Preliminary Hearing: Day Three

On the third day of the preliminary hearing yesterday, Wednesday, the entire day was about two different witnesses.

The first was a John Smith working in the NSA, who testified on documents found in Sitchin's home after his arrest in August. The second was a worker in the NYC DA's office who said that she was part of Sitchin's "group".

John Smith (from NSA) talked at length of the many documents. According to him, they found a plan to "destroy" the government in late 2011 and 2012 if the nation did not recognize the 'major threat'. Smith told the court a shocker. He said that according to one paper, Sitchin believed that a planet will cause problems for the Earth when it 'gets closer' in the year 2012. Sitchin believes in aliens, the NSA detective said. On cross, the defense asked what the NSA has to do with the case. He said he would not respond. The Judge did not order him to do so, so the rest of that cross-examination was over.

The second witness, a Jane Doe from the NYC DA's office, admitted she was part of the 'takeover group'. She said that she along with Sitchin and several others, had at least five meetings in March, April, and May 2007 to discuss the takeover plans. According to the story, Sitchin was planning to dismantle the government by destroying the White House and the Supreme Court building in late-2011.

Cross was interesting during this hearing. The defense asked just how many meetings there were and where they were, but no solid answer came out. Jane Doe was asked what kind of explosives would be used and how Sitchin could get past hundreds of Secret Service agents to do such a massive operation. Nothing.

Sorry for the late post, but I am currently in a recess for today's hearing which will likely end in a few minutes.

Preliminary Hearing: Day Two

Today's courtroom drama was not as heated as many expected, and therefore there is less to write about it. Four different people testified in similar manners of the FBI detective. They all agreed that Sitchin was planning a meeting. The nature of the meeting was shown to be about 'spreading knowledge' about the future. Not much more was said.

Tomorrow, more will testify.

Grand Jury Testimony to be unsealed

Testimony of thirty-four 'John Smiths' will be unsealed on October 29 on the order of the judge in the Sitchin trial. The documents are available for the defense and prosecution, but not to the public. They will be partially redacted.

Preliminary Hearing: Day One

Today was the first day of the preliminary hearing. The purpose of the hearing is to determine if there is probable cause that the defendant, Sitchin, committed the crimes he is indicted on. The prosecution this week will present some of their case to the court.

The proceedings began with the testimony of an unnamed witness from the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice. He began by saying he was a special investigator. Then he described his expierence with the case.

"I began on the Sitchin case in June 2006. I examined some of his books to start off with, before preparing to do some physical research." The detective who I will further call as John Smith then said that he went to some pro-Sitchin events in the early fall of 2006, and eventually attended a meeting by Sitchin. He explained how he "got into the circle of trust", in mid-December, and began working with Sitchin and four others. The group was planning a secret gathering of 'believers' (as Smith described their followers) in February to start an organization that would as Sitchin told him, "rid the Earth of false communication and bring knowledge to all when the time comes".

The defense was drawn in so closely to the testimony that lasted for about twenty minutes that they forgot to object on grounds of hearsay. It was sustained, but it was too late.

The Week Ahead

On Monday, a preliminary hearing, also called a probable cause hearing will convene. The prosecution will present some of their evidence to prove to the judge that they have a case.

On Tuesday, the defense is prepared to ask the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals to order the district judge to revise his gag order ruling. Attorneys allege that it violates the Freedom of Speech in the 1st Amendment.

I will post an extensive review of the testimony each day during this week's proceedings in court.

Blog Update

At a special hearing yesterday, the Judge ordered that I speak to a judicial officer prior to posting on this blog. I can still track proceedings in the trial, but all are subject to review.

Judge orders government to hand over documents

Judge Denny Chin today this afternoon announced his ruling on several motions by the defense and prosecution earlier in the day. He granted the Rule 16 Motion and ordered the government to hand over documents by October 5. From that same order he denied a protective order on the information for future requests.

The gag order was discussed in the morning in heated arguments. It was finally ordered today that press would have a better chance to report the proceedings, but he still would have control of what they printed. Therefore the main parts of the gag order remain intact.

In conclusion, it was determined that the government's request to imprison Sitchin pending trial was without merit. It was denied.

On September 10, the Probable Cause Preliminary Hearing will be held.