The defense addressed this in its reply. "Yet, as it turns out -- and which AUSA Turner knew all along -- there were indeed two 'little elves' -- law-enforcement agents investigating the Silk Road website -- operating secretly, illegally, corruptly, and brazenly even inside the Silk Road website itself."
Regardless, the extent and nature of the agents' misconduct was hidden by the government from the defense until well after the conclusion of trial. The defense, in a post-trial filing, quite succinctly stated that "(the) government's true objectives in precluding the information and evidence regarding former SA's Force and Bridges was simply to deprive Mr. Ulbricht of a defense at trial."
The defense raises a strong point. It seems intuitive that jurors learning of serious crimes committed by federal agents during the course of the investigation just might question evidence gathered by these same agents.
The government's reliance on complex machinations reveals a singular goal of convicting Ulbricht at any cost. Exculpatory evidence was simply deleted, or prevented from being introduced, with the judge operating more as an adjunct of the prosecution than an impartial arbiter.
These tactics are well known to those familiar with what passes for justice on the federal level in the US. The methods employed in Ulbricht's trial may be outrageous, but are hardly surprising. The current 99.5% rate of conviction in US federal courts could not be achieved without judges working, at least to some degree, in tandem with prosecutors. Ulbricht was too high profile a defendant for anything to be left to chance. A few key rulings from Judge Forrest assured that dirty agents engaged in an orgy of theft and deception would have no impact on the largely preordained result.
Ulbricht's conviction and life sentence are currently being appealed.
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