Judge Garaufis – Rashid Umar Abbasi
Brooklyn, NY – April 29, 2024 – United States District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York has denied Keith Raniere’s motion for a new trial under Rule 33.
The defense discovered, and the government conceded, that the FBI had conducted an undisclosed operation, using an unidentified FBI “photo technician,” who permanently altered an unpreserved key device, violated FBI protocols, was kept out of the chain of custody, and revealed only 4 years after the trial, on July 21, 2023, in a footnote in the government’s motion opposing a new trial.
This evidence alteration occurred in FBI custody, six months after Raniere’s arrest, a point emphasized by the defense as critical to the integrity of the evidence used in the 2019 trial. Seven independent forensic experts, including four former FBI analysts, have determined significant evidence tampering, involving hundreds of files manipulated by government personnel. This misconduct, noted as unprecedented in their combined 150+ years of forensic experience, underscores the severity and uniqueness of the case.
According to Raniere’s defense, these manipulations, along with undisclosed issues regarding the chain of custody of the evidence and assertions by former forensic experts and FBI agents, severely compromised the reliability of the evidence. They claimed that these discrepancies, including violations of the chain of custody protocols, merited not only a new trial but also a thorough evidentiary hearing to reassess the prosecution’s evidence.
However, the judge denied the motion for a new trial and a request for an evidentiary hearing, ruling that the allegations of FBI tampering were not newly discovered and that he favored the government expert’s opinion. The judge did not address the finding about the evidence alteration by the newly revealed FBI “photo technician.”
Attorney for Raniere, Joseph M. Tully, stated, “Setting aside the substantial proof of government tampering, certified by seven experts, the Court’s decision sets a dangerous precedent that makes it acceptable practice for the FBI to conduct secret evidence alteration outside the chain of custody. As long as it is covered up well enough and only discovered after trial, there are no consequences. This ruling destroys fundamental evidentiary safeguards against government cheating.”
The judge’s decision ends Raniere’s bid for a new trial based on claims of government tampering. As this legal chapter concludes, Raniere’s defense team’s focus shifts to appealing this decision in the Second Circuit, likely arguing the broader implications of this decision for procedural integrity and evidentiary standards needed to uphold the principles of justice and fairness.
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