(Witness excused)
MS. COMEY: Your Honor, there's a logistical issue we need to take care of before the next witness. Would you mind taking a brief break for us, please?
THE COURT: All right. Thank you, members of the jury. We'll take a 15-minute break and then we'll be back.
(Continued on next page)
(Jury not present)
THE COURT: Please be seated.
MS. COMEY: Your Honor, I apologize. I forgot to flag this, but the next witness, I believe we sent a proposed immunity order to your Honor's chambers a couple of nights ago. So he'll just need to invoke before he takes the stand.
THE COURT: I understood that to be the case. Do you have an extra copy of the proposed order?
MS. SMYSER: Yes, your Honor.
THE COURT: Please hand it up, and we can bring in Mr. Pérez.
MR. AGNIFILO: Your Honor, can we take this opportunity for a brief bathroom break?
THE COURT: Yes.
MR. AGNIFILO: Thank you.
(Recess)
MR. AGNIFILO: JONATHAN PEREZ, called as a witness by the government, having been duly sworn, testified as follows:
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MS. SMYSER:
MS. SMYSER: Good morning, Mr. Pérez. Would you mind stating your name for the record.
JONATHAN PEREZ: Jonathan Pérez.
MS. SMYSER: Mr. Pérez, did you receive a subpoena requiring you to testify at trial today?
JONATHAN PEREZ: Yes.
MS. SMYSER: Do you have an attorney who represents you in connection with this case?
JONATHAN PEREZ: Yes.
MS. SMYSER: And based on your discussions with your attorney, do you intend to invoke your constitutional right not to testify and not to answer all questions put to you on the grounds of potential self-incrimination?
JONATHAN PEREZ: Yes.
MS. SMYSER: And do you understand that if the Court enters an order granting you immunity, that you'll be required to answer all questions truthfully here today?
JONATHAN PEREZ: Yes.
MS. SMYSER: Do you understand that the order will not protect you from prosecution for perjury if you intentionally make false statements today?
JONATHAN PEREZ: Yes.
MS. SMYSER: Your Honor, the government asks, based on the witness's answers, that you enter the proposed order of immunity.
THE COURT: All right. I'll enter the proposed order and enter it as a court exhibit. Is there anything further, Ms. Smyser?
MS. SMYSER: No, your Honor.
THE COURT: All right. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Mr. Pérez.
(Witness excused)
THE COURT: Ms. Comey, anything further at this time?
MS. COMEY: Yes, your Honor. There is just one thing I wanted to note. I obviously can't see Mr. Combs during the examination, for the most part because my back is to him, but my colleagues in the back of the courtroom inform me that Mr. Combs has been nodding during cross-examination, did so for this most recent witness and has done so at times during Jane's examination as well. We'd just ask that your Honor remind Mr. Combs that even if he's not looking at the jury, nodding, especially emphatically, during cross-examination is not appropriate and is not something he should be doing.
MR. STEEL: Your Honor, can I?
THE COURT: Yes.
MR. STEEL: I just want the record to reflect that for most of the trial before this honorable Court I've been sitting to the left of Mr. Combs, and I understand that the AUSA's just repeating what other people said. He has been nothing but professional, your Honor. I know what you said. I heard what you said days ago. Mr. Combs since that time is not even looking at the jurors because he does not want to defy the Court's order. So the Court's looking directly at Mr. Combs. I'm to his left, I pay close attention to the goings-on in the courtroom, and it's my affirmation Mr. Combs did nothing inappropriate at all today or any day, actually. But I just wanted that for the record.
THE COURT: All right. Very good. Look, we had an exchange about this a few days ago. I reiterated it later in the day, and my understanding is, unless someone tells me different, is that counsel on both sides have made clear to their respective teams to be following those rules. There is going to be some amount of reaction to testimony that is given, and it is impossible to police every reaction from every person in this courtroom to testimony that's given or other things that happen, but I was clear initially that there should be no attempt to, through facial expressions or otherwise, make any effort to either communicate with or influence the jury. And unless I see things or hear that anyone's trying to violate that, I will assume that counsel have properly advised their clients and the other members of their teams, and we'll proceed on that basis. Ms. Comey, if anything further comes to your attention, please let us know. And since we are facing the opposite way, we will certainly keep an eye out for anything that happens.
MS. COMEY: Thank you, your Honor. I'm not asking for a curative instruction. I'm not suggesting Mr. Combs should be removed. I just would note that Mr. Combs nodding emphatically, when his attorney is asking a yes-or-no question for which he wants a "yes" answer, could raise the problems that we flagged before, and I just wanted to put on the record our request that he not do so.
THE COURT: All right. That's fair. Anything further, Ms. Comey, before we proceed?
MS. COMEY: No, thank you.
MR. AGNIFILO: Unless we're going to need the guns, you can return them back to the gun safe.
MS. COMEY: We agree, your Honor. That was my oversight. We'll remove the guns.
THE COURT: All right. So let's remove the guns and then we'll come back at 11:30. Ms. Smyser, are you presenting the next witness?
MS. SMYSER: Yes, your Honor.
THE COURT: Do you have a general estimate as to the length of the direct examination?
MS. SMYSER: About an hour, probably.
THE COURT: We should be able to complete that and then take a lunch break and then come back for cross-examination. Good. We'll take a break. We'll come back promptly at 11:30.
(Recess)
THE COURT: Are we ready to proceed, Ms. Smyser?
MS. SMYSER: Yes, your Honor.
THE COURT: Let's get our jury and then we will call the next witness.
(Jury present)
THE COURT: The government may call its next witness.
MS. SMYSER: The government calls Jonathan Perez. JONATHAN PEREZ, called as a witness by the Government, having been duly sworn, testified as follows: DEPUTY CLERK: Mr. Perez, can I ask you to give your first and last name to the Court and spell your first and last name.
JONATHAN PEREZ: Jonathan Perez, J-O-N-A-T-H-A-N; P-E-R-E-Z.