Thread by @KlasfeldReports

Günaydin, to those in New York, and merhaba again to those in Turkey. We're getting closer to day five of Reza Zarrab's testimony. My recap of yesterday's proceedings, with an assist from my editor @bleonardcns courthousenews.com/bankers-lawyer…

The court is still rather empty. I doubt we will start at 9:15 NY time as scheduled.

Berman: Please be seated.

Berman is talking about an important public access issue. The parties tried to take documents off the public docket, and he demanded the files go back on.

Berman: "I did that because I thought it was very important that everybody see and read both sides" of all the evidence and their import.

Berman mentioned that one of the files subject to a protective order was also made public.

Because it was already out there.

Berman also ruled that Zarrab's jailhouse tapes are not Brady material, meaning they were not wrongfully withheld evidence that would tend to exonerate the defendant (Atilla)

Those jailhouse tapes, however, can be used to impeach Zarrab's credibility.

"Impeachment" = legal jargon for an attorney to try to sow doubt in the credibility of a witness.

You can read Berman's order on putting the document back on the public record here documentcloud.org/documents/4321…

And here are the documents previously subject to a protective order. (The letter at the topic was previously public; some of the exhibits were not.) documentcloud.org/documents/4321…

Zarrab is authenticating tapes that will play for 9 minutes. Follow any Turkish-speaking journalists who may be tweeting over that time, because I can't help.

They're about to introduce an English transcript into evidence.

Now another tape. While I'm waiting, let me check if any new evidence popped up in the public record. Standby.

Someone said "Tamam." Got that one.

Meanwhile, here's an example of the Dubai customs form that got into evidence. Zarrab testified yesterday that one of these got mistakenly filled out with "wheat" as the product. "Wheat does not grow in Dubai," he noted.

Yesterday, Zarrab described this spreadsheet this way: "This is the system that would show the Iranian trade that I was doing with Halkbank."

This is just a screenshot of a much larger document.

There were at least three others like it from yesterday that just became public.

By the way, the audio recordings are still playing, which is why I have time to tweet out / upload the exhibits.

Recordings finished playing, and direct examination has finally ended. Cross coming up.

Atilla's attorneys will take their turn at Zarrab after a quick recess.

We're back. Reading stipulations into the record before cross-examination really begins.

"Stipulations" = What the parties agree upon.

Possibly big: Zarrab says that he's reading messages between himself and his lawyer with unspecified "political connections."

This is from 2014 - so he's talking Turkish political connections.

Again, these connections were unspecified in the stipulation. More stipulations being read.

Lots of talk now about frozen chicken legs. Description of goods shipped.

Q: Mr. Zarrab, were you ever in the frozen chicken leg business?
A: I have never traded chickens, sir.

Correction from earlier: As you can see, this is still direct examination - regret the earlier error. I misunderstood.

745 tons of frozen chicken breasts, Zarrab says.

In the name of Royal Maritime, Zarrab's company.

Next transaction: Virgin Olive oil - 1,011 tons - more than 5 million euros, in the name of Royal Maritime

Prosecutor: No further questions at this time, your honor.

Atilla's attorney Cathy Ann Fleming from the firm Fleming Ruvoldt PLLC introduces herself to Zarrab. Says they met before at Zarrab's former federal prison MDC

Fleming: (Paraphrase) You declined to meet with us.
Zarrab: I have met with this lady twice. ... Not once, I met her twice. That's why I said no to one time, ma'am.

Fleming attorney says she's talking about a time she and Zarrab crossed paths in court, but refused to be interviewed by Atilla's counsel with his lawyers.

Fleming: That is b/c you were angry at what Mr. Atilla and his lawyers said about you in motion papers. Isn't that correct?
Q: It is absolutely not correct, no.

Q: Isn't that what you had your lawyer tell us?
A: It is one of those things I had asked them to convey.

ZARRAB: No, I have never paid bribes to Mr. Hakan Atilla ever

ZARRAB: That is correct. Mr. Hakan Atilla has never requested any money from you ever.

Q: (Paraphrase) And Atilla wasn't fond of you?
A: That is fair ma'am yes.

Zarrab says he didn't like Atilla either and complained about him to Aslan. Called Atilla a "wrench in the gears" in one of the recordings.

Z: "Mr. Hakan Atilla's phone number is not among the contacts" handed over in discovery.

By contrast, Fleming notes, thousands of messages with Aslan.

ZARRAB: As I said, I don't recall - I don't know the page count - but it was true that I was in a closer relationship with Mr. Suleyman Aslan.

Background that I wrote in my last story: "Atilla’s attorneys Victor Rocco previously described his client as a Turkish public servant caught up in an international firestorm."

Questioning turns to WhatsApp -

That's from opening arguments.

There are approximately 11 months of messages ending on Nov. 22, 2013, totaling 49 pages.

There are 16 messages.

"I don't recall whether there was" a single message with Atilla.

Fleming notes Atilla's number on his phone.

Zarrab: When the "out of curiosity," I listened to a few of them, because he heard them before.

Q: (Paraphrase) Is that because you heard them in December 2013 and January 2014?

Zarrab: That is not correct.

Zarrab: What I meant was that I listened to the conversations. I have not listened to hundreds of them. Not that many.

Q: Have you listened to more than 4 calls with Mr. Atilla's voice on it?
A: I listened to four. I don't recall anything over that.

Q: You did not even meet Mr. Atilla until some time in late 2012, according to your testimony, isn't that correct?
A: Yes, ma'am.

Fleming refers to an Iranian business meeting from Oct. 2012, where Zarrab testified that Atilla attended.

Fleming claims his testimony on the stand is different to the one he gave to the FBI.

Q: Now you also testified to a number of meetings with Mr. Atilla. Is it true sir that you met with Mr. Atilla approximately a handful of times?
A: That is correct, ma'am.

Q: ... approximately 5 times.
A: I counted the fingers on both hands ma'am.

Q: (Paraphrase) You said "a handful" of times.
A: I expressed to the prosecutor's office that I have not had many meetings with Hakan Atilla and that is correct.

Q: You have had other involvement with money exchange and laundering schemes in countries other than Turkey. Is that correct, yes or no?
A: It is true that I was involved in money exchange pertaining to Iranian trade outside the country of Turkey.

Q: (Paraphrase) Also in Russia?
A: No, that is not correct, ma'am.

BREAKING: Fleming claims Zarrab's chauffer was stopped with $15 million in cash in connection with Russia trade. Zarrab denies.

Z: "My driver was never stopped with $15 million in cash" with Russian transactions.

Q: (Paraphrase) Wasn't he stopped at the Turkey border with that amount.
Z: (Paraphrase) No.

This testimony is happening very quickly. Typing as fast as I can.

Testimony turns to an alleged plane in Ghana 1.5 tons of gold. (She originally misspoke and said 1.5M tons of gold, which one doubts would fly.)

Zarrab, who is a gold trader, confirms there was such a plane flown to him.

Fleming asks whether Zarrab is banned from Iran.
A: To my knowledge, there is not any, ma'am.

Claims he doesn't go back to Iran, his birthplace, because of his "lifestyle."

Testimony turns to the jailhouse tapes. Asks him if he says what is written on the letters.

ZARRAB: "Yes, I did say that [lying] was the fastest method" to get out of a u.s. prison.

Q: (Paraphrase) You're no longer in prison
A: Correct, I am not at the MDC.

MDC is a federal prison in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Q: It's not pleasant, correct?
A: We should not be offensive to MDC.

Laughter in the press room. Awfully polite of him.

Q: You have to eat whatever the MDC put out at you?
A: No, that is not correct.

Q: You eat whatever they put in the cafeteria?
A: No that is not correct, ma'am.

Zarrab claims he could cook for themselves in federal lockup.

ZARRAB: When I was arrested, earlier on, we did make an application for being released on bail.

More on that. courthousenews.com/cushy-bail-pac…

Details of the plea deal finally coming in. Zarrab says another bail application could be made at any time, and he confirms that this could happen after the trial.

Q: You need never to commit any crime after this?
A: Yes.

Q: In exchange, you will get a 5K letter to the court, which will explain all the crimes that I have committed, all the help that I provided to the U.S. gov't, good and bad and everything. (Correct?)
A: Yes, ma'am.

Q: But your (agreement) forces you to do more than that ... provide substantial assistance in the investigation and prosecution of "others." Is that correct, sir?
A: I don't remember the verbatim that's mentioned in the agreement. (But generally correct, he says.)

Side note: The plea deal has still not been unsealed. She hands him the document.

The document is being translated to him out of earshot of the microphone.

(Testimony is about prosecutors giving Zarrab a 5K motion -- recommending a lighter sentence for admitted offenses by cooperating witnesses.)

ZARRAB: That is correct, ma'am.

Q: They told you that you were facing years and years in jail.
A: Yes ma'am that is correct.

Zarrab: "Yes, ma'am, I was arrested in Miami, that is correct."

Zarrab admits his first proffer was right before Atilla's arrest, but he denies that he was cooperating at that time.

Service advisory: Fleming is away from the mic - hard to hear her questions.

Q: (Paraphrase) You had attorneys trying to secure your release using political means?

She means Giuliani and Michael Mukasey.

A: Within the bounds of law, they did make efforts, and that is correct ma'am.

Q: You believed that this was going to work for a year, isn't that correct?
A: I thought that it may become possible [to win his release] ma'am

Fleming says Zarrab was "furious" with people in Turkey that it didn't work.

ZARRAB: I don't have any anger toward anybody, ma'am.

Testimony turns to Zarrab's proffer session. Proffer: Defendants says what he knows, and gov't says whether it's enough to enter into an agmt.

Q: Do you remember how many sessions you had with the U.S. Attorney's office and the FBI before they agreed that they could have a cooperation agmt with you?
A: I don't recall the exact count of meetings, ma'am.

Zarrab says that 12 "sounds fair."

Okay, deleted my last tweet. Don't want to spread rumors. Just checking.

Breaking for lunch: Cross-examination will continue at 2 p.m.

22:00, Turkish time.