for the remainder of Kelsey’s testimony, and look for a full @LawCrimeNews article on what happened today.

One thing I really want to know more about is why Judge Herriford allowed Kelsey to plead the 5th. Judges have to determine if a person is actually facing possible criminal consequences. Perjury doesn't count - the immunity the DAs granted Kelsey doesn't cover that.

Deputy DA Kathy Ta underscored the lack of real criminal consequences for Kelsey over the shooting by incorporating it into her questioning, pressing Kelsey about who she was trying to protect and why she was worried about incriminating herself.

In addition to pushing a witness who didn't seem to have much to offer, Ta was showing why a lot of judges wouldn't have allowed Kelsey to plead the 5th: The prosecutors obviously have zero interest in any sort of criminal charges against her.

An OC Superior Court judge held a multi-day hearing to determine if Michael Avenatti could plead the 5th, and that was when he was facing 36 federal charges. The judge needed to explore whether his testimony could subject him to more criminal penalties. drive.google.com/file/d/1nP6ufD…

There very well could have been a legit legal reason for Kelsey's 5th plea that was discussed with Judge Herriford in the morning, but given Ta's questions that implied Kelsey has no reason to fear incriminating herself, I'm very curious what that reason could be.

Kelsey's 5th plea didn't affect her testimony because DA gave her immunity to testify. But it all struck me as unnecessary, and given the trash "coverage" of this trial, any talk of pleading the 5th and getting immunity is going to cause a shit storm of malicious speculation.

Regarding what Kelsey said about the alleged $1 million bribe from Tory, it's a bit ... nuanced. Ta asked her, "Kelsey, at some point in this case, did Tory try to bribe you?"
Kelsey said, "Um" then paused for 20 seconds or so. "Not just me," she said.

Ta followed by asking Kelsey who else Lanez tried to bribe. That's when Kelsey said, "I wouldn't say bribe." Kelsey said Tory it wasn't "about not saying anything, no" but then she added, "but it was mentioned."

Pressed by Ta for details about what Tory said, Kelsey testified, "He mentioned a million dollars."
"I guess it was just about the case," Kelsey testified.
Ta: "He offered you a million dollars to keep quiet" about the shooting?
Kelsey: "That's not the exact wording."

Artist Mona Shafer Edwards was in the courtroom for Kelsey’s testimony today. Follow her on Instagram: instagram.com/monashaferedwa…

Parting shot of Torey Lanez. As my upcoming @LawCrimeNews article will explain, Kelsey Harris testified she didn’t see Torey shooting, but she also denied shooting Megan herself, and the DAs have a recording of a September interview with her in which she sounds far more candid.

Kelsey repeatedly testified today that she said stuff in the September interview that wasn’t true, which led to a long attempt by Deputy DA Kathy Ta to try establish that the fundamentals of what Kelsey said then, which the jury heard but is not evidence, was true.

Ta’s effort continues tomorrow. I’ll have a full article on Kelsey’s testimony. Meanwhile, ICYMI, today’s article on Megan’s testimony: bit.ly/3YqFV8k

And here’s Monday’s article on opening statements. This is when it became clear that Torey Lanez’s defense is that Kelsey Harris is actually the one who shot Megan Thee Stallion. bit.ly/3FOMpH6

This is a little in the weeds, but regarding Judge Herriford allowing Kelsey to plead the 5th (prosecutors then granted her immunity and she testified), in California, he would have had to consider the applicability of the Evidence Code section 940 privilege.

That's what the judge did in Michael Avenatti's case, and he wrote a ruling detailing exactly how the questions Avenatti was going to be asked could incriminate him if he answered them. That's what this ruling is, which followed a multi-day open court hearing, most of which I saw

I can't imagine what Judge Herriford's likely nonexistent written ruling would say about why Kelsey Harris needed to invoke her right against self incrimination, but hopefully something about this gets filed as part of the public record. drive.google.com/file/d/1nP6ufD…

Here's this thread on today's testimony in Tory Lanez's assault trial for the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion, all in one place. threadreaderapp.com/thread/1603083…

Online now: My @LawCrimeNews article on Kelsey Harris’ testimony yesterday in Tory Lanez’s assault trial over the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion in the Hollywood Hills. Harris returns to the witness stand today. bit.ly/3Yo5ozo