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Protective Order Grand Jury Testimony
Protective Order Grand Jury Testimony
order is in place, the United States of America hereby respectfully moves the Court for the entry
of a protective order governing the production of discovery by the parties in the above-captioned
case. The United States reached out to counsel for the defendant on Monday, November 15, 2021,
for the defendant’s position with respect to the proposed protective order. Counsel for the
defendant was still considering the proposed order as of the time of this filing.
In addition, the United States respectfully moves for entry by this Court of an order
permitting the disclosure of testimony before the grand jury that returned the instant indictment
and related exhibits insofar as such disclosure is necessary for the government to comply with its
discovery obligations. Under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e)(3)(E)(i), “[t]he court may
authorize disclosure—at a time, in a manner, and subject to any other conditions that it directs—
6(e)(3)(F) provides certain requirements for a petition under Rule 6(e)(3)(E)(i), including that the
petition be filed in the district where the grand jury convened and that the court “must afford a
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reasonable opportunity to appear and be heard to: (i) an attorney for the government; (ii) the parties
to the judicial proceeding; and (iii) any other person whom the court may designate.” The
government submits that the requirements of Rule 6(e)(3)(F) are satisfied by submission and
resolution of this motion. The government further submits that such an order is appropriate
because grand jury testimony in this case constitutes material to which the defendant is entitled as
Accordingly, the government respectfully requests an order entering the attached protective
order and authorizing the disclosure of grand jury testimony to the defendant and his counsel. See
Rule 6(e)(3)(E)(i).
Respectfully submitted,
MATTHEW M. GRAVES
United States Attorney
D.C. Bar No. 481052
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To expedite the flow of discovery material between the parties and adequately protect
personal identifying information entitled to be kept confidential, it is, pursuant to the Court’s
1. The United States may disclose the transcripts and related exhibits of witness
testimony presented to the grand jury that returned the indictment in this case. These transcripts
and related exhibits will be designated as sensitive material under the terms specified below.
All Materials
with, any stage of this case (“the Materials”) are subject to this protective order (“Order”) and may
be used by the defendant and defense counsel (defined as counsel of record in this case) solely in
connection with the defense of this case, and for no other purpose, and in connection with no other
3. The defendant and defense counsel shall not disclose the Materials or their contents
directly or indirectly to any person or entity other than persons employed to assist in the defense,
Case 1:21-cr-00670-CJN Document 9-1 Filed 11/17/21 Page 2 of 4
persons who are interviewed as potential witnesses, counsel for potential witnesses, and other
persons to whom the Court may authorize disclosure (collectively, “Authorized Persons”).
Potential witnesses and their counsel may be shown copies of the Materials as necessary to prepare
the defense, but they may not retain copies without prior permission of the Court.
4. The defendant, defense counsel, and Authorized Persons shall not copy or
reproduce the Materials except in order to provide copies of the Materials for use in connection
with this case by defendant, defense counsel, and Authorized Persons. Such copies and
reproductions shall be treated in the same manner as the original. The defendant, defense counsel,
and Authorized Persons shall not disclose any notes or records of any kind that they make in
relation to the contents of the Materials, other than to Authorized Persons, and all such notes or
6. Upon conclusion of all stages of this case, all the Materials and all copies made
thereof shall be destroyed or returned to the United States, unless otherwise ordered by the Court.
7. The restrictions set forth in this Order do not apply to documents that are or become
part of the public court record, including documents that have been received in evidence at other
trials, nor do the restrictions in this Order limit defense counsel in the use of the Materials in
Sensitive Materials
information as identified in Rule 49.1 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (“Sensitive
Case 1:21-cr-00670-CJN Document 9-1 Filed 11/17/21 Page 3 of 4
Materials”) to defense counsel, pursuant to the defendant’s discovery requests. Sensitive Materials
9. Except as provided in this Order, without prior notice to the United States and
authorization from the Court, no Sensitive Materials, or the information contained therein, may be
disclosed to any persons other than the defendant, defense counsel, persons employed to assist the
defense, or the person to whom the sensitive information solely and directly pertains.
10. Sensitive Materials must be maintained in the custody and control of defense
counsel. Defense counsel may show Sensitive Materials to the defendant as necessary to assist in
preparation of the defense, but defense counsel may not provide a copy of Sensitive Materials to
the defendant. Moreover, if defense counsel does show Sensitive Materials to the defendant,
defense counsel may not allow the defendant to write down any personal identifying information
as identified in Rule 49.1 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure that is contained in the
Sensitive Materials. If the defendant takes notes regarding Sensitive Materials, defense counsel
must inspect those notes to ensure that the defendant has not copied down personal identifying
11. The parties may include designated Sensitive Materials in any public filing or use
designated Sensitive Materials during any hearing or the trial of this matter without leave of the
Court if personal identifying information is redacted in accordance with Fed. R. Crim. P. 49.1 and
the local rules. No party shall disclose unredacted designated Sensitive Materials in open court or
public filings without prior consideration by the Court (except if the defendant chooses to include
in a public document Sensitive Materials relating solely and directly to the defendant). If a party
includes unredacted Sensitive Materials in any filing with the Court, they shall be submitted under
seal.
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12. Any filing under seal must be accompanied by a motion for leave to file under seal
13. Modification Permitted. Nothing in this Order shall prevent any party from
seeking modification of this Order or from objecting to discovery that it believes to be otherwise
improper.
14. No Waiver. The failure by the United States to designate any of the Materials as
“Sensitive” upon disclosure shall not constitute a waiver of the United States’ ability to later
ruling on the question of whether any particular material is properly discoverable or admissible
and does not constitute any ruling on any potential objection to the discoverability of any material.
_____________________________________
THE HONORABLE CARL J. NICHOLS
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE