NXIVM trial date set
Raniere sees child porn charges dropped, at least temporarily
Judge says jury will be ‘semi-sequestered’ for duration.
As the trial of NXIVM’S leadership heads toward a lateapril start, a federal judge in Brooklyn dismissed four child pornography charges against the organization’s co-founder Keith Raniere.
The dismissal was due to the alleged activity having taken place not in the Eastern District, which includes Brooklyn, but in the Capital Region — part of the realm of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District. Federal prosecutors upstate will have the option of bringing the charges against Raniere.
Thursday’s hearing in U.S. District Court for the four remaining defendants in the NXIVM racketeering case also determined that the case is slated to begin before Senior Judge Nicholas Garaufis on Monday, April 29.
In a related matter, Eastern District prosecutors needed to recall files they provided to Raniere’s defense team because the material contained alleged child pornography.
The prosecutors provided hard drives to the defense team for Raniere, known within NXIVM as “Vanguard,” to review as part of their disclosure of evidence. But at some point after handing over the materials, prosecutors and the defense realized that alleged child pornography was on the drive, the lawyers said.
It is illegal for anyone to possess or distribute child pornography. Prosecutors typically allow defense attorneys for child pornography defendants to review evidence of such illegal images at a government location, according to people familiar with the practice.
Marc Agnifilo, a lawyer for Raniere, referred to the error, which apparently happened twice, as a “wrinkle” in his review of the discovery.
The judge also asked prosecutors and defense attorneys if they will be ready for trial by April 29. Agnifilo and Mark Geragos, the attorney for Seagrams’ heiress and NXIVM co-defendant Clare Bronfman, said yes.
“I’m going to make it work,” Agnifilo said.
Raniere sat nearby, wearing a beige jail jumpsuit and with his hair gathered in a bun.
Sean Buckley, the lawyer for actress Allison Mack, and Justine Harris, the lawyer for longtime NXIVM bookkeeper Kathy Russell, also indicated their clients would be ready — while acknowledging they are in plea negotiations with the government.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Moira Penza was skeptical that Raniere’s lawyers would be able to be ready for trial given the need for them to review voluminous material handed over by prosecutors.
She also noted that prosecutors have yet to see 27,000 documents related to Raniere and another 2,000 related to Bronfman that a lawyer for NXIVM has argued are privileged.
“We’re at trial in less than a month, and we haven’t seen these documents,” Penza said of the privilege claim, calling it a “real problem.”
“I would ask everyone to redouble their efforts to be ready,” the judge said.
The process of screening jurors is to begin in the next two weeks. Penza suggested it would be no risk to the case if it was adjourned for an additional two to three weeks.
The judge said he would look at the timetable on a week-toweek basis, but made it clear he did not want to delay more than a week to 10 days at the longest.
“A month is a different story,” the judge said.
The defendants face racketeering charges that include allegations they led a secret sorority within NXIVM in which women were branded with a symbol that included the initials of Raniere and Mack.
Catherine Oxenberg, the “Dynasty” star whose daughter was drawn into NXIVM and its secret sorority, attended Thursday’s hearing. Her book “Captive: A Mother’s Crusade to Save Her Daughter from a Terrifying Cult” was published last summer.
Prosecutors have already secured guilty pleas from NXIVM president Nancy Salzman and her daughter, Lauren Salzman.
Harris, the lawyer for Russell, told the judge, “I think substantial progress has been made.”
The judge ordered an anonymous and “semi-sequestered” jury, which means the panel will be brought into and out of court as a group and not arrive individually.
“It would appear there’s no actual danger to jurors,” Garaufis said, who noted that the jury would be anonymous to keep jurors from being bothered by reporters or “interested persons.”
Defense attorneys supported the partial sequestration. When Penza began to offer her thoughts on the issue the judge cut her off, noting that in basically every other case the prosecution asks for a semisequestered jury.
“I don’t care what you think,” the judge told Penza. “Don’t bother bringing it up with anybody unless you plan to go to the Second Circuit” — a reference to the regional home of the U.S. Court of Appeals.