FL - Mass Shooting at Pulse Nightclub, Orlando 12 June 2016 #6

[YESorNO]

Krista M. Torralva@KMTorralva
2h2 hours ago
This afternoon we heard from Omar Mateen's mother and sister.


Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
2h2 hours ago
Omar Mateen's mother and sister spoke to Noor Salman's jury today. His mother, especially, was emotional, her voice breaking a few times as she spoke.


Krista M. Torralva@KMTorralva
2h2 hours ago
When his mother, Shahla Mateen, saw Salman in the courtroom she smiled just briefly before starting to cry.


Matt Lupoli@mattlupoli
2h2 hours ago
Omar Mateen's sister and mother took the stand when court resumed after its midday recess.
Mateen's sister, Sabrina Abasin testified she never suspected her brother would commit terror.
In cross, the defense asked Abasin if Salman is a good mom. She said, "yes." #SalmanTrial
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Matt Lupoli@mattlupoli
2h2 hours ago
Omater Mateen's mother, Shahla Mateen, became tearful when she took the stand and was asked to identify Noor Salman in the courtroom.
She was upset throughout most of her testimony.
She too testified she never suspected her son would be violent. #SalmanTrial


Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
2h2 hours ago
Shahla Mateen said she last saw her son on June 11, 2016. He worked about 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., then came over to see her briefly. She had just come back from a business trip to Mexico.


Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
2h2 hours ago
"Did you ever hear him discuss committing an act of violence?" Prosecutor Sara Sweeney asked. Shahla Mateen shook her head. "No," she said.
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Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
2h2 hours ago
Later that day, Shahla Mateen called Omar to invite him to a Ramadan fast-breaking dinner at the mosque that night. She wanted all of her grandkids to be there, she said. Omar didn't pick up the phone, so she called his wife.


Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
2h2 hours ago
Salman picked up and said she didn't want to come -- "She said because of the boy, the boy is already sleeping, she should stay home," Shahla Mateen said. Omar Mateen was invited to dinner with his friend Nemo, Salman told her mother-in-law.


Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
2h2 hours ago
So Shahla Mateen was surprised when she saw Nemo's mother at the mosque that night -- and she said that Nemo was out of state doing a medical rotation, not at dinner with her son. "I feel sad, embarrassed. I said, he lied," Shahla Mateen said.


Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
2h2 hours ago
Shahla Mateen called her son when she got home from the mosque. She told him it was an emergency -- she wanted to know why he lied to her in an earlier phone call, saying he was going to dinner with Nemo. He didn't pick up. She waited for him to call her back and fell asleep.


Krista M. Torralva@KMTorralva
2h2 hours ago
Shahla Mateen also cried when describing her disappointment in her son lying to her about where he was instead of the mosque. There was added disappointment because it was the month of Ramadan. "It's a good month. You have to do good things."


Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
2h2 hours ago
Shahla Mateen woke up about 4 a.m. because law enforcement officers were at her door, looking for Omar Mateen.


Krista M. Torralva@KMTorralva
2h2 hours ago
Shahla Mateen, a government's witness, had a few moments in which she helped the defense's theory that Salman was "simple," "naive," and "trusting." Shahla Mateen testified she texted Salman once, "Noor, you need to grow up."
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[YESorNO]

Matt Lupoli@mattlupoli
2h2 hours ago
During cross-examination, the defense brought up a 2013 questioning of Mateen by the FBI.
His mother admitted she knew about that, which pertained to threats he made at work.
She insisted she would've told police if she suspected he would commit terror. #SalmanTrial


Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
2h2 hours ago
Shahla Mateen said everything seemed normal when she saw her son on June 11, 2016. "I wish I knew. I wish I knew," she said today.


Matt Lupoli@mattlupoli
2h2 hours ago
At one point on the stand, Shahla Mateen said, "I wish we knew. I really wish we knew." #SalmanTrial



Krista M. Torralva@KMTorralva
2h2 hours ago
Shahla Mateen and her daughter, Sabrina Abasin, said Salman hung out with the kids during family gatherings, was more "modern" and "American" than they were. She didn't go to the mosque much.


WESH 2 News@WESH
2h2 hours ago
"I wish we knew."
That's what Omar Mateen's mother just said on the witness stand in the Noor Salman trial.
She and Mateen's sister just took the stand. Here's more from what's happened in court so far today: http://bit.ly/2G04kcz #SalmanTrial

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[YESorNO]

Matt Lupoli@mattlupoli
2h2 hours ago
The prosecution brought up several store clerks who dealt with Salman and Mateen in the days before the attack.
Two clerks remembered Salman buying jewelry with Mateen's credit card.
One clerk remembered the name when he saw it on the news days later. #SalmanTrial


Matt Lupoli@mattlupoli
2h2 hours ago
A bank worker also took the stand.
She testified Salman called the bank shortly after Mateen's death to ask how she could access his money.
She said she hadn't receieved his death certificate, but needed money to feed their son. #SalmanTrial


Matt Lupoli@mattlupoli
1h1 hour ago
Court housekeeping update--the prosecution has called nine witnesses this afternoon, which means they have only a few left to call. Their part of the case will likely wrap up tomorrow. The defense will begin their part Monday. #SalmanTrial
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[YESorNO]

Jeff Weiner@JeffWeinerOS
1h1 hour ago
#NoorSalman trial: Pulse gunman Omar Mateen's mother testifies in widow's trial http://bit.ly/2ptUo3W

Jeff Weiner@JeffWeinerOS
1h1 hour ago
"It's a good month. You have to do good things."
Omar Mateen's mother testifies about her son's lies in the hours before the mass shooting at Pulse nightclub.
Latest from the #SalmanTrial:

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[YESorNO]

Matt Lupoli@mattlupoli
13m13 minutes ago
Prosecutors are now presenting spreadsheets analyzing Noor Salman's phone data, similar to what was shown earlier for the phone belonging to Omar Mateen.
The texts between the two the night of the attack are again the focus -- but this time with a new distinction. #SalmanTrial


Matt Lupoli@mattlupoli
12m12 minutes ago
The prosecution claims, according to FBI analysis, Salman deleted several texts she sent to Mateen.
Included in the deleted texts:
"If your mom calls, say Nemo invited you out and Noor wants to stay in."
And, "Love you xoxo." #SalmanTrial


Matt Lupoli@mattlupoli
11m11 minutes ago
The series of texts she allegedly sent after 4 a.m. were not deleted.
They include:
"What happened???"
"Where are you??"
"Habibi where are you?" #SalmanTrial
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[YESorNO]

Noor Salman trial: Pulse shooter's family takes witness stand

"ORLANDO, Fla. —
Prosecutors continue to work Wednesday to prove their case against Noor Salman, the woman accused of aiding and abetting Omar Mateen in his terror attack at Pulse nightclub.

It's expected the prosecution will wrap up its case sometime Thursday, and that the defense will begin its portion of the testimony Monday...."

http://www.wesh.com/article/noor-salman-trial-what-was-found-on-pulse-shooters-phone/19513801
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[YESorNO]

Matt Lupoli@mattlupoli
1h1 hour ago
The sixth day of testimony has begun in US v. Noor Salman, as the prosecution closes in on the end of its case and the defense's turn draws closer.
So far today, testimony has focused on Noor Salman's cellphone and text messages that had been deleted. #SalmanTrial

Matt Lupoli@mattlupoli
1h1 hour ago
A text message the prosecution argues establishes her cover story was deleted.
Frantic texts to Mateen asking where he is the night of the attack, were not.
The jury is hearing contrasting arguments about why. #SalmanTrial
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[YESorNO]

Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
54m54 minutes ago
An FBI agent in the Noor Salman trial is laying out what she and Omar Mateen did in the weeks before the attack using cell phone tower data, surveillance camera video, bank records, etc -- tying it all back to statements she gave the FBI


Krista M. Torralva@KMTorralva
51m51 minutes ago
This morning, prosecutors presented a couple of photos from Salman's Facebook from December 2014 and May 2016 showing her wearing a wedding ring. Prosecution was suggesting she didn't need one when the couple shopped for rings in the days leading up to the attack.


Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
52m52 minutes ago
Jurors saw video of Salman, Mateen, and their son walking through a Walmart. Mateen picked out ammunition and Salman and their son stood next to him as he paid for it. Their son, whose face was blurred out, slid a Paw Patrol toy onto the register.


Krista M. Torralva@KMTorralva
1h1 hour ago
They also showed the family walk from their car to the Walmart. The child was holding Mateen's hand. Salman caught up with them and took her son's other hand and the three walked, connected, into the store where they purchased a toy and ammunition.
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[YESorNO]

Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
52m52 minutes ago
Confirming what Salman said to FBI investigators on June 12 is important because FBI agents did not record the interview. The jury has only statements written by an FBI agent and initialed by Salman and agents' recollections of what happened during those conversations


Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
54m54 minutes ago
From Salman's FBI statement: "I knew Omar was preparing for Jihad when he bought the rifle, was going to the range to shoot, was spending a lot of money and bought the ammunition. I saw these things as a green light for Omar to do an act of violence."


Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
52m52 minutes ago
Using cell tower data, FBI Special Agent Richard Fennern showed that Mateen spent $62 on ammo and range time on June 3. He also showed video of the family at Disney Springs May 21, 2016.


Krista M. Torralva@KMTorralva
50m50 minutes ago
Boyce, the IT specialist who testified yesterday, finished today. Under defense lawyer Charles Swift's questioning, Boyce said Salman had other deleted messages. The next witness, FBI electronics engineer Michael McFarlane, talked more about this.
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[YESorNO]

Matt Lupoli@mattlupoli
1h1 hour ago
The prosecution brought on another witness, an FBI engineer, to testify it was Salman's choice to delete some texts and not others.
The defense argues there was no motive behind the deleted texts, since Salman routinely deleted text messages. #SalmanTrial


Matt Lupoli@mattlupoli
1h1 hour ago
An FBI analysis showed most of the texts recovered from the phone had been deleted, which the defense keyed in on during cross-examination. #SalmanTrial


Krista M. Torralva@KMTorralva
1h1 hour ago
McFarlane explained a 200-text message limit on Salman's phone that begins deleting older messages as new ones come in. "Most, if not all" of the deleted messages did not appear to be impacted by that feature, McFarlane said.


Krista M. Torralva@KMTorralva
1h1 hour ago
They were "most likely deleted by the user of that device," McFarlane said.


Krista M. Torralva@KMTorralva
1h1 hour ago
Under defense lawyer Charles Swift's questioning, McFarlane said it's "not necessarily" illogical to delete texts.


Krista M. Torralva@KMTorralva
1h1 hour ago
These texts were on a phone Salman started using in April, 2016 and the deleted portions this testimony is about are during a time period in June.


Krista M. Torralva@KMTorralva
1h1 hour ago
Currently on the stand is FBI Special Agent Richard Fennern who is part of the Cellular Analysis Survey Team. He is explaining where Mateen and Salman's cellphones were during different time periods and how that location data works.


Krista M. Torralva@KMTorralva
1h1 hour ago
About Mateen's phone: "His phone had never been up to Orlando proper" prior to Pulse attack, Fennern said.


Krista M. Torralva@KMTorralva
1h1 hour ago
About Salman's phone: "Her phone had never been near the Pulse nightclub," Fennern said.


Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
52m52 minutes ago
One last point: Mateen and Salman's cell phones had never been near Pulse before the attack. Mateen's cell phone first registered in Orlando proper after 1 a.m. on June 12, 2016.


Amanda Ober@AmandaOberWESH
45m45 minutes ago
At #salmantrial An FBI agent in is laying out what Salman and Omar Mateen did in the weeks before the attack using cell phone tower data, surveillance camera video, and ban records. They are tying it all back to statements she gave the FBI
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[YESorNO]

Jeff Weine @JeffWeinerOS
3h3 hours ago
#NoorSalman trial: Jurors see Pulse gunman buying ammunition alongside his wife http://bit.ly/2uaheDd
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[YESorNO]

Krista M. Torralva@KMTorralva
2h2 hours ago
Still under the government's questioning, Fennern said based on all the video footage showing Mateen and Salman in Orlando, their receipts and cell activities, "it'd be highly unlikely" for them to go to Pulse when Salman told agents they did.


Krista M. Torralva@KMTorralva
2h2 hours ago
And they would not have had enough time to drive around Pulse for 20 minutes, like she said they did, Fennern said.

Krista M. Torralva@KMTorralva
2h2 hours ago
After the Arabic restaurant, they went to mosque, Masjid Al Agha AMYL in Kissimmee. Video footage shows Mateen and the child go inside while Salman, presumably, stays in the car.


Krista M. Torralva@KMTorralva
2h2 hours ago
Fennern has been tracing much of the couple's movements in the days leading up to the attack, showing video footage, cellphone activity from both phones and receipts from stores and restaurants.


Krista M. Torralva@KMTorralva
2h2 hours ago
At some point, PNC Bank denies credit card spending.


Krista M. Torralva@KMTorralva
2h2 hours ago
Mateen searches Jihadology and other ISIS-related articles and websites while doing family activities.


Krista M. Torralva@KMTorralva
2h2 hours ago
The morning of June 11, 2016, Mateen goes into the PNC Bank and, wearing his security uniform, withdraws more than $4,000.


Krista M. Torralva@KMTorralva
2h2 hours ago
Throughout the morning he does online searches of cameras in Disney, Orlando and Kissimmee. He also searches FBI and visits the Jihadology website.
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[YESorNO]

Krista M. Torralva@KMTorralva
2h2 hours ago
Fennern will still be under prosecution's questioning after lunch.


Krista M. Torralva Retweeted
Jeff Weiner@JeffWeinerOS
57m57 minutes ago
#NoorSalman trial: Jury hears from FBI agent who traced Pulse gunman's digital tracks http://bit.ly/2uaheDd


Updated with the latest from @tzigal and @KMTorralva.
New courtroom sketches, courtesy of Charles Treadwell:

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[YESorNO]

Julie Gargotta@juliegargotta
47m47 minutes ago
If prosecution wraps today, as court has indicated, the defense will likely begin their argument on Monday morning. For more on our coverage of #NoorSalman trial, head to: http://m.mynews13.com/content/mobil...icles/cfn/2018/3/22/noor_salman_trial_pr.html … @MyNews13

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[YESorNO]

Pulse shooting trial: Prosecutors say Salman's written statements match cellphone pings (with clip)

"ORLANDO, Fla. - Prosecutors will wrap up their case Thursday in the trial of Noor Salman, whose husband shot and killed 49 people at Pulse nightclub in Orlando....

12 p.m.
Prosecutors gave the jury a copy of Salman's written statement Thursday as they were shown video and cellphone pings that match her statements. The statements were written by a law enforcement official during an interview, because Salman said she couldn't do it...."

https://www.wftv.com/news/local/prosecution-to-wrap-up-case-in-pulse-shooting-trial/719832225
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[YESorNO]

New videos show Pulse nightclub gunman prepping for attack (with video clip)
Evidence shown to jurors in trial of Noor Salman

"ORLANDO, Fla. - Jurors in the trial of Noor Salman viewed newly-released surveillance videos Thursday showing the defendant's husband buying weapons and casing possible targets including Walt Disney World prior to the Pulse nightclub attack.

FBI Special Agent Richard Fennern showed the jury a PowerPoint presentation highlighting the activities of Salman and her husband Omar Mateen in the weeks prior to the June 12, 2016 shooting that left 49 people dead...."

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/new-videos-show-pulse-nightclub-gunman-prepping-for-attack
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Pulse shooting trial: Salman's attorneys ask judge to dismiss charges

"...Salman's attorneys on Thursday evening filed a motion of acquittal after a witness for the government testified that data shows that she couldn't have driven by the nightclub days before the attack.

n the motion, attorneys asked the judge to dismiss both charges against Salman, because the government "offered scant evidence" to show that she aided and abetted Mateen and that she obstructed justice while being interviewed by Fort Pierce police officers and FBI agents after the attack.

"Aiding and abetting requires, in addition to knowledge, that the person take an action that contributes to and furthers the offense," the motion said..."

https://www.wftv.com/news/pulse-sho...orneys-ask-judge-to-dismiss-charges/719832225
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Prosecution rests its case against Pulse gunman’s widow amid evidence dispute

http://www.theeagle.com/news/nation...cle_d48e5ed1-e8ed-5d7c-be88-c102cc15afa5.html
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More tweets from yesterday


Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
19h19 hours ago
BREAKING: judge in Noor Salman case questions why prosecutors did not give him information during Jan. 2017 bond hearing, which they knew within days of shooting


Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
19h19 hours ago
Salman's written statement the the FBI from June 12 says she confessed to being in the car when Omar Mateen drove around Pulse with the windows down a week before the attack. But within days of the shooting, an FBI agent said today, the FBI knew it was false


Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
19h19 hours ago
Investigators could not find any record of Salman or Mateen's cell phones being near the club until Mateen arrived on June 12.


Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
19h19 hours ago
This is important because U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron had revoked Salman's bond last year (a judge in California had granted it, and prosecutors appealed before she was released) based in part on motions that did not have this information:

Judge: Pulse shooter Omar Mateen's widow, Noor Salman, will stay in jail
Pulse shooter's wife to stay in jail

"An Orlando judge has reversed last week's ruling from a California judge to grant Noor Salman bail.

A federal judge in Orlando ruled Friday that Noor Salman, the widow of Pulse shooter Omar Mateen, should stay in jail, reversing an Oakland, Calif., judge’s earlier order to grant her bail.

Last week, a federal judge in California granted Salman bail, but delayed her release by 48 hours to give prosecutors time to appeal. Prosecutors later got another delay of Salman’s release.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Paul Byron appeared to disagree with the California judge. He cited a question Salman said Mateen asked her less than a week before the shooting: “How bad would it be if a club got attacked?”

“This statement was made to Defendant Salman by a person she knows to support terrorist organizations, who she had witnessed watching violent ISIL [Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant] recruiting videos in her home, and who she portrays as violent,” he wrote...

Salman’s defense attorneys had submitted a motion asking for the judge to grant her bail, arguing in part that she did not know the extent of her husband’s plans. They said she does not hold extremist views herself and has no connections to terror groups....

The defense also claimed that Salman would not be a flight risk, and that she poses no danger to the community. Attorneys offered statements from Salman’s long-time friends, who described her a peaceful.

Byron wrote that he did not find the arguments persuasive enough.

“The existence of the Defendant’s past involvement in a terrorist attack, even recognizing she did not pull the trigger, poses too great of a danger to the community to warrant pretrial release,” he wrote. “While the Magistrate Judge [in Oakland] found Defendant Salman does not have any ties to the Islamic State and has not personally exhibit extremist views, the Magistrate Judge unduly minimizes the Defendant’s admitted knowledge of Mateen’s own extremist and violent views, his preparation for the attack,and the Defendant’s admission that Mateen departed the family home on June 11, 2016, armed with an assault weapon and ammunition.

Orlando Police Chief John Mina, who last week expressed his disappointment when the California judge ordered Salman’s release, said Friday that he was “heartened by the news.”...

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news...noor-salman-pulse-details-20170310-story.html
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[YESorNO]

Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
19h19 hours ago
Byron revoked the bond on other grounds as well -- but said he should have been given that information if investigators knew it the whole time.


Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
19h19 hours ago
"I think I've kicked the beehive," Byron said, seeing a flurry of activity in the courtroom after he asked why he hadn't been informed. The jury was not in the room for this whole exchange. "...That's all I wanna say, we'll take this up another time."


Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
17h17 hours ago
BREAKING: Noor Salman's defense requested a bond hearing. The judge denied it, but said they can submit it in writing and he'll review it.


Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
17h17 hours ago
"The government was well aware that the defendant never scouted out the Pulse," defense attorney Fritz Scheller said in his argument for bond. "That was a critical part of their argument."


Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
17h17 hours ago
Scheller also said he is concerned about what's called a Brady violation (named after SCOTUS case Brady v. Maryland) -- that prosecutors had exculpatory evidence and did not share it with the defense.


Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
17h17 hours ago
Salman's statement to the FBI (taken June 12, 2016) said she was in the car when Omar Mateen drove around the Pulse nightclub on June 8, 2016. Today an FBI agent said that, within days of the shooting, investigators knew there was no cell phone/GPS evidence that proved that

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[YESorNO]

Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
17h17 hours ago
Prosecutors used this statement re:casing Pulse as one of their reasons why Salman should not be released on bond before her trial. They listed other reasons -- casing Disney Springs and City Place in S. Florida, an increase in spending, knowledge of Mateen watching ISIS videos


Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
17h17 hours ago
U.S. District Judge Paul Byron cited the other factors he considered when revoking her bond last March: "I don't know if that rises to the level of reconsidering bond. If you want to do that, file a motion, I'll consider it."


Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
17h17 hours ago
Byron also noted that Brady violations are very serious -- "The government doesn't have to be told to do the right thing, they must do it. ... It's not triggered by an order, it's triggered by the facts in your possession."


Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
17h17 hours ago
Byron said he was not ready to consider any potential Brady violations today, but will be open to it at a later date.


Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
17h17 hours ago
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Sweeney said the government gave Salman's defense an FBI powerpoint presentation with all the relevant cell phone data on Aug. 1, 2017. By then, defense attorney Charles Swift said, he had spent thousands on his own tech expert to prove the same thing


Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
17h17 hours ago
"I'm funded by a public entity, and I spent a lot of money on this. And the government knew," Swift said. "...I had to spend money from people who give money to civil causes." Swift is the director of the Constitutional Law Center for Muslims in America.


Gal Tziperman Lotan@tzigal
17h17 hours ago
Swift cited the bill for the technology expert at about $7,000, and said he'd been paying the expert about $300 an hour through today and expecting he'd testify next week. Byron seemed open to granting Swift the money from the government if he asked for it, but didn't rule on it
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