Thread by @meghanncuniff

Good morning from Los Angeles, where the fifth day of Tory Lanez’s assault trial for the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion is to get underway soon. We are going to hear Kelsey Harris’ 80-minute interview with prosecutors in which she identifies Tory as the shooter.

My new @lawcrimenews article explains why prosecutors are going to get to play this interview for the jury. Objectively speaking, it’s because of really reckless cross-examination of Kelsey by Tory’s lawyer. bit.ly/3HQJWwW

Tory arrived a few minutes ago. I asked him my first question, if he’s ready to hear the recording of Kelsey’s interview, but he didn’t answer. A fan was in the lobby and security let her get her picture taken with Tory.

We are on the 90-minute break. The recording of Kelsey is nearly finished. We will hear the end of it when we return. The recording is all Kelsey talking comfortably about what happened, with the prosecutors asking questions. We haven't heard any kind of pressure yet.

Kelsey tells prosecutors about Tory saying something about Meg needing to tell her the truth, and Kelsey was confused. She tells prosecutors that Meg said something like, Kelsey don't listen, hey's trying to make you mad."

"Next thing you know, the arguing began with Tory and Meg." Tory called Meg bitches and hoes, and Kelsey told prosecutors, "I stepped in and I said, you know, you're not going to talk to my friend like that."

Kelsey also told prosecutors, "Honestly, when I argue, I just kind of say things that are hurtful too." She talked about Lanez threatening to shoot her, saying she told him, "If you shoot me, you shoot me, I guess it's my time to go." Then the argument turned to artistry.

Kelsey said Meg said that the only reason Tory is famous is because he did a remix with @jackharlow. Tory is dissing Meg. "I can't remember what he was telling her, but they just started hitting each other with their careers as an artist."

Kelsey describes Meg getting out of the Escalade and she describes Tory shooting in detail. She says she turned at the sound of the 2nd or 3rd gunshot and saw Tory on the right front passenger side, "shooting over the door."

Asked if it was in Meg's direction, Kelsey said, "Definitely in her direction, yeah, definitely in her direction." She described fearing for her life as Tory pulled on her hair and neck "because it was really hard." Kelsey is doing all the talking - the DAs barely say anything.

Kelsey talks about getting back into Escalade w/ Meg, and says "we didn't have a pushback about getting in the car" and didn't even consider calling 911. (LAPD officers pulled them over at gunpoint a minutes later, and Kelsey was jailed and Meg was handcuffed in an ambulance.)

Again, regarding why this is all coming in, Tory’s lawyer kept asking Kelsey in cross-examination if DAs pressured her to incriminate Tory in the interview to save herself. Judge Herriford agreed prosecutors get to play the entire interview to show the jury what really happened.

I saw this same kind of colossal mistake by a defense attorney in a federal trial back in March. I never in a million years would imagine having a legitimate reason to mention rapper Tory Lanez in the same sentence as former Republican Nebraska Congressman Jeff Fortenberry.

But what happened with this recording of Kelsey's interview happened with the most incriminating piece of evidence for Fortenberry during his election-time criminal trial for lying to the FBI.

During exam of Fort's wife, Celeste, Fort's lawyer played snippets of the call in which Fort is told his campaign donations came from a single foreign donor (illegal), asking Celeste about kitchen sounds to try to establish how distracted Fort was during the call.

Fort's lawyer didn't play all the incriminating parts, but by playing snippets and asking about in direct, he opened the door from prosecutors to get up during cross of Celeste and play the entire recording of the call, uninterrupted.

It was brutal for Fort - playing it right after questions to Celeste about cooking in the kitchen just highlighted how ridiculous the questioning was, and how incriminating the overall call was for the now ex-Congressman. (He resigned after he was convicted.)

I'd say this recording from Kelsey is even worse. There was really no way this was going to ever be played for the jury in full, if Tory's lawyer hadn't hounded her in cross about changing her story to fit prosecutors' case.

Regarding not trusting the police, Kelsey talks in the recording about the TMZ video when discussing the aftermath of LAPD pulling them over at gunpoint. Cops had her on the ground and "they actually have me spread my legs super wide, you can see the clips."

Regarding the TMZ video, I am trying to figure out why I sat through two days of Kelsey's testimony, but the first time I see that video is not in the courtroom but in my Twitter replies. It sure seems like that video could have been evidence in this trial...

...albeit the prosecutors would have to find a way to authenticate it in court, as in, get a witness up there who can confirm it was filmed when it's said to have been filmed, and that it really shows Kelsey and Meg.

Ideally this would be done through the person who filmed it. Maybe there's another way to do it, but the person who filmed it would be the best. I saw a tweet last night regarding Tory's Insta comment that said it's another example of Black culture coming up with the evidence.

Given all the huge interest in this, does anyone know if the person who actually filmed that video has spoken publicly about it? Or is their identity at least known by some people?

It's of course far too late now to get that in trial, but I'm interested in how exactly prosecutors could have figured out a way to authenticate it through a short witness, then ask Kelsey about it in testimony.

One thing that ABSOLUTELY should have come in is what @gabbybulgarelli and others point out regarding the lyric that Tory's lawyer quoted, from Kelsey's diss track against Meg. Tory’s lawyer asked Kelsey about a single lyric regarding shooting Meg in the head,

But as @gabbybulgarelli said, the full rap has lyrics that make clear Kelsey is saying she ISN'T the one who shot Meg. After Tory's lawyer asked Kelsey about a single lyric, Deputy DA Kathy TA should have brought up the other lyrics and asked her about them.

This case is far better prosecuted than the Harvey Weinstein trial (extremely low bar) but there was a blunder involving prosecutors not releasing a text message or some kind of document to Tory's lawyer until just the other day...

….and DA Alexander Bott actually cited his caseload when explaining to Herriford why it had been overlooked. What? I can understand criminal defense attorneys complaining about their caseloads, but prosecutors?

The document or text at issue is going to super helpful for Tory, prosecutors pointed out the contents of it are already included in something else that Tory's lawyers has had for a long time.

Yes they should have disclosed it sooner and maybe Herriford will agree to sanction them (unlikely), but in the end the actual material does little to actually help Tory's defense. Just like Tory's lawyer's cross of that LAPD detective regarding the Instagram comment

The whole thing seemed silly to the gallery - it’s a reply from Tory’s verified account. What kind of deep-dive investigation and detailed police report was needed about it? But it was also surprising how unprepared the detective was...

...and how he quickly admitted he didn't think about things like IP addresses and the fact that multimillionaire entertainers might have someone else writing their social media posts.

But again, what does the fact that someone from Tory’s team might have written that “thats not true” comment and not Tory have to do with the defense here? That happened the same day Mgdesyan’s reckless cross of Kelsey set us up for this recording I'm heading back into court for.

I got this photo of Tory’s lawyers walking into court this morning. George Mgdesyan is in the lighter-colored suit.

(Earlier this week, a reporter sitting next to me in the gallery whispered, “Boy, Lanez’s attorneys look like a couple of linebackers up there.” 🏈)

Thread broke, continues here:

https://twitter.com/meghanncuniff/status/1603858663583911937

We are on a 15-minute break. We heard the end of Kelsey's interview with prosecutors, and she addresses her rift with Meg and said she's upset because Meg didn't stick up for when she started facing major backlash after the shooting.

Kelsey explains to prosecutors in the September interview that she told Meg she needed her to stick up for her in her statement, because she was hearing people say that SHE was the one who shot Meg, not Tory. "Megan, I need you to protect me," she recalled telling her.

Kelsey said she told Meg that people were threatening her and her family, and articles about the LAPD officers stopping them at gunpoint and arresting both Tory and Kelsey were fueling speculation. But when Meg "made that post, there was no protection."

Kelsey tells prosecutors about Meg, "As my best friend, she could have said something."
"She left me in the hot seat...So I'm upset because she didn't clear my name." She laments that "people think I took hush money."
"It's not fair, because I didn't betray her," Kelsey says.

We are done for the day after hearing from DNA experts, who say Tory’s DNA was not on the gun magazine. It can’t be concluded that his DNA wasn’t on the gun, but it can’t be said that it was, either.

Tory left court with his son in his arms a few minutes ago. I did not see the boy in the courtroom today; he was outside on a bench in the hallway playing on an iPhone and resting his head in the lap of someone with Tory’s crew when we got out.

Judge David Herriford said he expects testimony to conclude on Tuesday.

Regarding Kelsey refusing to identify Tory as the shooter in court while easily talking about all details with prosecutors in the recorded private meeting, I saw her walk into the courthouse as photographers shouted stuff at her that could be considered an intimidation tactic.

Here is the video. A couple of them are LA-based: I know the guy in the yellow beanie and can confirm he’s your friendly local paparazzi. But the guys barking stuff at her are not.
“The truth will set you free. Maybe.”

Nancy has what was probably the main point from the defense DNA expert, that while he can’t conclude Tory’s DNA isn’t on the gun, he would expect a clear DNA profile from him if he did pick up the gun and fire it five times.

https://twitter.com/nancy__dillon/status/1603912420602175488

One highlight from Kelsey’s interview with prosecutors is that she clearly says that she never heard anyone say “Dance, bitch.” She heard five gunshots and saw Tory firing the gun, but she told prosecutors he never heard him say “Dance, bitch.”

Tory’s lawyer pointed out in his opening statement that Megan is the only one who says Tory said that. She testified to it on Tuesday, but in Kelsey’s candid, clear interview with prosecutors, she says no one said that.

It could become a credibility issue for Megan Thee Stallion with jurors, but one thing to keep in mind is that Tory is not charged with a crime for allegedly saying “Dance, bitch.” His charges are for allegedly shooting Megan.

Expanding on the point about whether Tory actually said “Dance, bitch.”

https://twitter.com/CJLawrenceEsq/status/1603927843397898240

@threadreaderapp Unroll, please. Thank you! 🚀

Here is today’s thread on Tory Lanez’s trial for the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion. Trial resumes Monday at 10:30 a.m. in Los Angeles. Testimony is expected to end Tuesday. threadreaderapp.com/thread/1603816…

I confirmed through Meg’s publicist and her lawyer what others have reported: Justin Edison “went missing right before he was scheduled to” testify. Edison is Meg’s ex-bodyguard and the recipient of Kelsey’s “Help” “Tory shot meg” “911” texts shortly after @theestallion was shot.

Deputy DA Alexander Bott also told jurors in his opening statement that Edison will testify that he talked to Tory Lanez after the shooting when Lanez was getting his stuff from a home on Edinburgh Avenue, Lanez said he was the shooter but that he’d been aiming at the ground.

Edison saying Tory confessed to the shooting is obviously the most important reason prosecutors had him as a witness - the texts Kelsey sent Edison have already been authenticated and are in evidence.

The DA saying Edison will testify Tory Lanez told him he was aiming at the ground also goes to why prosecutors added the third charge shortly before trial of negligent discharge of a firearm, with Tory already charged with intentional discharge, alone with assault with a firearm.

Given the huge interest in Tory Lanez's trial over the Megan Thee Stallion shooting, I wanted to “spill my notebook” as reporters say regarding the recording of Kelsey on Friday. It was a bit longer than 80 minutes, maybe 90, and the date testified to on Friday was Sept. 14 2022.

The witness who testified about the authenticity of the recording to get it introduced as evidence was Jody Little, an older Black woman who is a senior investigator with the LADA’s office who also was in the interview room listening.

The recording begins with prosecutors saying the date and naming who's in the room, saying Kelsey and her husband, Darien Smith, are there in person, while Kelsey has two lawyers joining them by phone.

Before the interview was played for the jury in full, Little testified that Kelsey’s demeanor during it was “very comfortable” and “friendly, cordial” in the interview. She also said Smith was “very supportive, very friendly as well. Cordial, professional.”

Kelsey was asked about her husband briefly when she testified last week. As this past article explains, Kelsey had testified that she didn’t see Tory shooting, and that she said things in September that weren’t true... bit.ly/3Yo5ozo

... so DA Kathy Ta tried to establish for the jury that Kelsey was in a much more relaxed environment during that interview, without the packed gallery and the accused gunman hanging on her every word.

When Ta specifically asked Kelsey if her husband had been there to support her, Kelsey answered "yes ma'am." Ta didn't ask if her husband was in the courtroom, but I think he was - I'm pretty sure it's him who arrives with her in the video I posted earlier.

(I see that Smith posted about her on Instagram yesterday, writing, “Just know that KELSEY NICOLE is as Solid as they come !!”)

People are pointing out that Kelsey’s husband works for Meg’s old label 1501 Certified Entertainment, which she is currently suing (there’s also a countersuit) over her old contract...

...but it’s notable the Meg v. 1501 lawsuit was filed in August, a month before Kelsey’s husband accompanied her to her meeting with prosecutors. If they had a nefarious plot to thwart the lawsuit by lying to protect Tory, Sept. meeting would have been a great chance to do it.

Instead, as I reported earlier, while Kelsey said no one said "Dance, bitch," she clearly said she saw Tory shooting a gun in Meg’s direction. Vivid recollection, it almost sounded therapeutic for her to let it all out, without a lot of interruptions from prosecutors.

The interview starts with Kelsey describing how she and Meg met in 2013 while students at Prairie View A&M University. (Lone Star State connection: @LeeHarunoMD, the assistant surgeon who operated on Meg earned his medical degree from Baylor University in Waco.)

Kelsey tells prosecutors they “shooting the music video to WAP with Cardi B, that’s why we were in LA” when Kylie Jenner invited them to her a gathering at her home. Everything was fine, people having fun (“you flirt”) and “Tory was going between Megan and Kylie Jenner.”

Tory doesn’t want to leave (we learned in Meg’s testimony that she invited Tory to come over when she and Kelsey were already at Kylie’s house. Tory’s lawyer emphasized it in cross.) Kelsey said Meg was “laughing uncontrollably” and they left without Tory but then went back...

...and it wasn’t because Meg was missing anything, it was because she didn’t like Tory being with Kylie. Meg goes into Kylie’s as they wait in the car, then everybody rushes out and “Kylie’s comes out but stays on the porch,” Kelsey says in the September interview.

Meg rushes out and Kelsey tells prosecutors that she says, “bitch, we gotta get the fuck out”. I’ve seen some saying Kelsey actually said Kylie said they had to leave. At this point I’m not sure it’s a crucial detail jurors will be mulling over.

As I’ve reported through the other testimony, it’s pretty clear there was some kind of dispute about Tory being with Kylie and then Meg going outside and there being a dispute.

If Kylie does testify as a defense witness, I think she will be asked about Megan’s demeanor during that last fight or argument, but Tory's defense isn't that Meg was so angry she was a threat to life and was shot in self defense.

Instead, Tory's defense is that Meg was so angry that Kelsey also being very jealous and angry resulted in Kelsey firing five rounds in Meg's direction, and Tory was basically an innocent bystander in the whole thing and is now the victim of malicious prosecution.

No one has tried to say @KylieJenner has direct knowledge about the key reason we are sitting in that courtroom: The fact that someone fired five rounds in Meg’s direction after she got out of Tory’s driver’s Escalade in a swimsuit in a quiet residential area about 4:25 a.m.

Prosecutors believe the gunman was Tory. Tory says he didn’t do it and that Kelsey was the shooter. That is the dispute our criminal justice system is trying to resolve, and Kylie Jenner is not an eyewitness to any of it.

If Tory's lawyer does call Kylie Jenner as a witness, I'd expect prosecutors to emphasize that in cross-examination.

I reported earlier what Kelsey told prosecutors about the arguing, and Tory telling her, "I'll shot you." (She said she replied, "If you shoot me you shoot me, I guess it's my time to go."

https://mobile.twitter.com/meghanncuniff/status/1603847709743382528

And what Kelsey said about seeing turning at the sound of the 2nd or 3rd gunshot and seeing Tory on the right front passenger side of the Escalade, "shooting over the door."

https://mobile.twitter.com/meghanncuniff/status/1603849127305306112

Kelsey also told prosecutors in September, "I can't ell you guys where Tory pulled the gun from," meaning not that she's refusing to tell them, but that she just doesn't know. "It's almost like a scary scene," Kelsey said. "I'm in defense mode."

After the gunfire Kelsey was near Meg and Tory was coming toward them and, "I just thought he was coming our way to attack us."
At that point, Tory "picks me up like a little doll," Kelsey's adrenaline is high and Tory is "hitting me, slapping me."
"I'm still in defense mode."

Kelsey was trying "just get him away from Megan." "But then I became afraid for my life when he started pulling on my hair and neck, because it was really hard."

Kelsey says her nail was broken off (a photo of a white acrylic nail a police officer found at the shooting scene is evidence in trial). Kelsey said they didn't hesitate to get back in the car, but she was "having panic attacks" and Meg asked her to call for help...

... and she texted Meg's bodyguard Justin Edison. "I think I said, 'Help. 911. Tory shot Meg.'"
(As jurors know from the texts in evidence, the three texts were ordered "Help." "Tory shot meg." 911.")

Kelsey told prosecutors she had bruises and hurt physically but she also "hurt emotionally." She was never crying heavily, but she did take a few moments to compose herself. She recalls the gunpoint @LAPDHQ arrest, says she "definitely spent the night in jail."

Kelsey recalled Tory calling her from jail hours after the shooting when she was at the hospital waiting Meg, saying that at the time, she had a friend in jail she spoke with regularly. "It was normal for him to call."
"I answered and it was Tory," Kelsey said.

Then Kelsey gets into how her friendship with Meg fell apart. "Everybody was playing mind games with me. I dod't know what" was going on. She was told "LA's dangerous right now" and Meg said she couldn't stay at the home after she'd just sublet her Texas place and moved out here.

As I reported earlier, Kelsey talked about how she felt as though Meg "left me in the hot seat" by not protecting her in public statements.

Prosecutors didn't interrupt a lot, but DA Alexander Bott did ask Kelsey near the end of it if she was saying all this to try to get back in Meg's good graces, and Kelsey said oh no, in what seemed to me to be a very natural reaction.

Prosecutors said something about Tory being held accountable and Kelsey said yes he does, and that what he did was wrong, but she also seemed to blame Meg in part, too, saying that Meg had been arguing and obnoxious and it was all unnecessary.

Kelsey lamented at one point to prosecutors something along the lines of, "we could have all just gone home that night" when talking about how unnecessary the melee all was.

As reported above, it's unknown if Meg's former bodyguard Justin Edison will testify because Meg's lawyer says he didn't show up for his scheduled testimony on Friday, but another person in this I've heard questions about is Tory's driver, Jaquan Smith.

Jaquan Smith sure seems like an absolutely critical witness in this case. He is one of only four people including Meg who was there when Meg was shot. The DAs haven't said he'll be a witness, and neither has Tory. If he was willing to cooperate, the DAs likely would call him.

But while the burden of proof is of course on prosecutors, not Tory, Jaquan's overall status as Tory's driver and his absence from the trial seems more likely to raise questions for jurors about why Tory isn't calling him as a witness.

Meg seemed to explain in her testimony why people might not want anything to do with this case when she said, “Within the Black community - in my community - it’s not acceptable to be cooperating with police officers.”
Kelsey also seemed to explain it last week...

...when she repeatedly said she didn't want anything to do with this case, no one did.
But given what Tory's defense is, some jurors might still wonder how Jaquan couldn't have seen all this and why his former boss didn't call him, not why prosecutors didn't call him.

Here is my article explaining how jurors went from Kelsey on the witness stand, not wanting to talk and saying she didn't see Tory shooting, to hearing her detailed, much more relaxed September interview in which she clearly identifies Tory as the shooter. bit.ly/3HQJWwW

.@lawcrimenews article on Kelsey Nicole Harris' full interview with prosecutors, played for jurors Friday in Tory Lanez's trial for the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion. bit.ly/3YyXByR