This update explores several interesting developments, most notably, the suit filed on George’s Zimmerman’s behalf against NBC and the continued unraveling of the special prosecutor’s case against Zimmerman. First, the NBC suit.
The GZvNBC website, established by the Philadelphia Beasely Law firm and the O’Mara Law Group, for information regarding the suit, has this 12-06-12 beginning:
On Thursday, December 6, 2012, George Zimmerman filed a legal complaint against NBCUniversal Media, LLC and three individuals who were employed by NBCUniversal Media, LLC, Inc. during the time relevant to the complaint: Ron Allen, Lilia Rodriguez Luciano, and Jeff Burnside. The 24-page complaint alleges ‘NBC News saw the death of Trayvon Martin not as a tragedy but as an opportunity to increase ratings, and so set about to create the myth that George Zimmerman was a racist and predatory villain.’ The complaint, filed in Seminole County, demands a trial by jury, and demands damages sufficient to invoke the jurisdiction of the Circuit Court.
The Complaint is damning, containing multiple examples of NBC’s falsified audiotapes and false reports. For example:
The maliciously edited audio recordings identified above included multiple deletions, each intentionally removing almost one minute of intervening dialogue between Zimmerman and the dispatcher, so as to juxtapose unrelated content to make it appear that Zimmerman was a racist, and that he was racially profiling Trayvon Martin; despite knowing the truth, the defendants reiterated these false racial themes in the broadcasts.
Defendants’ improper juxtaposition of unrelated dialogue between Zimmerman and the dispatcher was specifically done to imply that Zimmerman had a racist motive, even suggesting the dispatcher had also questioned Zimmerman’s motivation.
On March 20, 2012, defendant Ron Allen, broadcast from Sanford Florida the following:
Sanford Police say that Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin in self-defense, a shooting without racial overtones, no hate crime. But when Zimmerman was calling the police the night Trayvon Martin was killed, he described the victim using a racial epithet.
The defendants knew that Zimmerman did not use a ‘racial epithet’ to describe Martin, yet they maliciously and conclusively stated that he did, for the purpose of portraying Zimmerman as a hostile racist.
There are many more examples, but the establishment of harms to Zimmerman is equally damning:
Defendants plainly recognized the extraordinary public damage caused by these manipulated edits, stating during their March 27, 2012 broadcast: ‘[A]ll of this is igniting more demands for an arrest.’
The defendants knew when they created, broadcast and rebroadcast the manipulated audio and the false statements about the recordings’ contents that the entire basis of their reporting was manifestly improper, a violation of journalistic ethics, and was certain to cause not just severe emotional distress to Zimmerman and damage to his reputation, but also threats to his life and calls for his criminal prosecution.
Only after the defendants’ malicious acts were uncovered and exposed by other media outlets—for example an April 5, 2012 New York Post editorial characterized the doctored audio as ‘pretty damning evidence of willful misconduct by NBC News,’ concluding the coverage could incite racial violence—did defendant NBC ‘apologize’ and terminate some of those in its employ responsible for the yellow journalism identified in this complaint.
To this day, the defendants have never apologized to Zimmerman for deliberately portraying him as a hostile racist who targeted Martin due to his race; instead, NBC’s President Steve Capus, in a feeble attempt at damage control, falsely claimed this manipulated audio was merely a ‘mistake’ and ‘not deliberate.’
By then, the damage was done, the indelible image of Zimmerman stalking Martin because ‘he looks black’ fixed in the public consciousness.
Zimmerman has suffered greatly, with death threats, a bounty placed on his head, threats of capture, and a constant, genuine fear for his life resulting in his need to, among other things, live in hiding and wear a bullet proof vest. Zimmerman was even dismissed from his college because the school felt the death threats were dangerous to fellow students.
The factual section of the complaint is devastating. In civil suits, facts are often in dispute, but not in this case. The complaint presents, side by side, multiple examples of NBC audio edits of Zimmerman’s phone call with the Sanford Police dispatcher and the actual transcript of the call, making plain the serial, extraordinary and fundamentally dishonest nature of NBC’s manipulation of the recording to portray its favored—and absolutely false—narrative. There is simply no question about what NBC did, and the complaint provides example after example, not of a single error of fact, or an isolated, intemperate opinion, but of many malicious lies that no rational person could have believed were anything less than malicious lies.
I’ve seen the truth of the allegations of the complaint in my work on this case. Many readers that took the time to comment on the case had clearly been affected by NBC’s lies, often repeating them as truth. Obviously, NBC was successful in planting a great many falsehoods about George Zimmerman in the public consciousness, and once planted, such lies can never be entirely dislodged. On many occasions when I’ve not only corrected those lies, but provided voluminous proofs—including many sources—many people refuse to believe them because they “know” the truth, the truth as presented by NBC and other media sources.
Remember that in this case multiple NBC employees—including the primary defendants—were fired by NBC News when their deceptions came to light. This puts NBC in the position of having no facts to argue, and instead, arguing that it didn’t mean to do anything wrong, it was all just an unfortunate mistake, and they have fixed everything by firing a few low-level employees.
Considering a recent Gallup Poll indicating that 60% of the public has little or no trust in the media’s ability to report “the news fully, accurately, and fairly,” NBC would be smart to settle this matter as quickly and quietly as possible and to bring multiple armored trucks full of cash to any negotiation. No Florida jury will be likely to be kindly disposed to NBC.
The Machinations Of The Scheme Team And The Special Prosecutor:
“The Scheme Team” is a term I believe has been coined by the good folks at The Last Refuge, who have done fine work on documenting the machinations of the race-baiting attorneys working for and/or with the Martin family: Benjamin Crump, Daryl Parks and Natalie Jackson.
UPDATE, 12-11-12: Reader ItsMichaelNotMike informs me that he coined the “scheme team” monicker, and I have no reason to doubt this. By all means, visit his exposition of this in the comments accompanying this article.
Crump, in particular, played a pivotal role in “discovering” and marketing “Witness #8,” AKA “Dee Dee” to a more than eager Lamestream Media.
One of the primary issues is Crump’s apparent manipulation of the age of Dee Dee. The Last Refuge , in a November 30, 2012 post, notes:
Today the George Zimmerman defense team revealed a bombshell discovery. A discovery that will ultimately deconstruct the entire “persecution of George Zimmerman”. It could also lead to serious liability and charges of fraud against the Scheme Team, with visible malicious prosecution by the State of Florida and Special Prosecutor Angela Corey.
Benjamin Crump introduced Witness #8, “DeeDee”, to the media on March 20th as Trayvon Martin’s 16-year-old girlfriend. Discovery evidence now shows the person claiming the identity of “DeeDee” on April 2nd swears under oath during her witness affidavit that she was 18-years-old, when interviewed by Benjamin Crump and ABC’s Matt Gutman on March 19th, 2012.
The State Prosecutor is refusing to identify the address of Witness #8 (DeeDee) to the defense, and Trayvon Family attorney Benjamin Crump is refusing to provide the recordings, or details of the 16-year-old who he interviewed on March 20th.
In essence Benjamin Crump constructed and sold one version of DeeDee to a gullible media, then a completely different person to state investigators and Special Prosecutors.
By all means, read the entire article, but the upshot is that Crump and his fellow travelers have been manipulating the evidence—if it can be called that in this case–not only to manufacture public pressure for criminal charges against George Zimmerman, but have been working behind the scenes to support and maintain the failing narrative as the case falls apart. It would also be worth your time to visit the recent motion to compel Mr. Crump to provide transcripts, recorders and other related evidence in this case.
Regular readers know that in Update 11, I analyzed the interview of Dee Dee by Assistant Special Prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda on April 2, 2012 at app. 1905. In the transcript, de la Rionda said:
…I’ve been appointed by Miss Corey, who has been appointed by the governor of the State of Florida to handle this case that I’m going to be asking you questions about. Also to my right is Detective..uh..or Investigator T.C. O’Steen with the State Attorney’s office. We’ve come from Jacksonville, here along with some agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement…
It now appears that there is more direct—and highly suggestive—information indicating possible collusion between Mr. de la Rionda and all three members of the Scheme Team in the interview of Dee Dee. In fact, it is possible all three of them may have been present before, during and after the interview with Dee Dee, an interview that may have been coached and otherwise manipulated.
In the comments following Update 17, “nettles 18” provided a most interesting link to a report apparently written by a Special Agent Kenneth Wayne Moore of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, a screenshot of which is provided below:
SA Moore, it seems, was tasked to meet and assist de la Rionda and his investigator T.C. Osteen who flew into Miami-Dade on April 2, 2012. Moore was told that they intended to interview Sybrina Fulton (Trayvon Martin’s mother), Tracy Martin (Trayvon’s father) and “Trayvon’s girlfriend.”
All personal information relating to this “girlfriend” has been blacked out in the report. The report says: “The information in this report contains information about a JUVENILE that may be privileged or confidential and exempt from disclosure under applicable law.” We now know that “Trayvon’s girlfriend” is Dee Dee, AKA Witness 8, even though she was coy at best about her relationship with Martin during the interview.
SA Moore also wrote that when they arrived at the location of the interviews (that too was redacted), Benjamin Crump was there and Daryl Parks and Natalie Jackson arrived sometime thereafter. Fulton gave a statement at about 1540 and Tracy Martin gave a statement sometime after 1630, but they had some difficulty locating Dee Dee, who was finally found and “escorted to” Fulton’s home where she gave an interview sometime after 1830. SA Moore says:
…she [Dee Dee] gave a statement to DCSAO members [de la Rionda and O’Steen].
ANALYSIS:
This is a most unusual report. Officers often assist fellow officers from other jurisdictions, but seldom write reports about it. They virtually never write reports that essentially say they drove them around and helped them find a few people. In fact, officers providing such minimal assistance commonly write reports only if they actually participated in some law enforcement function, in which case, they document exactly what they did.
In this case, SA Moore essentially says: “I picked these guys up at the airport, drove them to a place where they interviewed a couple of people, and when they were done, drove them back to the airport,” making a very odd police report indeed. Moore does not say or imply he did anything else. He does not say he sat in on any interviews. He does not say whether he waited where the interviews took place, or merely returned when they were done to provide transport. He uses passive language, giving no hint that he did anything affirmative to find anyone, or even to escort Dee Dee to Fulton’s home.
On the other hand, police officers often write reports to cover their tender posteriors, particularly if they suspect those posteriors might be in danger of exposure. If that’s the case here, being sure to mention the names of Crump, Parks and Jackson does makes sense. Notice too that the personal information of Dee Dee was redacted, yet those redacting the report let slip one interesting bit of information: Dee Dee was “escorted” to Sybrina Fulton’s residence where she was interviewed.
Keep in mind too that Crump has apparently been playing fast and loose with Dee Dee’s age. It’s possible SA Moore was told Dee Dee was a juvenile, which explains the redactions and aforementioned note about privileged juvenile information. If SA Moore or others in the FDLE subsequently learned they had been played—particularly if they suspected de la Rionda was in on it–that might explain why this document has been released.
Why would Crump want people—and particularly the media–to believe Dee Dee was a juvenile? There are two primary reasons:
(1) It better serves the narrative portraying Trayvon Martin as an innocent child-like scholar and eater of Skittles if his “girlfriend” is an equally young 16-year old.
(2) It would allow Crump to hide her identity and location by invoking privacy laws relating to juvenile records, which is exactly what appears to have been done in this case. De la Rionda’s interview of Dee Dee makes painfully clear why Crump would want her under wraps.
This report also raises some very interesting—and disturbing—possibilities:
The transcript of de la Rionda’s interview with Dee Dee confirms the interview took place on April 2, 2010. However, he identifies only himself and O’Steen and says:
We’ve come from Jacksonville, here along with some agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement…
De la Rionda is the only person asking questions. O’Steen is a potted plant (In this case, he’s likely glad of it). Notice too that he doesn’t explicitly say that FDLE agents are present, only that he came from Jacksonville “along with some agents.” However, the context implies that more than one FDLE agent is present.
SA Moore notes in his report that a SA Kristin Hoffacker was assigned to assist him, but at no point in the statement does he say he or Hoffacker were actually present for any of the interviews. In fact, apart from serving as a driver, he really doesn’t say he or Hoffacker did anything else.
SA Moore’s report only notes the presence of Crump, Parks and Jackson. It does not explain what they said or did at any time. However, Moore does place them at the location of the statements of Sybrina, Tracy and Dee Dee taken by de la Rionda.
As The Last Refuge post notes, Crump is heavily invested in Dee Dee’s statements, having claimed they are essentially a smoking gun capable of convicting George Zimmerman. There is no question that Crump’s efforts had a substantial part in Zimmerman’s eventual arrest. As Update 11 noted, however, de la Rionda’s interview of Dee Dee revealed no evidence at all that contradicts Zimmerman’s account of the incident. In fact, Special Prosecutor Angela Corey would have to be utterly incompetent to put Dee Dee on the stand. She is an incredibly poor witness, her account is contradictory and confusing, and the interview suggests that her testimony was coached–and coached badly–by de la Rionda and now, possibly others.
It now seems likely that Crump, Parks and Jackson were also present during these interviews. It is a violation of proper police procedure to fail to identify each and every person present during an interview, as de la Rionda appears to have done. Such failure could give the appearance of undue influence or concealment. It is also absolutely stupid for a prosecutor to interview a witness. That’s the job of the police, or in this case, the special prosecutor’s investigator, O’Steen, who was present but silent. A prosecutor who interviews a witness makes himself a witness to that interview and may be called to the stand. Prosecutors are also generally poor interviewers—de la Rionda proved that beyond any doubt in his interview of Dee Dee—despite what TV lawyers reading from scripts might be able to do.
The presence of the Scheme Team would certainly make sense of some of the bizarre exchanges between de la Rionda and Dee Dee, particularly those exchanges where Dee Dee appears to have slipped, asking de la Rionda if he wanted her to say things–or withhold things–that may have been discussed before the taping began.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Do I know without any doubt that the Scheme Team was present during Dee Dee’s interview and that they attempted to influence that interview? I do not, however, we do know they were there—which was not previously known—and we know Crump, Parks and Jackson have been furiously spinning this case. We also know de la Rionda’s interview of Dee Dee is suggestive of attempts to manipulate her testimony, which to be completely fair, does not prove such manipulation.
We also know that it would be a very good idea for Mr. O’Mara to depose Special agents Moore and Hoffacker, as well as their supervisor Susan Kuhn. They could, no doubt, shed light on a number of interesting issues.
Prosecutors are generally very careful to avoid any contact with attorneys who are pursuing civil cases. It’s important to keep the criminal law and civil law separate, if for no other reason than to avoid the appearance of impropriety. Criminal defense attorneys may certainly be present whenever law enforcement agents interview their clients, but Sybrina and Tracy Martin and Dee Dee have never been arrested in this case, nor have they been identified as persons of interest. However, they clearly have a potential financial interest in the outcome. For this reason alone, the special prosecutor’s office should be treating them as if they carry the plague. Odd that hasn’t been the case…
Stately McDaniel Manor 
Mike, for the history books I can tell you the origin of the term “The Scheme Team.” It was by some guy who goes by the screen name ItsMichaelNotMike.
Yes, it was yours truly.
I archive all my blog posts and comments. Here it is:
DATE CAPTURED: 2012-04-22 19:47:33
UPDATED: 2012-04-22 19:47:33
SOURCE OF ITEM: Update #10 (Part 2) The Trayvon Martin Shooting DeeDee Reveals The False Truths | The Last Refuge – Mozilla Firefox
ITEM IS IN NORMAL/MAIN GROUP
Wow oh wow, I was out of the house and come back, look what happens.
I have to see this.
Sidenote: I always said to myself that Chump sounded like a dumb a$$ to me. Hell, I couldn’t understand him half the time since he talks like his has a mouth full of whatever.
A tip o’ the hat, O’Mara dueling it out with that moron, extortionist, conspirator, and mental slob to boot.
I am waiting for someone in the media to call Chump and crew “The Dream Team of the 21st Century.” They are no dream team, I hereby crown them… drum roll please:
“The Scheme Team.”
____________________
I also came up with the term “Trayvonites.” I first used it on YouTube and The Huffington Post, before The Last Refuge.
(I was tracking those terms to see if they took hold and to test the efficiency of Google and other crawlers and to see how the Net makes a difference in defending cases, that is, compared to the “old days.”)
DATE CAPTURED: 2012-04-26 14:03:01
UPDATED: 2012-04-26 14:03:01
SOURCE OF ITEM: The Case Against Zimmerman Alan Dershowitz Blasts Prosecution Affidavit and Case: Its a crime (the prosecution) | The Last Refuge – Mozilla Firefox
IMO you are right, the tide is turning.
I think our efforts have fallen on deaf ears for those WHO DON’T MATTER. But the rest of the world, and those who will be making a decision (aka Judge Lester) I suspect he has read what the intelligent people are saying and has taken note.
What I have noticed most is that those in the media who were raising their pitchforks the most and jabbing them toward us, have seemed to quieted down.
That’s because even they understand the concept of EVIDENCE. Almost daily there’s EVIDENCE that supports our client (aka Zimmerman) and NOTHING to support the Trayvonites false narrative. Indeed, that’s why it is a “false narrative” isn’t it. :)
I am jordan2222 at the TreeHouse. I followed you regularly posted there but cannot find your website. Do you have one?
Michael this is well stated because you pick up the essence of what is wrong with this whole case.
A violation of journalistic ethics?
Is that like a violation of prosecutorial ethics?
I didnt know persecutors or journalists had any ethics left.
Shall we start a betting pool on the number of hours that will elapse between the resolution of the criminal case (which seems exceedingly unlikely to result in a conviction at this point) and the filing of ethics complaints with whichever Florida agency is responsible for attorney discipline?
I wonder what Ms. Corey et al were thinking would be their end-game, though, for two reasons. First of all, it’s a lot easier to play fast-and-loose with the facts on a low-profile case, and I can’t imagine they didn’t think the defense would be scrutinizing their every move. As history has shown us, it’s hard to keep a conspiracy under wraps in the face of intense scrutiny for very long.
Second, though, all the pre-trial discovery games of the prosecution don’t change the reality that – at some point – they’ll have to present their evidence in open court before a judge. Hiding the fact of “Dee Dee”‘s age pre-trial may provide some short term gain, but what happens when they have to put her on the stand (or explain to the media why a woman whose story is “essentially a smoking gun capable of convicting George Zimmerman” never testified)?
Did they imagine, even after Mr. Zimmerman had retained counsel who seemed to demonstrate every willingness to fight hard for his client, that the defense would just crumple under the weight of all that innuendo? Seems a silly assumption to me…sort of like going all in on a pair of twos in a poker game.
I truly believe that Angela Corey felt she could bull her way into this, drop down a harsh probable cause affidavit, and frighten Zimmerman (with a less than fully competent defense counsel) into pleading to a lesser charge – a form of manslaughter. In this way, she gets her conviction, calms the masses, and signs, seals and delivers tot he Governor and Florida Attorney General a nice neat, resolution to the crisis. However, in steps O’Mara, with evidence in hand, competence in mind, and a resolve to try this case to its proper end. Now, unfortunately, Keystone Kop Bernie de la Rionda actually has to somehow develop some courtroom skills – which he does not yet exhibit beyond bond hearings. He actually has to put a logical case together that will support the murder 2 charge. This is a task more monumental than Sir Edmund Hillary scaling Mt. Everest….more daunting than Roger Bannister running a sub 4-minute mile…more insurmountable than Chuck Yeager’s sound barrier-breaking flight. Unless Bernie injects himself with the steroid of extreme unethical lawyering (like Sammy Sosa), he’s not going to get it done. I am appalled that the prosecution remains intent on pursuing this case (ethically), although I can understand that to dismiss charges would be political suicide. I wish this thing was being tried NOW. I am so glad Florida’s sunshine laws will allow for Bernie to look the part of the total ass on live national television – oh, how wonderful if would be for him to bow out for medical reasons.
Dear juggler523:
The next major hearing on self-defense will be interesting indeed. If the court follows Florida law, the case will have to end there. We’ll soon see if justice is yet possible in Florida.
Noticed something else minor, but interesting…in Update 11, in the transcript of “Dee Dee”‘s interview, BLDR asks her if her cell phone number is in her name or someone else’s. She replies, “Now, it should be now under my name.” This would imply she HAS to be 18, since minors cannot enter into contracts. No?
This sounds to me like at one time Dee Dee’s cell phone was in someone else’s name (maybe a parent), but that she subsequently put into her own name. And I can’t think of any way she could have done that if she was a juvenile (unless she was emancipated by a court, in which case I wouldn’t think the juvenile law protections would apply.)
@Tammy, that response from DoubleDeeDee is strange. There is nothing affirmative in that response.
The question is “is the cell phone in your name or someone else’s”
and the answer comes back
“Now it should be….”
That response is weird because the correct response should have been “It is in my name” or “It is in my parent’s name”.
The “should be” comes across as manipulation of the phone account by someone… perhaps by the Scheme Team.
Tammy- I was of the impression that Dee Dee’s original phone was a pre-paid phone. If that was the case, there are no contracts for pre-paid phones. Anyone can buy those phones, even juvenile’s. You buy the phone and the phone card, add the minutes by simply giving the pin number of the phone, and you are good to go. When she said that the phone was in her name “now” it may be that she in fact got a cell with a plan since then.
One of the biggest questions in my mind that no one ever asked her, that I am aware of, is why she didn’t call the police, or anyone for that matter shortly after the shooting incident. If the tweets that I’ve seen are in fact hers, she knew that Trayvon had been shot by the next day. It is my opinion that everyone who has had contact with her, mainly Crump, were prepared for that question, and that Crump started saying she was a minor to cover for her inaction. He had also stated, if I am not mistaken, that she didn’t trust the police, and wouldn’t talk to anyone but him and the state and feds, again as a ruse to cover for her inaction. I really believe that was also a built in part of the narrative. There really would not be any reason why anyone who knew they talked with someone just seconds before they were killed to sit back and do nothing and say nothing until someone came and sought you out. The hospital visit only adds more dramatics to the Crumped up story. Hopefully GZ’s legal team has checked with the hospitals for an actual patient admittance for her. Maybe that is why the prosecution is doing everything it can to hide her true identity from the defense. Didn’t judge Nelson tell West that he could ask her her address when he deposes her? Why is the state hiding her real identity?
The “minor child” and “Tracy Martin, ‘DeeDee,’ and others don’t trust the police” were part of the conspiracy, as a basis for Crump: 1) To explain his interceding in the criminal case; 2) to explain and excuse his (criminally) interfering with a lawful criminal investigation; 3) to explain WHY he would not be producing DeeDee to the police, media, the State Attorney, or defense counsel; 4) to explain and excuse Tracy Martin early on refusing to give law enforcement access to Trayvon Martin’s phone; 5) to give him time to fabricate evidence, tamper with witnesses, and feed law enforcement “evidence” as HE determined necessary, or as events dictated; 6) to bring about a desired result (get State Attorney Wolfinger off the case, arrest George Zimmerman, coerce him to plead guilty to a death-related charge; and 7) clear the way for civil suits and massive settlements.
In regards to the recording itself, here is how I think it went down, as I just posted on YouTube:
UPDATE 12/11/12: Today the motions were argued, some related to “the original recording” that Crump made of Witness #8, “DeeDee.” One bit of information that West wanted on the record is to “pin Crump into a corner” on ALL recordings there might be, of his recording “DeeDee,” as Crump revealed in this March 20, 2012 presser.
Also, West wanted on the record exactly how Crump made the recording (even though we can see in THIS video what Crump used, the pictured voice recorder he is waving in front of the cameras and on which he played the audio. Note: that audio is the original recording that MOM West are trying to get. And that recorder is what Crump just handed over to the state).
West established in court today what we knew off-the-record, Crump held his little recorder (see this video) up to the telephone to record DeeDee, who was on the other end of the phone line. Crump either held the recorder up to the earpiece of his cell phone or office phone, or since there were lots of people in the room, it makes sense that Crump would put his cell or desktop phone on speaker mode, so everyone could hear.
The recording should be analyzed with this in mind, that there were many people in Crump’s (?) office and those people were commenting as the recording was taking place. I also suspect that Crump had a prepared list of questions that he went over with DeeDee beforehand, pretended that he was going to “cold call” DeeDee, and that he had a script in front of him during the call, and that others present were shoving questions in front of Crump, for him to make sure he asked.
Tammy… I have to go back to Bernie’s questioning to be sure, but as Mike said, Bernie’s questions were incompetent, ignorant, or he simply wanted to stick his head in the sand (knowing that the case against George Zimmerman was a dud).
Note: this begs the question: is Bernie that stupid or is he part of the conspiracy, Angela Corey-Nifong acting for personal gain, her wanting to assure reelection, for example.
I don’t know anything about Bernie, nor his skills at trial. Regardless, considering his age I have to assume he has been at this for a long enough time to where he has experience in these matters, murder prosecutions. So I don’t cut him any slack on the DeeDee interview. It is not an incompetence issue.
IMO he is simply under marching orders by his boss, Angela Corey-Nifong. She is the one pulling his strings. And since he is a career prosecutor, he must follow orders. (To be sure, over the Trayvon Martin case he is not going to tell the boss “take a hike, I’m not handling that loser case.”)
Bottom line: Bernie’s questions were intentionally sloppy. In fact, I since he was fully aware that he could be called as a witness (all lawyers know that by bar rules one can be disciplined if he or she makes him or herself a witness in a case being litigated).
So how best to assure he won’t be called as a witness, ask sloppy, bonehead questions. Don’t probe too deeply, don’t produce anything of value to where the defense is compelled to take your deposition or be called as a witness at trial.
Hence Bernie not asking questions like:
– Which phone were you using;
– Whose account was the phone service
– Where is that phone;
– Were you texting Trayvon Martin? E-mails?
– What is the name of the carrier;
– Do you ever log online to check the account;
– Do you know Crump;
– When did you first have contact with him;
– Did you discuss your testimony for today;
– Did you discuss taking an oath;
– Did you talk about the cell phone?
– Did you prepare with Crump or anyone for today’s testimony?
– Did you know if the media was going to be present?
– When you first talked to Crump did you know who was present on his end, in the office or room?
– Did you know if he was recording your conversation?
– Do you know Tracy Martin, Sybrina Fulton? From when, how long?
– Did you ever talk with Tracy Martin by phone, when was the first time? What did he say, what did you say?
Like Mike says, these are very basic questions. (I thought of these in two minutes, as long as it took to type them.) Bernie did not ask these questions.
IMO Angela Corey-Nifong is using Bernie as the fall guy, as the stooge, and to put some distance between herself and the case.
And Bernie can’t do squat because by statute he serves at the pleasure of Angela Corey-Nifong. What’s Bernie to do, tell her to bug off and find himself out of a job, right before the holidays.
That’s my take on Bernie. I could be way off base. Maybe he is part of the conspiracy. But like the old saying goes, I don’t think he has a dog in that hunt except to the extent that he must follow orders.
Have to get on my daily road bike ride, no time to check this. Pardon for all errors, poor grammar and misspellings.
Dear IMNM:
Thanks for updating me on the original of “The Scheme Team.” I’ve added an appropriate update in the article.
Regarding Mr. de la Rionda, I suspect the most simple explanation is also the correct explanation. People like Ms. Corey tend to attract and retain like-minded people. Honest prosecutors finding themselves in the employ of an unethical or corrupt boss tend to get out of there as soon as they reasonably can. Just as in the Duke Lacrosse case, I suspect Mr. de la Rionda is a true believer, just like Ms. Corey, and while there can easily be various degrees of manipulation and unethical behavior involved, it is also likely mixed with general incompetence.
Thanks again!
Dear Tammy:
Thanks and good catch! I haven’t pursued that issue because it’s possible she was using a “burner” or pre-paid phone, which would require no contract or identification. However, you’re correct that this could indicate she recently became 18 at the time of her interview. It would be interesting to learn her date of birth.
Thanks again!
Guys, Simple Mobile is a pre-paid cell phone like Cricket or Metro PCS it does not uses calling card. You sign up and pay a month in advance, cell service will continue every month once the bill is paid for the following month. You do have to sign up, and the cell service will be in the name of that person. No calling cards are needed, but you are required to buy the phone. DD phone number was using Simple Mobile, which uses the T-Mobile network for its calls.
I find it astounding that as BDLR made his way to Miami to interview W8 on April 2nd, his department was that very day, April 2nd, subpoenaing W8’s phone records.
According to discovery found here: http://www.talkleft.com/zimm/deedeecell.pdf The State didn’t even subpoena her records until a few hours before they talked with her. At that time, 12:10 pm Simple Mobile emailed SA Mullins and advised the phone number had no first name or last name associated with it!
Sometime after 6:30 pm on April 2nd, W8 tells BDLR Now the phone should be in her name.
I am stunned that BDLR did not have verification of W8’s phone records and what they showed until mere hours before he sat down with her. It is clear to me the State of Florida is not looking for the truth in this case and is in bed with the Civil lawyers to help them sue in the future.
If the phone wasn’t in anyone’s name than Crump can assign anyone the owner!
Yes Michael not Mike, it can be summed up very easily in few words. DeeDee was a manufactured “bombshell” to fit the Crump narrative, manufactured to give cover to the state to arrest GZ. Like all manufactured false stories, we have been watching the entire DeeDee charade implode. Mike M’s article where he takes her BDLR interview step by step was the best interpretation anywhere I’ve found.
Yes Mike M, I do believe that the phone DeeDee had originally was reported to be a pre-paid throw away phone. I believe that that phone can still be analyzed though. If not, both her and Crump’s stories won’t be admissable. They have to at least show some proof that she was in fact on the phone with TM when she said she was. Without that, there is no proof of even an “ear witness.”
I have to laugh at Crump’s choice of tie n the above video. It gives a vision of what he will hopefully look like in a whole suit of those black and white stripes.
minpin that tie shows a really bad taste in clothing.
Michael not Mike- How can you be sure that the device that Crump handed over to the state is in fact the device he recorded the interview on? As far as I’ve read, not Crump nor BDLR have ever named the particular device that Crump waved aroung in his presser, or that which he may or may not have used to record the interview. Crump and BDLR have not been known to be paragons of truthfullness and credibility. BDLR said in todays hearing that the “police told GZ not to get out of his truck” or as Crump would say “he shouldna got otta da cah.” Just replaying the NEN tape will prove that no “police” ever told GZ not to get out of his truck. There were a few other instances today where BDLR repeated absolute lies in the courtroom.
Besides, I thought Crump said a week or so ago on a TV interview with Vinny Politan that he had already turned the device over to the FBI or FDLE. Didn’t the judge today demand that Crump hand the device over to the defense by noon tomorrow?
Mike, I looked again at your write up on the DoubleDeeDee interview. There are inconsistencies and yes the witness tampering or leading is obvious.
The questions I have been asking relate to the strength of the little mic on the ear buds. I remain unconvinced that DoubleDeeDee could have heard anything if she really was on the phone. There is one good reason, and it goes back to the 7-11 video, that Traydemark lifted the mic up to his mouth when saying hello into the mic.
DoubleD’s testimony alleges that she “heard” a lot of background noises, which is virtually impossible. Things like “I hear the grass” are simply not all that feasible when considering the mic being used.
However, going over bits of that BDLR testimony there are inconsistencies all over the place and the most outstanding to me is near the end when she had stated that hung up followed by:
“then I called him… he didn’t answer…”
followed by a question from BDLR that got the following response:
“yeah and I hear a sound like “bump”, you could hear that Trayvon bump, somebody bumped Trayvon, cause I could hear the grass”.
This has to be made up information because it is not logical to state on the one hand that the phone dropped out, she called, he did not answer, then she heard a bump, and she heard the grass.
This little gem should have been enough to discredit this person as any kind of reliable witness for the prosecution. The switch from Trayvon bumped to someone bumped Trayvon is very telling. She did not follow the script at that point and she had to take back what she just said to cover for her error.
Dear Aussie:
Quite so. It will be very interesting indeed to see if the prosecution is stupid enough to put this unfortunate young woman on the stand. If they are true believers–and much they have thus far done suggests just that–their egos will require them to use her, which will–if there is justice in Florida–be a disaster for them.
This case gets curiouser and curiouser.
Mike I found another MAJOR inconsistency regarding who interviewed Witness 8.
I was just reviewing the part of the bond hearing where Gilbreath was on the stand. According to Gilbreath it was Osteen who interviewed Witness 8. This is not consistent to what we have learned since then, because it was BDLR who conducted the interview.
There are quite a number of inconsistencies that are related to the affadavit, but the real bombshell has to be Witness 8.
Who will they actually put on the stand? There are two females who have posed with the name DeeDee. The Persecution claims she is a minor, but she stated that she is over 18 years old.
Then there is her testimony which is all over the place!! Can she really hear a bump? I am convinced that someone told her what she was to say in answer to the questions.
At the bond hearing Gilbreath said that he did not interview Zimmerman but he was ready to swear to certain “facts” allegedly based on Zimmermans interviews with the SPD. BDLR twisted a lot of what Zimmerman had stated in those interviews.
Without a doubt, I see the biggest flaw being the fact that BDLR claims it is not possible for GZ to scream with his mouth covered. This is nonsense and he is nit picking what GZ said… because the person called for help, there was a small silence, then the screams started again…. meaning that during the “silence” TM had his hand over GZ’s mouth, and around this time he spotted the gun holster, which led to the gun being fired.
Somebody is going to be in very deep trouble when this case is finally settled.
George Zimmerman filed a verified complaint. I will explain later the significance of a plaintiff filing a verified complaint. There’s many benefits to doing that.
Disclaimer: I do not know if Florida is the same as here in California, so my comment is based on why we sometimes file verified complaints when in a California state court.
I am typing this on my phone, so later for now.
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