On afternoon of March 23 he walked to a copy machine and saw affidavit for NTO (46 DNA samples) involving an alleged sexual assault.
To bad he didn’t use the word alleged in all those media appearances. He might not be here in this trial today.
Looking at the NTO application/order. Says he’d never asked for any more than for one individual. This was very unusual, he said. His chief asst. David Saachs signed the NTO. Said he asked Saachs about it that afternoon. Saachs said Gottlieb and Himan came to Tracey Kline, another ADA, to get the NTO, but she wasn’t there so he signed it. Never talked to Kline about the document.
Talked to her about the criminal case itself in late March. Again looking at the NTO. Language says DNA evidence “will immediately rule out innocent persons.” “Do you think that language is correct?” He says he would not have included it in the NTO if he’d prepared it.
Mid-morning March 27 he was briefed on facts of the case by Mark Gottlieb and Ben Himan. Had called DPD and said he wanted to be kept abreast of this case. Had he done that on any other cased? “No, sir.”
Why in this case? Says the NTO was a public record, media would see it and they would realize this was unusual and an assault took place at the recorded address. “I knew that was something that would garner significant media attention.” Allegations “sordid.”
What did he think on that first morning. “I did see a statement from a Mr. Jason Bissey” and from Zash, Evans and Flannery. Was also shown copies of part of the sexual assault nurse examiner’s report. Not sure he saw statements from the victim or the other dance. (Still calling her a victim!) Doesn’t recall seeing officers incident reports then.
