Latest / The Vault: The Epstein Files / Tyler Robinson Preliminary Hearing Transcripts (Day 3 Part 1) (10/6/26)
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: What's up everyone and welcome back to the program. In
- 0:03Speaker 1: this episode, we're going to dive right back in to
- 0:05Speaker 1: the transcripts from Tyler Robinson's preliminary hearing. And this time,
- 0:10Speaker 1: we're going to start taking a look at day number three.
- 0:14Speaker 1: So what we're going to do is skip all of
- 0:16Speaker 1: the swearing in and all of the nonsense and get
- 0:19Speaker 1: right to the testimony. And first up is the state.
- 0:23Speaker 1: Thank you, Your Honor. We anticipate presenting evidence through Agent
- 0:26Speaker 1: Brian Davis this afternoon. Sergeant Jennifer Falmina is also present
- 0:31Speaker 1: in the courthouse and prepared to testify if we get
- 0:34Speaker 1: to her today as well. Following her testimony, which we
- 0:37Speaker 1: believe we'll carry into tomorrow, if we do get to
- 0:40Speaker 1: her today, that will close the presentation of the evidence
- 0:43Speaker 1: on the part of the state. Judge Graff, thank you. Defense?
- 0:48Speaker 1: Good afternoon, Your Honor. Good afternoon. Judge, we have two
- 0:52Speaker 1: remaining witnesses, Ms. Oliver from the ATF and Ms. Karner,
- 0:56Speaker 1: also from the ATF. Judge Graff, all right, and do
- 0:59Speaker 1: both parties, thank you, I appreciate that, do both parties
- 1:02Speaker 1: anticipate any issues concluding their case? Obviously, there's variables, cross-examination,
- 1:07Speaker 1: and kind of the fog of war that happens in
- 1:10Speaker 1: court proceedings. But any party anticipate issues concluding at or
- 1:14Speaker 1: before Friday at 5 p.m.? Prosecution, not from the state judge. Defense,
- 1:21Speaker 1: I just want to highlight one issue for the court
- 1:23Speaker 1: because it may be the court wants to do some
- 1:25Speaker 1: time management. The state is going to proffer a video 1102,
- 1:29Speaker 1: a video recorded 1102. We've provided to the state, I
- 1:33Speaker 1: want to say about a day and a half ago,
- 1:35Speaker 1: with proposed redactions because we believe that portions of it
- 1:39Speaker 1: are not admissible, even in a preliminary hearing. And the
- 1:42Speaker 1: way we did this is we provided a transcript and
- 1:45Speaker 1: then redacted version of the transcript of the entire video
- 1:49Speaker 1: recorded interview. It may be that the court wants to
- 1:51Speaker 1: look at the proposed redactions, not while court is in session,
- 1:55Speaker 1: but during some other time period, because the transcript of
- 1:58Speaker 1: the video which we prepared and we provided to the
- 2:00Speaker 1: state so the state could raise any concerns about the
- 2:03Speaker 1: accuracy of the transcript, that's not an issue. The admissibility
- 2:07Speaker 1: of portions of the video or the issue is about
- 2:09Speaker 1: 20 pages, maybe 22 pages, so to use court time
- 2:13Speaker 1: for the court to look at the proposed redactions may
- 2:16Speaker 1: be an inefficient use of time. I'm not saying when
- 2:19Speaker 1: the court should do it. I'm saying that we may
- 2:22Speaker 1: not want to do it between 9 and noon, and
- 2:24Speaker 1: one in five tomorrow or Friday, but it's going to
- 2:27Speaker 1: come up today. And so the question will be, when
- 2:30Speaker 1: does the court want to engage in the process of
- 2:32Speaker 1: reviewing the 22-page transcript that has proposed redactions? That's all.
- 2:38Speaker 1: Judge Graff, I appreciate the heads up. Prosecution, do you
- 2:41Speaker 1: wish to be heard? Yes, Judge. Your Honor, the state
- 2:45Speaker 1: has received the proposed redactions and we're prepared to address
- 2:48Speaker 1: them when that time comes. However... We do intend on
- 2:52Speaker 1: presenting testimony through Mr. Davis, through Agent Davis. And when
- 2:56Speaker 1: we get to that point, when it's ripe for discussion,
- 2:59Speaker 1: we can address the matter with the court. That would
- 3:01Speaker 1: be our preference. Judge Graff. All right, well, I'll address
- 3:04Speaker 1: it as it comes. And to the defense, with the
- 3:07Speaker 1: remaining time, do you feel confident that it is sufficient
- 3:10Speaker 1: to accomplish your duty? Answer by the defense. We do,
- 3:15Speaker 1: Your Honor. Judge Graff. Thank you. All right. Does either
- 3:18Speaker 1: party require benefit of the record? before we begin to
- 3:21Speaker 1: the state? The state? Ryan McBride for the state, Your Honor.
- 3:25Speaker 1: Just to address an issue that's come up, and we
- 3:27Speaker 1: expect to come up as we enter the second half
- 3:29Speaker 1: of this prelim hearing regarding the admission of exhibits. Under
- 3:33Speaker 1: Rule 104a, the court must decide preliminary questions about whether
- 3:38Speaker 1: the witness is qualified, or privilege exists, or evidence is admissible.
- 3:43Speaker 1: In so deciding, the court is not bound by the
- 3:45Speaker 1: rules of evidence except those in privilege. And I'm bringing
- 3:49Speaker 1: this up because it's likely to come up and it's
- 3:51Speaker 1: going to affect the procedure we use as we go forward.
- 3:55Speaker 1: The court holds two roles really at this stage. One
- 3:58Speaker 1: is a gatekeeper role on admissibility and the second is
- 4:01Speaker 1: the fact finder role as a magistrate. And I know
- 4:05Speaker 1: you've referenced to those two roles earlier in this proceeding.
- 4:08Speaker 1: And rule 104 means the court can consider evidence even
- 4:12Speaker 1: though its admissibility has not yet been determined in its
- 4:15Speaker 1: gatekeeper role. And then after it's been admitted, it can
- 4:19Speaker 1: determine the admissible qualities of that evidence or that exhibit.
- 4:23Speaker 1: And that is especially relevant at a prelim hearing where
- 4:26Speaker 1: foundational evidence is reliable hearsay under 1102. Even at trial
- 4:31Speaker 1: State v. Griffin, which is a 2016 Utah Supreme Court case,
- 4:36Speaker 1: the court has held the rules of evidence do not
- 4:38Speaker 1: apply to evidence used to establish foundation for admission of
- 4:42Speaker 1: other evidence. It's a quote from paragraph 33. So the
- 4:46Speaker 1: point is foundational rulings On admissibility, can consider evidence that
- 4:50Speaker 1: is not in and of itself admissible. That's proper. The
- 4:55Speaker 1: second point is the court of appeals recognizes a presumption
- 4:58Speaker 1: that the court considers when acting in its fact-finding role
- 5:02Speaker 1: only the admissible evidence and disregards any admissible evidence. Most commonly,
- 5:07Speaker 1: that comes up in the bench trial type of case
- 5:10Speaker 1: where prior bad acts evidence is admitted and can have
- 5:13Speaker 1: a dual inference. State v. Adams was one of those cases.
- 5:17Speaker 1: That's 2011 Utah APP 163. And what it means is
- 5:22Speaker 1: we know that a fact finder is not tainted by
- 5:24Speaker 1: the judge's role as a gatekeeper, even though the judge
- 5:27Speaker 1: is a gatekeeper considers potentially inadmissible evidence. It also means
- 5:32Speaker 1: that the court doesn't have to distinguish which hat it's
- 5:35Speaker 1: wearing as we go through the proceeding. In this circumstance,
- 5:39Speaker 1: this hearing is taking place outside the presence of a jury.
- 5:42Speaker 1: The state is laid and intends to lay and continue
- 5:45Speaker 1: to lay foundation in open court. Such foundation sometimes will
- 5:49Speaker 1: include discussion of the actual exhibits rather than just proffers,
- 5:53Speaker 1: as well as foundation for the exhibits. Now, I don't
- 5:56Speaker 1: think that there's any real issue between us and the
- 5:59Speaker 1: defense in understanding that kind of statement of law. I
- 6:02Speaker 1: think the issue that has come up under Rule 104b,
- 6:06Speaker 1: determinations of admissibility, take place outside the presence of the jury.
- 6:11Speaker 1: The defense appears to be assuming the jury to be
- 6:13Speaker 1: basically the potential jury pool for and trying to avoid
- 6:16Speaker 1: the potential taint to a jury pool that discussion of evidence,
- 6:20Speaker 1: which may or may not be admissible, may cause. I
- 6:23Speaker 1: think that's a fair point. I just want to put
- 6:25Speaker 1: the court on notice of our view and how we
- 6:28Speaker 1: have and intend to proceed as we move forward. Under 104B,
- 6:32Speaker 1: the determination takes place outside the presence of the jury.
- 6:35Speaker 1: Under the rules, there is a presumption that these hearings
- 6:38Speaker 1: and the hearing is open to the public, including admissibility hearings.
- 6:42Speaker 1: Because of that, we intend to move forward and move
- 6:44Speaker 1: the admission of evidence and argue the admission of evidence
- 6:48Speaker 1: as in open court. Should the court close the hearing,
- 6:51Speaker 1: of course that would change. But that's because there's a
- 6:54Speaker 1: presumption in the law and it conforms with 104B. And
- 6:58Speaker 1: that's our intention unless the court or counsel moves to
- 7:01Speaker 1: close the hearing. So in summary, the court can and
- 7:04Speaker 1: often should consider evidence and review the exhibits before admission. Two,
- 7:08Speaker 1: the court is not tainted by doing so and can
- 7:10Speaker 1: distinguish between admissible evidence and improper evidence. and there's no
- 7:15Speaker 1: need for the court to identify which hat it's wearing,
- 7:17Speaker 1: and three, absent closure, we'll move forward with our evidence
- 7:21Speaker 1: in open court. All right, we'll hear from the defense,
- 7:24Speaker 1: Judge Graff says. If you want to be heard on
- 7:26Speaker 1: that issue, I see you, okay? Defense, briefly, Your Honor,
- 7:30Speaker 1: I'm sorry, I have two microphones. I'm just trying to
- 7:33Speaker 1: be technologically savvy. I think the 104 issue, I agree
- 7:36Speaker 1: completely with Mr. McBride on what he's saying. Because of
- 7:40Speaker 1: the Supreme Court's ruling in Archuleta, concerning the availability to
- 7:44Speaker 1: the public of exhibits from a prelim hearing, which of
- 7:47Speaker 1: course is a fact-specific inquiry by the court. We will
- 7:50Speaker 1: continue to raise concerns about our client's right to a
- 7:53Speaker 1: fair trial when we think it's appropriate and the court
- 7:56Speaker 1: will make the rulings it makes. That's all I want
- 7:58Speaker 1: to say. Judge Graff, alright, alright. To both parties, the
- 8:03Speaker 1: standing request remains when you're moving a piece of evidence
- 8:06Speaker 1: into the record, I ask three steps to admit it
- 8:08Speaker 1: to be published in the courtroom immediately. and then it
- 8:11Speaker 1: to be published on that screen. And I'm going to
- 8:13Speaker 1: have the screen adjusted slightly because if it's published, I
- 8:17Speaker 1: want it to be meaningful and able to be viewed.
- 8:20Speaker 1: And I noticed somebody sent me a screenshot that the
- 8:22Speaker 1: angle creates an interesting angle that kind of distorts it.
- 8:25Speaker 1: So in the interest of, we're going to be transparent,
- 8:28Speaker 1: it should be viewable transparent. So we'll just adjust the
- 8:31Speaker 1: screen briefly, but please address those three issues. And I
- 8:35Speaker 1: understand that one side or the other side might say, well,
- 8:38Speaker 1: we agree or we don't agree, period. But please, I'm
- 8:42Speaker 1: just trying to make sure that the record before us
- 8:44Speaker 1: is as clean and it's a clear record. So it
- 8:47Speaker 1: would do that. The court would appreciate it. All right.
- 8:50Speaker 1: Anything further? No, Your Honor. Judge Graff. All right. The
- 8:54Speaker 1: court acknowledges that the exclusionary rule is in effect at
- 8:57Speaker 1: this time. Any witness who is subject to the exclusion
- 9:02Speaker 1: should be excused from the courtroom. I will leave it
- 9:04Speaker 1: to the parties to monitor the courtroom to ensure that
- 9:07Speaker 1: compliance is adhered to. With that turning to the state,
- 9:10Speaker 1: you may call your next witness. The state calls Agent
- 9:14Speaker 1: Brian Davis. Judge Graff, Agent Davis, if you'd like to
- 9:17Speaker 1: come forward and be sworn in. You do so solemnly
- 9:21Speaker 1: swear that the testimony you shall give in the case,
- 9:23Speaker 1: now pending before the court, will be the truth, the
- 9:26Speaker 1: whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God? Davis, yes.
- 9:31Speaker 1: Judge Graff, all right, agent, if you wouldn't mind having
- 9:34Speaker 1: a seat to your left is a water bottle. And
- 9:36Speaker 1: if you're seated, you'll have to adjust the microphone, pull
- 9:38Speaker 1: it down, and then pull it towards you to ensure
- 9:40Speaker 1: that it's picking up your voice and we'll have a
- 9:43Speaker 1: good record. All right, your witness. Prosecution, if you could
- 9:47Speaker 1: please state your name and spell your last name for
- 9:50Speaker 1: the record. Brian Davis, D-A-V-I-S. Question, what's your occupation? Answer,
- 9:58Speaker 1: I'm an agent with the Utah State Bureau. of Investigation. Question,
- 10:02Speaker 1: how long have you been with, is it fair to
- 10:04Speaker 1: call it the SBI? Answer, correct, yes. Question, how long
- 10:08Speaker 1: have you been with the SBI? Answer, a total of
- 10:10Speaker 1: 18 years. Question, I want to briefly go over your
- 10:13Speaker 1: experience as a law enforcement officer generally. Actually, are you
- 10:17Speaker 1: a law enforcement officer in that capacity? Answer, yes, correct. Question,
- 10:22Speaker 1: how long have you been a law enforcement officer? Answer,
- 10:25Speaker 1: a total of 27 years. Question, you mentioned that you
- 10:29Speaker 1: were with SBI for 18, is that right? Answer, correct, yes. Question,
- 10:34Speaker 1: what other agencies were you with prior to SBI? Answer,
- 10:37Speaker 1: so the Department of Public Safety, I've been a state
- 10:39Speaker 1: trooper for eight years. 18 years with SBI and one
- 10:43Speaker 1: year with Utah Transit Authority Police. Question, we've heard talk
- 10:49Speaker 1: from other officers about POST. What is POST? Answer, it's
- 10:53Speaker 1: Peace Officer Standards Training. Question, and did you complete that? Answer,
- 10:59Speaker 1: I did. Question, what year did you complete that? Answer, 1999. Question,
- 11:04Speaker 1: is that a type of certification that you hold? Answer, yeah.
- 11:07Speaker 1: It's a statewide certification that any peace officer in the
- 11:10Speaker 1: city of Utah, local, state, county, all go through to
- 11:14Speaker 1: become a certified peace police officer. Question, has the certification
- 11:18Speaker 1: lapsed or been any gaps in that time since you
- 11:21Speaker 1: received it in 99? Answer, nope. It's been constant since then.
- 11:25Speaker 1: All right, folks, we're going to wrap up episode one
- 11:27Speaker 1: right here. And in the next episode, we're going to
- 11:29Speaker 1: pick up with Agent Davis answering some questions from the prosecution.
- 11:35Speaker 1: All the information that goes with this episode can be
- 11:37Speaker 1: found in the description box.