The second day of the Kleiman v Wright civil trial, wherein up to half of 1.1 million BTC valued at $70 billion is at stake, has ended with the defense punching large holes into the plaintiff’s arguments.
Brief Background
Ira Kleiman, who is representing the David Kleiman estate and for all intents and purposes is acting as the plaintiff, is claiming that his deceased brother David Kleiman is Craig Wright’s partner in creating Bitcoin. The plaintiff’s main argument is that David Kleiman was Wright’s business partner in W&K Info Defense Research, LLC, a firm used to mine the 1.1 million coins; and thus, the former is entitled to up to 50% of that.
The defense, on the other hand, is saying that there is no operating agreement or legal document that David Kleiman is Wright’s partner in W&K. The “W” in W&K actually pertains to Lynn Wright, who is Craig Wright’s ex-wife. Moreover, W&K is a post-Bitcoin company that was incorporated only in 2011, three years after the Bitcoin white paper was first published and two years after Bitcoin was released into the market.
Now, here are what stood out the most during Day 2 of the historic Bitcoin trial.
Plaintiff’s Legal Counsel Devin Freedman
While Kyle Roche gave the opening statements on the first day of the trial, Freedman took over for Day 2. What is striking about Freedman is his way of questioning that has even somewhat agitated Judge Beth Bloom.
Freedman has been objected to about 30 times during the hour-long testimony of second witness Patrick Paige, David Kleiman’s best friend and actual business partner, as he continuously made leading statements.
“The judge got to the point where she even was like, ‘Counselor Freedman, ask the question.’ But every time, it was sort of a ‘whoops, chuckle.’ And he would, he would just sort of chuckle about it. So, he was clearly trying to bend the rules and do his lawyer thing… He did not come across as somebody who was talking about the case in a way that mattered to him, which I think matters to a jury,” Kurt Wuckert Jr., who is one of only four journalists allowed in the courtroom, recounted in his special report.
In general, Freedman comes off as somewhat “deceptive” and maybe even annoying—something that may have scored him minus points with the jury. In contrast, defense counsel Andres Rivero, who takes over Amanda McGovern from Day 1, asks straightforward questions that provide the jury with reasonable doubts as to the plaintiff’s arguments.
Ira Kleiman’s Absence
Kleiman is noticeably absent in court; and the defense has not failed to point out this fact to the jury repeatedly. After waiting years to file a lawsuit against the person who supposedly cheated his brother out of billions worth of digital money, which led him to die in poverty, Kleiman chose not to appear in court at only the second day of the trial. What does this say?
“I think Ira probably lost some social points with the jury in much the same way that his attorneys did. They come across as sort of, you know, maybe shifty side of the case. And Craig’s people are again, standing up tall, ‘We’re here to work. We’re here to tell the truth, and the truth is aggressive, the truth is maybe inconvenient, but it is the truth,’” Wuckert said.
Andreas Antonopoulos’ Cross-Examination as a Bitcoin Expert
The testimony of the first witness, Antonopoulos continued on Day 2 of the trial. While the plaintiff has gone into too much detail about Antonopoulos’ credentials as a Bitcoin expert who can establish the price of BTC as it pertains to potential settlement—even going as far as to state his hourly consultation fee of $750—the defense easily shot down his qualifications.
Rivero capitalized on it being the first time that Antonopoulos is testifying at a federal court as an expert witness, asking: “Are you even in the top 1,000 experts here, or are you just a well-paid public speaker?”
At many points during this testimony, Wright could be seen whispering to his attorney and an objection would be raised, which illustrates Antonopoulos’ limited—as compared to Wright, the Bitcoin creator himself and the real expert—knowledge about Bitcoin. By the end of it, there is a huge doubt about whether Antonopoulos is a true Bitcoin expert who is qualified to take the stand and determine the price of BTC.
Rivero has also revealed a hidden card up his sleeve, a written document proving that Roche and Antonopoulos have a relationship prior to this trial. With the document present and being under oath, Antonopoulos admitted to this relationship with Roche.
“There was an implication that there was perhaps some corruption with the firm in that Antonopoulos uses his perhaps unearned reputation to write a letter of recommendation about Kyle Roche, which then got Kyle Roche a new big client. And then, Antonopoulos would participate in that new big client stuff,” Wuckert revealed.
Patrick Paige’s Testimony as David Kleiman’s Best Friend, Business Partner
While Antonopoulos has been called in as an expert witness, Paige’s testimony is all about his very close friendship with Kleiman—both at a professional and personal level—an effort to let the jury know what kind of person the deceased truly was.
And it can be said that while the plaintiff has been able to illustrate through Paige’s testimony and email records that Wright might not have been alone in creating Bitcoin, the defense has been able to neutralize this by showing jurors undeniable logic that would make them suspect Kleiman’s alleged identity as a co-inventor of Bitcoin.
Q: You were friends for 20 years [with Dave]?
A: Yes, we were.
Q: Did you talk about everything?
A: Yes.
Q: Did you talk about personal things?
A: Yes.
Q: Did he tell you about Bitcoin?
A: No.
…
Q: So, Dave was your partner in this computer forensics business?
A: Yes, he was.
Q: But he made you sign an operating agreement?
A: Yes, he did.
Q: Did this include a percentage of ownership, profit, intellectual property, et cetera?
A: Yes.
Q: So, your best friend made you sign an operating agreement?
A: Yes.
Q: And he never mentioned Bitcoin to you at all?
A: No, he didn’t.
Q: But Dave told you about his white paper about the hard drives and security with Craig Wright?
A: Yes, he did.
The defense counsel ends by asking if Paige thinks that Kleiman was an “operating agreement kind of guy” or a “handshake kind of guy.” To which Paige replies, “With me, he was an operating agreement guy.” This line of questioning makes it apparent that it is not in Kleiman’s nature to enter into a partnership without a signed operating agreement.
What is more glaring is that with the way their relationship has been established as being like that of brothers who talk about everything with each other, Kleiman has never, not once, spoken about Bitcoin to Paige. If Kleiman truly is the co-author of the Bitcoin white paper, why would he not tell his best friend Paige, when they previously talked about the other white paper Kleiman co-wrote with Wright?
Gavin Andresen’s Deposition
A recorded video of Andresen’s testimony as he is questioned by Freedman is then shown. While the former lead software developer at BTC has testified that Wright has signed messages on the Bitcoin blockchain that only Satoshi could sign, and that it is very likely that Wright has Satoshi’s keys, Andresen has also stated that there is a possibility that the proof Wright previously showed him as being Satoshi could be fake.
“But Gavin said point-blank, ‘I never met Dave Kleiman. I don’t really know anything about Dave Kleiman. The only time I ever heard about Dave Kleiman, Dave was mentioned by Craig.’ And then, Gavin recounted specifically, like ‘I have not often seen a grown man become emotional or appear to be on the brink of tears,’ or something to that effect. ‘But when Craig talked about Dave, he was on the verge of losing it,’” Wuckert said.
Although the second day of Kleiman v Wright has ended with a deposition and no way for the defense to cross-examine the witness and it is still too early to tell which side the jury may be leaning towards, the defense’s stance remains solid and unchanging. There is no evidence that clearly states that David Kleiman is the co-author of the Bitcoin white paper nor is there an operating agreement that exists to show that David Kleiman was a partner in W&K with rights to the 1.1 million BTC that the firm mined.
Watch the Day 3 reports below.
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