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OK - now at sentencing of CIA leaker Josh Schulte, convicted of giving Vault7 US malicious hacking tools to Wikileaks (& having CP). DOJ wants life sentence. Inner City Press cover the trials and will live tweet, thread below. Book: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B6GRHV6J
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Judge Furman: I'll defer judgment on sealing letters; the classified CIA filings will remain classified. Mr. Denton, have you notified victims?
AUSA Denton: We have, your Honor.
Judge: The Pre-Sentencing Report - did you review it Mr. Schulte?
Schulte: Last week
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Judge: Let me address the defense objections to the factual recitations. I overrule them. Paragraph 39 references the situation that led to his remand while he was on bail - it states it was access to the Internet through the cousin. It's not material.
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Judge: The paragraphs concerning Mr. Schulte's use of the discovery laptop and the materials subsequently found on them, I find very relevant to sentencing. I adopt the factual recitations of the PSR, it will remain under seal.
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Judge Furman: The history is a six due to terrorism enhancement, for a guideline of life imprisonment. There is a disagreement about the application of the terrorism enhancement. I find that it applies.
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Judge Furman: I find that his conduct was designed to retaliate against the Government, that it was in employee employer relationship makes no difference. He leaked the entire arsenal of the US' cyber tools. That he differs from McVeigh and Osama doesn't matter
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Judge: He lied to the FBI, and in his counseled interviews with the US Attorney's Office. He used his sophisticated knowledge to commit his espionage offenses. He abuses his position in charge of the Atlassian suite - the enhancement applies
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Schulte's lawyer: I will be arguing for a substantial downward variance.
Judge: I will hear from the Government, then Mr. Schulte's counsel and finally Mr. Schulte himself, should he choose to speak. Government?
AUSA Denton: The Court knows this defendant
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AUSA Denton: Since he represented himself, the Court saw his behavior and who he is. You heard, We told you to stop but you did. He violated protective orders. It is no small thing for DOJ to ask for a life sentence. But he is unique. Esponionage...
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AUSA Denton: This was one of the most damaging instances of leaking in US history. The information was publicized, and so it cascaded. Then while incarcerated, he treated every limit as a challenge. That's what led to the information war
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AUSA Denton: He viewed the [CP] for years, and while incarcerated on espionage charges. There is a need for incapacitation.
Judge: On incapacitation, I'm inclined to agree. He has extraordinary computer skills and has a history of leaking.
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Judge: But at what point do those risks dissipate? At some point, his information is no longer ripe. In prison, his computer skills will atrophy. Do you catch my drift?
AUSA Denton: It's variable. We want Special Administrative Measures to continue.
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AUSA Denton: Some of his info will persist - the identity of covert agents in the CIA. He tried to publish it in filings. It has happened. These information will remain sensitive as long as those operatives are alive.
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Judge: Some have called the terrorism enhancement taking a wrecking ball to the [Sentencing] Guidelines. Can you address that?
AUSA Denton: It reflects the seriousness of terrorism crimes. Congress decided this. & the history enhancement: he's hard to rehabilitate
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Judge: What about restitution?
AUSA Denton: We'll calculate them in 90 days.
Schulte's lawyer: What is the least necessary punishment here? This is a difficult case. Joshua Schulte has certainly been convicted of very serious crimes. Is he capable of redemption?
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Schulte's lawyer: Yes. The conditions of confinement have been so debilitating, he's unlikely to do this again. He still has hoped and dreams - the simple things in life. A face to face meeting with a loved one. A private conversation. The sun on his face
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Schulte's lawyer: Has he forfeited all this forever? We say No. We are not relitigating the SAMs [Special Administrative Measures]. His torturous conditions go beyond what he did. The Court told the MDC you have to consider humanity [Judge Furman's US v. Chavez]
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Schulte's lawyer: We held up his Pre-Sentencing Report to the glass so he could read it. They skip his commissary. No entertainment. It's not part of the SAMs. He gets mail months late. A life sentence means he will never see his family.
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Judge: You say without enhancement it would be 210 months. I calculate 310 months - if you subtract the points from groups, it's 324 to 405 months. Opine?
Schulte's lawyer: You're asking me to do math on the spot... Even 405 months is not life imprisonment
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Judge: Mr. Denton, any math?
AUSA Denton: We agree on the math.
Judge: Forfeiture?
Schulte's lawyer: We haven't had a change to speak about it. I only got it this afternoon. We oppose forfeiting any hard drive with his resume on it
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Schulte's lawyer: Some of the devices seized are not related to the offenses.
Judge: I think I have to impose forfeiture along with the sentencing.
AUSA Denton: You could amend it later under Rule 36, I believe
Judge: That rules seems to allow amendment
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Judge: Mr. Schulte, if you'd like to speak before I sentence you, this is your chance.
Joshua Schulte: I have 25 to 30 minutes if the Court allows it.
[Silence]
Judge Furman: Go ahead.
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Josh Schulte: I have been tortured worse than any other prisoner in the Western Hemisphere. I have no access to the library. Instead of 300 monthly phone minutes, I am given 30. I am restricted in mail. The FBI seizes much of it. I have no access to religious
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Josh Schulte: The US Federal government tortures me with 24/7 white noise & solitary confinement. The window is blacked out. When I am offered access to law library, I have to urinate and defecate on the floor, I am left there for 9 hours. I was left with sewage
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Josh Schulte: I have been locked in my torture cage with rodent excrement. Ice accumulates near the window. I wash my clothes in my toilet. I'm forced to eat with my bare hands like an animal. They look down on you like you are not human. We are shown off like a zoo
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Josh Schulte: This is NYC's very own Auschwitz... Dickens said solitary confinement eats the prisoner from the inside out. Only the SS could dream of this. Concentration camp is an apt name for my confinement. It's mental torture. Viktor Frankl, I relate to
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Josh Schulte: Nelson Mandel wrote about solitary, he begged for its reversal. He wrote, Every hour seemed like a year. I relished conversation with a cockroach. I do that too, it doesn't even seem crazy after a while.
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Josh Schulte: As a result of my torture by this government, there are fewer blood vessels in my brain... History will side with me.
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Josh Schulte: I am suffering a 30 year trial penalty. I was denied discovery material, including forensic images. They say I stole from a third server - but did not give me access to it.
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Josh Schulte: DOJ seeks to tell all, Those who go to trial will be punished. District courts don't follow the 973 guidelines, worse than the CP guidelines. The 2d Circuit has expressed doubts, in dictum. Follow the other courts. Probation proposes 5 x the average
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Josh Schulte: Wikileaks about released Confluence, which the CIA described in 302s as insignificant. We should access but were denied. The CIA has no idea what was taken. Protocol requires them to scrap everything and start over. That should not be relied on
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Josh Schulte: It is disgusting to compare this case to Pearl Harbor... The truly difficult question for the Court today is, How do you quantify torture? How much credit would a man in Auschwitz receive? What about NYC's Auschwitz?
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Josh Schulte: The BOP is a rogue agency that will never be reigned in until those tortured get time served - they BOP will leap to obey. Until then, they'll take pride in their concentration camps. BOP will torture me, they invite you to join them
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Josh Schulte: The BOP violates the Torah and all principles. I ask this Court to reject the espionage guidelines. I ask for time served.
Judge: He spoke for 29 minutes... Any reason sentence should not be imposes at this time?
AUSA Denton: No, your Honor.
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Judge Furman: A substantial sentence is warranted. It is hard to overstate the seriousness of the espionage offences. The classified letter shows catastrophic impact on national security. $300 million was the tip of the iceberg. We'll never fully know the damage
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Judge Furman: It is not an exaggeration to call it a digital Pearl Harbor. He was not blowing the whistle, he was motivated by anger, spite and perceived grievance. He took it out on the country he swore to protect. Then there the CP counts- he had a massive trove
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Judge Furman: I'm blown away by Mr. Schulte's complete lack of remorse. He has never once acknowledged his conduct. The CP crimes are the most telling. The trial was a bloodbath. He had no defense. He expressed no remorse.
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Judge Furman: He has demonstrated a desire to continue to inflict harm on his enemies. Nothing deters him. Each measure adds fuel to his fire. In the MCC, he tried to leak more information. He declared an Information War on the US
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Judge Furman: He made implied threats in post-trial submissions. There's the discovery laptop, he abused it. He created a 15 gigabyte separate hard drive and loaded on more CP. There is a need to protect the public.
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Judge Furman: Mr. Schulte released it to the world - it is distinguished from the [Reality] Winner case. I'm not going, however, to impose a life sentence...
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Judge Furman: Obviously, I could impose a life sentence here, but I think there is a disconnect with the statutory provisions and the guidelines. Some variance is appropriate. I will vary, yes, on the conditions of confinement. He bought many on himself
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Judge Furman: I previously worked in the Attorney General's office, the decisions on SAMs [Special Administrative Measures] are not made lightly. Any comparison to Nazi concentration camps is to my mind offensive. Their only crime was being Jewish
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Judge Furman: You insinuated I didn't read all of your submission. I read every single one of them, including the ones you filed in Brooklyn. Having said that, the harsh conditions justify a variance from a life sentence. I've written recently - see US v. Chavez
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Judge Furman: The conditions in the SAMs unit are even harsher. I agree it is incumbent on us to treat prisoners humanely. He will be held a long time. I am not persuaded by other defense arguments - the neuro divergence, it is pure speculation
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Judge Furman: He is obviously talented, his computer skills are a testament to that. But starting in 2016 he stole information from the CIA - this continued until now. It took days if not weeks to leak to Wikileaks. His Google searches make it clear
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Judge Furman: The letter from Mr. Schulte's family are moving, particularly his mother's. I don't envy them - the letters don't acknowledge the CP, and when they call him a patriot they ignore what he did. There's a lot his family didn't know
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Judge Furman: Mr. Schulte please rise. You are remanded to the Bureau of Prison for 480 months
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Judge Furman: To be followed by a lifetime of supervised release with the search condition
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Judge Furman: You shall not view CP material including that created by AI
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Judge Furman: His facility may already have been determined - if not, as close to Lubbock, Texas as possible. Mr. Schulte, you can appeal, you have 14 days.
Schulte's counsel: We will be appealing.
Judge Furman: We are adjourned.
1st story here: https://www.innercitypress.com/sentencing1schulteicp20124.html
