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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

DISTRICT OF OREGON 

THE HON. MICHAEL J. McSHANE, JUDGE PRESIDING 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) 

 ) 

 Government, ) 

 ) 

 vs. ) No. 6:14-cv-00482-MC-1 

 ) 

DANIEL STEPHEN JOHNSON, ) 

 ) 

 Defendant. ) 

________________________________) 

REPORTER'S TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS 

EUGENE, OREGON 

WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 2018 

PAGES 892 - 982 

 Jill L. Jessup, CSR, RMR, RDR, CRR, CRC 

 Official Federal Reporter 

 United States Courthouse 

 1000 SW 3rd Avenue, Room 301 

 Portland, Oregon 97204 

 (503) 326-8191 

 jill_jessup@ord.uscourts.gov 

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APPEARANCES OF COUNSEL: 

FOR THE GOVERNMENT: 

Jeffrey S. Sweet 

United States Attorney's Office 

405 E. Eighth Avenue, Suite 2400 

Eugene, OR 97401 

541-465-6771 

Fax: 541-465-6917 

Email: jeff.sweet@usdoj.gov 

Lauren E. Britsch 

U.S. Department of Justice 

Criminal Division 

1400 New York Ave NW, 6th Floor 

Washington, DC 20530 

202-514-2220 

Fax: 202-514-1793 

Email: lauren.britsch@usdoj.gov 

Ravi Sinha 

United States Attorney's Office 

1000 SW Third Ave, Suite 600 

Portland, OR 97204 

503-727-1014 

Fax: 503-727-1117 

Email: ravi.sinha@usdoj.gov 

FOR THE DEFENDANT: 

Craig E. Weinerman 

Office of the Federal Public Defender 

859 Willamette Street, Suite 200 

Eugene, OR 97401 

541-465-6937 

Fax: 541-465-6975 

Email: craig_weinerman@fd.org 

Lisa A. Maxfield 

Pacific Northwest Law LLP 

1255 NW Ninth Avenue, No. 11 

Portland, OR 97209 

(503) 222-2661 

Fax: (503) 222-2864 

Email: lamaxfield@pacificnwlaw.com 

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GENERAL INDEX 

CHHOEURN SOPHEAK 

 (Through an interpreter) 

Cross-Examination by Ms. Maxfield 912

Redirect Examination by Mr. Sweet 933

FORREST SCHOENING 

Direct Examination by Mr. Sweet 941

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TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS 

(May 9, 2018) 

(In open court; outside the presence of the jury:) 

THE COURT: All right. Let's go on the record. We

have some preliminary evidentiary matters to discuss. I have

reviewed the government's motion to admit statements of

Gary Johnson pursuant to FRE 801(d)(2)(e).

Does The defense wish to be heard?

MR. WEINERMAN: Yes, Judge. We apologize for not

submitting something in writing, but it was a late filing.

So, Judge, our understanding -- and I just shared with

Counsel a case which maybe the Court should be familiar with.

Some of my arguments would be based on this case of United

States v. Ermoian, E-r-m-o-i-a-n, 752 F.3d at -- well, at 1165.

It's a case -- let me back up.

Our -- our belief is that for this -- for a chat or an

email between GaryDonna and somebody else, in which Mr. Johnson

is not a party to, is only admissible if the government can

show by preponderance of the evidence that there was -- that

the elements of the underlying offense, which seems to be

witness tampering, 18 U.S.C. 512, had been established. 

So the first issue is is this an official proceeding? And

when GaryDonna is having these chats with various people, other

than Daniel Johnson, they occurred at various times. And I

think you have to look at what they were talking about and

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when. There were three proceedings going on. There was a

Cambodian prosecution that was going on from on or about

January 2014. The Court knows the result of that. That was --

the trial verdict was entered in June of 2014 and then there

was an appeal, so there was still litigation going on and

attempts to deal with that. We feel that a Cambodian

prosecution is not an official proceeding under United States

law. The definition of "official proceeding" is set out in the

statute. It's cited in the case cite I just mention to the

Court. The Ermoian case. I believe it's at

18 U.S.C. 1515(a)(1). It lists a number of different

activities that constitute official proceedings. And all of

them are proceedings before a tribunal, a court, an agency. It

does not include investigations.

So I think the first thing the Court has to do is

separate. Cambodian prosecution was not an official proceeding

under federal law. Second, there's talk about what was going

on in Lincoln County. The case that was pending there and

attempts to deal with that case is also not an official

proceeding under federal law. It has to be -- there has to be

a nexus to a federal proceeding, not a state proceeding, not a

foreign proceeding. So it is our belief that any chats that

dealt with attempts to deal with the Lincoln County case are

not admissible as well. It has to be an official proceeding.

As the Court knows, the Lincoln County proceedings started

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in August of 2013 and continue to this day.

The only proceeding that the Court, in our view, can allow

this co-conspirator chatting to come in is attempts to tamper,

influence, what have you, a federal proceeding, which this case

obviously is. We have to concede that. That did not start

until the indictment was returned in late August of 2014. 

So I think the Court has to separate the three

proceedings, and the only chats that can conceivably come in

are ones that the government can establish by a preponderance

of the evidence all the elements of the offense by a

preponderance. And that would only be as to the federal

proceeding, not to the Lincoln County proceeding or the

Cambodian proceeding.

And then the second point we would like to make is, as the

Court probably knows, the GaryDonna Facebook account covers

both Gary Johnson and Donna Johnson, neither of whom are going

to testify. So it seems, to me, the government has -- the

government seems to be contending that there was a conspiracy

involving Gary Johnson and Daniel Johnson.

The government, in our view, would have to show that the

email originated from Gary Johnson, and we would acknowledge

that if it's clear that Gary Johnson is just forwarding Daniel

Johnson chatter information, that's one thing; but when that is

not the case, the government would have to make some showing,

we would contend, by a preponderance of the evidence, that it

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was Gary Johnson involved in the chat and not Donna Johnson.

So for all those reasons, we think the Court has to take a

closer look at that. 

And then the last thing is we believe that not all the

chats completely would fall into any exception that the Court

might find and that at some point 403 would have to come into

play. The Federal Rules of Evidence.

Now, I'll just give one example. There was a chat -- and

I can give the Court the specific information. Chats cover a

number of different topics. And even if the Court were to find

that it's admissible to show an attempt to influence a federal

proceeding, the chat also discusses the pending Lincoln County

case, and it mentions the detective. And it seems to me that

that should be redacted.

Now, if the government is willing to agree with us on

that, we could work with them to redact.

THE COURT: I'm not going to let any of the

Lincoln County stuff come in, so let's just make it clear on

that. I don't want to go down that path. I don't know how --

I'm assuming the government, although it may be in one of the

chats, is willing to redact those kinds of statements.

MS. POTTER: Yes, Your Honor. And just for the

record --

MR. WEINERMAN: I'm done. I can sit down.

MS. POTTER: Oh, Amy Potter on behalf of the United

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States. I want to apologize to the Court because when I filed

this motion I did not realize that the exhibits were already --

Exhibit A is actually three exhibits on the exhibit list. It's

169, 170, and 171. I have been told by Counsel that they

already redacted the reference to Mr. Harrison. So they do

intend that, and there's no intent to offer any of the

Lincoln County -- I simply had a different, frankly, version of

the chats that I was working from, and I apologize to the Court

for that.

In terms of Counsel's arguments, I actually think it

misstates law. We don't -- we do not need to prove that it was

an intent to influence in the context of a federal proceeding.

We just need to prove a joint venture to do something, and it

doesn't even have to be illegal. And here we have a joint

venture to influence witnesses. 

And I think the cases are pretty clear on that. I think

the Layton case, which is a case involving the Jonestown

massacre, involves a conspiracy to prevent the FBI from knowing

the conditions at the location -- or not the FBI -- I'm

sorry -- the House of Representatives from knowing the

conditions that the members of that group were living in. So

that's nothing illegal to try and prevent them from doing that,

but they had all agreed, and so statements that were made --

again, nothing illegal -- were co-conspirator statements. 

In terms of the requirement -- and that's also confirmed

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by the Fifth Circuit case El-Mezain, which involves statements

made before Hamas was declared a terrorist organization, so it

could not be part of the conspiracy or part of any terrorist

acts. But they were admitted, even though they were not

illegal at the time.

And I think in terms of distinguishing Donna versus Gary,

I actually think the Lloyd case is instructive on that, in

which they allowed the admission of statements made by someone

who was not even part of the conspiracy that simply went to the

overall conspiracy at issue there, which was a telemarketing

scheme. So I don't think there's any requirement to prove. In

fact, in the Fifth Circuit case, they allowed anonymous

statements. So they had no idea who had made the statements

that were related to Hamas. But they left them in anyway

because overall it showed a joint venture to promote this

activity and this information.

So I think all we have to prove is a preponderance of the

evidence to influence -- frankly, I don't even know that we

need to show influence of a witness, but a joint venture to get

Daniel's message to victims, whether he intended to influence

them or not, and I think that the evidence is pretty clear here

that we've done that.

So I don't think the issue of whether it's the Cambodian

proceeding, the Lincoln County proceeding, or this specific

proceeding is relevant for purposes of this analysis.

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THE COURT: Okay. Well, I don't mean to tell the

government how to do your job. I assume you've talked to your

appellate attorneys. I mean, sometimes you get what you ask

for, and, of course, that builds a record that down the road

could -- you know, could cause some difficulties. You know, I

personally think it's not a close call. I just wonder if we

need to make it, given the evidence thus far in the case.

That being said, I think it's clear from the record that

Mr. Gary Johnson and Mr. Daniel Johnson had conspired to tamper

with witnesses. To the extent that any of the statements are

being offered for the truth of the matter asserted, which

almost none of these statements are -- I'll talk about that in

a minute -- they are admissible as nonhearsay under

801(d)(2)(E). Statements of Co-conspirators.

It's also clear that Mr. Gary Johnson is acting under the

direction of Daniel Johnson; in fact, it's very hard at times

to know, reading the Facebook messages, whether it's

Daniel Johnson and not Gary Johnson who's actually speaking.

So it is an opposing party's statement in aid in a

representational capacity through an agent. 

And to the extent that the statements are being made to

prove the truth of the matter asserted, they could still come

in under 801(d)(2)(D).

But the reality is none of it is really classic

co-conspirator statements. They're not statements being made

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Case 6:14-cr-00482-MC Document 272 Filed 10/24/18 Page 10 of 91
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offered for the truth. It's not like one co-conspirator is

going to the store and saying, "I need three horses and three

guns. We're robbing the three o'clock train to Santa Fe." I

mean, these statements are not made really to prove the truth

of the matter asserted in that context. They're really

nonhearsay statements. The statements are things like, you

know, "Let them know I'm praying for you. Let them know I love

you. Tell them to hush," you know, "Send money to" -- so and

so. These statements aren't being offered for the truth.

They're simply being offered to show, I think, the pressure

that's being put on the children in terms of how they should

testify.

I mean, I think it has to be put in the context of the

defense in this case, which is every one of these children are

liars. They've been manipulated by the police. They've been

manipulated by APLE. They've been manipulated by other

organizations. Perhaps manipulated by lawyers. They convinced

each other that they should lie so that that they can stay in

the United States and get visas, and it would simply be -- I

think it would be unfair not to present the entire picture of

the pressure that these children had been under by everybody,

the greatest of which is, quite frankly, Gary Johnson and

Daniel Johnson through these Facebook messages.

You know, what the defense wants to argue is the victims

have made inconsistent statements. They have at times made

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Case 6:14-cr-00482-MC Document 272 Filed 10/24/18 Page 11 of 91
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themselves unavailable for testimony because in the past they

would have denied the abuse, but the problem is that the

inconsistency and their hesitancy to testify is equally

explained by the pressure put on them by the two Johnson

brothers.

Also, it just seems to me this is no different than

fleeing from the police. It's evidence of consciousness of

guilt. If you're contacting consistently the victims who have

all testified they have been contacted. They visited, of all

people, the very person who abused them in prison, there is an

ongoing narrative here of attempts to continue to manipulate

children, and it does evince, in my mind, clearly a

consciousness of guilt.

So I think it comes in certainly under the co-conspirator

nonhearsay rules, the agency rules, but I think more

significantly these are nonhearsay statements because they're

not being offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted but

to show the manipulation, the pressure that's been put on the

children to make themselves unavailable to change their

stories.

So in that context, it's simply admissible. It's

nonhearsay. So I'll allow it in. Obviously, the government

has to establish through some witness how the exhibits were

seized and who they belong to and how they found them; but with

that foundation, it would be admissible.

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MS. POTTER: Thank you, Your Honor. And so that's

169, 170, and 171. It's my understanding the government also

has a new exhibit to offer. 305. And so, Your Honor, if I

could present this to the Court.

THE COURT: Yes.

MS. POTTER: I believe, Your Honor, that that would

fall under this same theory and actually Mr. Angel has pulled

it up on the screen. It's yet another message. This one to

SO XXX.

THE COURT: Looks like it's pretty clear. It would

come -- consistent with the earlier ruling, it would come in.

That's 305. Sorry. I'm losing my voice again.

All right. Anything else we need to talk about?

MR. WEINERMAN: I think we need to talk about whether

anything about the lawsuit is admissible. I don't know if this

is the time the Court wants to hear, but -- I know a little bit

of where the government might be going on this, but we believe

that the fact of the lawsuit and anything in it is just not

relevant to the proceedings here. It's extremely prejudicial.

It opens up another whole Pandora's box in this case that will

need to be discussed. The government doesn't need it, but, you

know, that's their call whether they want to inject that into

the proceedings, but it just seems to me that this is something

the Court should exercise its discretion and not allow to be

discussed.

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THE COURT: A couple of things on that case, which is

Daniel Stephen Johnson, Plaintiff, v. multiple defendants

beginning with the City of Toledo, Oregon. It's Case

18-cv-738. It is a case that looks -- you know, sometimes -- I

know this is hard to believe for people, but it was randomly

assigned to me, and I'll certainly take it under consideration

whether I should rule upon it.

You know, in looking at these cases, these pro se prison

litigation cases, I mean, typically these are subject to

sua sponte dismissal. There's a number of issues, including

personal jurisdiction. Immunity, the Heck doctrine, statute of

limitations, you know, the list goes on as to why this case

probably is not going to survive for much longer, whether it's

myself or another judge that enters a dismissal order. That

doesn't save the fact that it's statements by Mr. Johnson. 

We don't have to get into great detail about it now, but I

guess I would like some direction from the government on which

specific statements out of the complaint that you are hoping to

introduce. Is this something you're just thinking about? Is

it a place you really want to go?

MR. SINHA: So, Your Honor, I think at this point we

would like a -- we're hoping to step very lightly with regards

to this lawsuit. So I think the things we're interested in are

the sworn-in statements from Mr. Johnson. Which he signed the

lawsuit under penalty of perjury that he is an Oregon resident

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Case 6:14-cr-00482-MC Document 272 Filed 10/24/18 Page 14 of 91
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and that he's a citizen of the United States. The residency,

obviously, is important to our venue under 18 U.S.C. 3238. And

the citizenship is important to Counts 1 through 6. Even

though we have a stipulation, we would just like to highlight

that.

The other thing --

MR. WEINERMAN: Judge, could I -- sorry to interrupt

Counsel, but that is certainly is something that not only has

the evidence proven, but we're not contesting it. And if it

makes a difference to the Court, we would be willing to

stipulate that he's a U.S. citizen and has been or was a

resident of Oregon. So I don't think they need the lawsuit to

prove this. I think there's ample evidence in the record that

that has been established.

THE COURT: I agree with the defense. If we can go

forward with the stipulation, that would be part of the

instructions. So, I mean, the jury would be instructed to the

fact that Mr. Johnson is an Oregon resident and he's a citizen

of the United States. If we can't agree on a stipulation,

we'll enter his statements.

MR. SINHA: That makes sense.

Your Honor, I guess the only other thing that we had an

interest in, with regards to the lawsuit, is just the fact that

a lawsuit was filed. And that's in light of the message

that -- it's Exhibit 305 where basically GaryDonna -- the user

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of the GaryDonna account is telling SO XXX "Daniel is going to

sue the FBI." Basically, "If you cooperate, we'll get some

money, and we'll share that money with you." 

The fact that Daniel then did sue the FBI seems, to me,

significant with regards to that message.

So even if it was just testimony of an agent saying a

lawsuit has been -- 

THE COURT: But you're not offering the statement for

the truth. So you don't have to prove that he, in fact,

intended to or did, in fact, sue the FBI. The reason you're

offering that is its impact on the particular victim, and, in

fact, he's trying to bribe them, it sounds like. That, in and

of itself, is admissible, whether it's true or not and whether

he followed through or not. And certainly then we get into

would he ever really get any money out of this particular

lawsuit, and even I would have to say at this stage he may get

an opportunity to replead or amend the lawsuit, but there's

just too many deficiencies in this particular suit. And I did

spend some time last night with our pro se law clerk who's been

working on this with me, and my -- my only hesitancy in --

in -- in following through with my normal course of practice,

which would be to dismiss the case with leave to amend, is that

I -- I think it may make more sense, and I think Mr. Johnson

would feel that he's getting a fairer break if the judge who is

hearing his criminal case isn't the one who's dismissing his

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civil case. 

So I'll probably recuse, Mr. Johnson, on your civil case.

And I assume your case will then be transferred, I'm assuming,

to Judge Aiken, who would then review the case.

MR. SINHA: Thank you.

THE COURT: But, I mean, when I say there's

deficiencies, I mean, there's -- I mean, as plead, I just don't

see the case going anywhere, and I don't want to have to get

into those issues, too, of whether the lawsuit would have

resulted, then, in money that could have theoretically gone to

Mr. Johnson that he could have then paid off the victims. So I

will not allow the fact of the lawsuit into evidence at this

time.

MR. SINHA: Thank you, Your Honor. 

THE COURT: Okay. Thank you. 

Anything else we need to discuss?

MR. SINHA: I think we have one last thing that

Mr. Johnson's counsel would like to raise.

Since we're not asking the Court to seal the hearing, but

since it's a sensitive personnel issue, I'm just asking for the

people with me from the government to at least step out, unless

it's -- if you would give us just a moment to get our people

out.

THE COURT: Yes.

(Pause-in-proceedings.) 

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MR. SINHA: So, Your Honor, the issue is related --

and I'll let Mr. Weinerman or Ms. Maxfield take the reins, but

it's related to an in camera submission the government made to

the Court, I believe in early February, regarding a performance

improvement plan of one of our agents. So my recollection is

that we submitted a motion for the Court to review the plan

itself in camera. We also, alongside of that, submitted a

letter that we thought outlined what would be the disclosable

contents of the report.

The Court, as I recall, issued an -- reviewed the entire

report, reviewed the letter, issued an order saying the letter

can be disclosed, but the report itself need not be disclosed;

so my understanding, then, is that Mr. Johnson's counsel would

like to revisit that order.

THE COURT: Okay.

MR. WEINERMAN: Judge, what we're asking is as

follows: There are documents that underline this letter dated

February 12, 2018, from the government to the defense. And

they refer to them as critical elements, CEs, which underline

this letter about -- I don't want to -- I don't know if this is

considered a censure, an admonishment, but it's some indication

that an unacceptable performance level of this particular FBI

agent.

So there's underlying documents that we would like to look

at so we can decide for ourselves whether it's information that

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Case 6:14-cr-00482-MC Document 272 Filed 10/24/18 Page 18 of 91
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impeaches the credibility of the witness in some way. I

suspect the Court has seen the documents. The Court may

already remember what they say. But if the Court doesn't,

we're simply asking either that we be allowed to look at the

documents or that the Court look at them in camera and make a

ruling whether it's information that would be admissible on

cross-examination to impeach either the credibility of the

agent or perhaps, more importantly, impeach his professional

abilities and would indicate that he does not reach the

professional standards that one would expect of an FBI agent,

so that is -- that's our -- 

THE COURT: Would somebody direct us to the filing

number if you have it?

MR. SINHA: Sure. Your Honor, I think that -- here,

I'll give -- the Court's order was Document 105.

DEPUTY COURTROOM CLERK: 104. Document 104 is the

motion, but we don't have the -- I don't have access to the in

camera --

MR. SINHA: Your Honor, we may -- we have a copy of

the materials, and it certainly makes sense, I think, in light

of now having heard the trial testimony, for the Court to take

a look at it. So we're happy to provide it.

THE COURT: I'll take a look at it again, and we can

get back to that at our next break.

MR. SINHA: Thank you.

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MR. SWEET: Would the Court like that now,

Your Honor? It'll take us two minutes to --

THE COURT: Yes.

MR. SWEET: Okay.

(Pause in proceedings.) 

MR. SWEET: Sorry, Judge.

THE COURT: That's okay. Thank you for getting that.

MR. SWEET: It is not signed, but it's what we were

provided, Your Honor.

THE COURT: Who is our next witness?

MR. SWEET: Pastor Sopheak is still on the stand,

Your Honor. And just so the Court knows, one of our

witnesses -- one of our witnesses we won't be calling, so we

only have the rest of Pastor Sopheak and then three other

witnesses. We are still -- very much think we're very much on

track.

THE COURT: Okay. Let's bring the jury in. And if

you can bring in Pastor Sopheak, we can get him on the stand.

(Jury present.) 

THE COURT: Please be seated, everybody.

Thank you, folks, for your patience with us this morning.

We were working on some legal matters. But with that, we'll

return now to the cross-examination of Pastor Sopheak. 

You're still under oath in the case.

THE WITNESS: Yes.

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CHHOEURN SOPHEAK, 

called as a witness in behalf of the Government, being 

previously duly sworn, is examined and testified as follows: 

CROSS-EXAMINATION 

BY MS. MAXFIELD: 

Q. Good morning, Pastor Sopheak.

A. Good morning.

Q. How is your tooth?

A. It's okay.

Q. I'm Lisa Maxfield, and I'm one of Daniel Johnson's

lawyers. And I just wanted to ask you a few questions.

A. Yes.

Q. Khmer massage is part of your country's culture, isn't it?

A. That, I didn't pay attention to; yes, but in Cambodia

there is massage.

Q. And massage is very common in your country?

A. In my own town. Not hardly. But I didn't pay much

attention to that fact.

Q. You testified, though, about seeing Mr. Johnson get

massages many, many times?

A. Yes.

Q. You saw the kids massage his feet?

A. Yes. Yes. Hand and feet.

Q. And you saw the kids massage his back?

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A. (Witness nods.)

Q. You saw him get massages in chairs?

A. Like I said earlier, like in a teasing manner; you know,

jokingly.

Q. And you saw him get massages while he was lying on his

bed?

THE INTERPRETER: Counsel, can you repeat the key

part? Can you please repeat that question?

BY MS. MAXFIELD: (Continuing) 

Q. Yes. You saw him get massages while he was lying on his

bed?

A. Yes.

Q. And you knew that he paid kids for massages?

A. Like I said earlier, you know, when the kids get

massage -- or give massages and I see that they usually get

money to buy things to eat.

Q. Okay. So it wasn't a secret that Daniel Johnson got

massages at the center?

A. What do you mean, kind of, secret or --

Q. Everyone knew he got massages, didn't they?

A. Yes. Yes. They know. But sometimes if you don't get to

see it, you don't know about it.

Q. I'm not saying you saw every massage.

A. Yes.

Q. But you saw them often and -- go ahead.

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A. Yes, I did see it often. Every time I went into his room,

I see the kids, you know, do massage; but not -- that is not to

say that every time I go I see -- every time I go I see -- I

see every time.

Q. I understand. But the massages didn't worry you at the

time, did they?

A. No.

Q. You also said that -- I want to talk a minute about

Daniel Johnson's room. His was the only air-conditioned room

in the center; is that right?

A. Yes.

Q. He had the only room that was cool?

A. (Witness nods.)

Q. And at least in the last house there was a projector in

Daniel's room?

A. Yes.

Q. To watch DVDs and movies?

A. (Witness nods.)

Q. And so you saw boys in Daniel's room many times.

A. Yes.

Q. And, again, that was not a secret?

A. No. I see him in the bedroom with two or three kids, two

or three kids, or one kid.

Q. Everyone knew?

A. What do you mean "everyone knew"? What do you mean by

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that? What, is that a question?

Q. Yeah. It wasn't hidden?

A. Most -- most of the time -- every time the kids -- like,

most of the time the kids would go into Daniel's room to get

massages, and they would come back out and they would say, "Oh,

I just gave Daniel a massage." Like I said earlier, most of

the time when I'm there, I'm seeing it, and when I'm not there,

I don't know if a massage happened or not.

Q. Well, you knew that sometimes kids slept in his room, too,

didn't you?

A. With regard to the kids sleeping in his room overnight? I

do not know. But mostly in the morning time I see them in the

bedroom and, in summary, there is one kid that is -- was --

with regard to SO XXX, that I know, because I can see the

bedroom -- in the bedroom -- oh, he lives in the same bedroom.

Q. And that didn't worry you at the time either, did it?

A. No.

Q. I want to show you -- is it Defense Exhibit 604 or

Government Exhibit 604? Defense? Exhibit 604, page 4. I

think this is already in.

Are you in that picture?

A. Yes.

Q. Which one are you?

A. (Indicating.)

Q. In the blue shirt?

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A. Correct. I already made a mark, but that one -- this mark

now. You enlarged it.

Q. Is that the entryway to the last Hope Transition Center

house?

A. Yes.

Q. On the side of where the gentlemen are standing, do you

see, like, a red gate?

A. Yes.

Q. And that's a gate that locks from the inside?

A. What do you mean lock on the inside?

Q. Does that gate lock?

A. Yes. That -- that gate locks, and there's another door

also.

Q. So there's --

A. And you have to --

Q. Sorry. Go ahead.

A. And you have to take a lock or a key to lock it.

Q. And to unlock it, you would need to be on the inside of

the house, not the outside?

A. Yes. That's correct.

Q. I want to show you Exhibit 604, page 6. Page 6 -- oh, 7.

I'm sorry. Page 7. Do you recognize that room?

MS. MAXFIELD: Is the jury able to see these?

THE JURY: Yes.

THE WITNESS: Recognized.

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BY MS. MAXFIELD: (Continuing) 

Q. All right. And can you tell me who's sitting there in

that room?

A. Heang.

Q. That computer there, that's the Acer computer?

A. What do you mean "Acer"?

Q. The brand.

A. I do not know. I didn't pay attention.

Q. Okay. If you look closely, do you see "Acer"?

A. (No verbal answer given.)

Q. That was the computer that was in the office at the

center? 

THE COURT REPORTER: I'm sorry. I'm not getting

verbal answers.

THE WITNESS: This computer, I don't know at that

time. Sometimes Heang use it and other times there are other

people who use it.

BY MS. MAXFIELD: (Continuing) 

Q. So different people would use that computer?

A. Yes.

Q. You testified on direct that you met Mr. Johnson when you

were with Pastor Pilot?

A. Yes.

Q. And did you move into the Hope Transition Center with

Pastor Pilot?

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A. Yes.

Q. And at that time Pastor Pilot had several children that

were in his care?

A. Yes.

Q. But the ministry mostly at that point was doing good works

out in the Cambodian countryside; is that right?

A. Yes. We -- we would -- we would go to do the ministry or

spread the good words in the provinces.

Q. And are the provinces the rural areas of Cambodia?

A. Yes. It's very rural and most of the provinces are like

the farmers, rice agriculture area.

Q. And then most of the people in the provinces are very

poor?

A. Some. Some are very poor. Some are middle class. It all

depends in the manners of where they live in the rural area

part of the province.

Q. That makes sense.

But there was a time when Pastor Pilot left the center; is

that right?

A. Yes.

Q. He and his wife moved out?

A. Yes.

Q. And he left the children behind?

A. He left the kids with Daniel.

Q. So after Pastor Pilot left, then you each had new jobs,

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didn't you?

THE INTERPRETER: Counsel, I'm sorry. I couldn't

hear you.

BY MS. MAXFIELD: (Continuing) 

Q. After Pastor Pilot left, you, Daniel Johnson, and

BT XXXXXXX each had new responsibilities?

A. I am responsible for teaching the gospels to the kids.

Q. And was that new? Was Pastor Pilot in charge of that

before he left? 

A. I have to say a little bit longer. I have to elaborate.

At the time before Pastor Pilot left, I did not know that

he left because I was in Prey Veng for two months. You know, I

was checking out some building, and then I heard Pastor Pilot

had left the center, you know, where Daniel was.

Q. Okay. My question was -- oh, go ahead.

A. After that -- after Pastor Pilot left and there was a role

for teaching the gospels to the children in the center. So

there was a role that needed to be filled.

Q. And you became the pastor for the children at that point?

A. So if you're speaking about officially being anointed and,

you know, with the hands-on-the-head prayer, anoint and prayer,

that did not happen yet. It's a little bit after a while.

Okay. Like, in the second house, it was Daniel and the

kids who were the one who did the anointing and then prayers

and said that I am the pastor, the one that can teach them the

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gospel.

So before that, I was teaching the gospel, the words of

God, but I was not appointed and had the prayer. But

according -- if it was formally according to the Bible, you

have to be anointed and have the prayers in order that -- that

ritual has to be -- you have to go through that ritual in order

for you to have more power and for what you teach to -- to be

more -- to be more manifested.

Q. Did you have other jobs at the center besides being the

person who taught the children the gospel?

A. Take care of the kids. So in addition to -- in addition

to the teaching of the gospel, I would help take care of the

kids. And then on Saturday and Sunday I would go to the

provinces. And when I did go to the provinces, I would check

on the churches and teach the gospel -- become an evangelist,

spread out the Good News.

Q. So when you were at the center during the week, your job

was to be a gospel teacher and kind of a father figure to the

children; is that right?

A. Well, I -- I don't know if that's right or wrong. I just

know that, you know, I'm an adult. You know, I help watch over

the kids, and, you know, take care of them.

Q. But you didn't like to discipline the kids that much, did

you?

A. I, like, when they do something wrong, I like for them to

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read the verses from the Bible and then for them to recite the

verses from the Bible.

Q. Usually, though, the discipline of the kids was left to

Mr. Johnson?

A. Correct.

Q. And BT XXXXXXX, after -- after Pastor Pilot left,

BT XXXXXXX had a new job too; is that right?

A. Yes, there was a new role, and then -- but I don't know

exactly what -- how many roles he had. I just know that he was

with BT XX. And then exactly what he does, I don't know it;

but he has many other things that he did.

Q. He was Daniel Johnson's assistant?

A. (Witness nods.)

Q. And Daniel Johnson -- 

A. Correct. I think that he is -- you know, he's, like, the

assistant, yes.

Q. Sorry. I got ahead of you. I saw you nod.

And Daniel Johnson then became the director of the center?

A. (Witness nods.)

Q. And there were two -- two prongs of the ministry there.

One involving the children and one involving the good works out

in the provinces?

A. What do you mean "prongs"?

Q. Two roads. Two tasks.

A. After who left?

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Q. After Pastor Pilot left.

A. Correct. After Pastor Pilot left. So he had to work

with, you know, helping the kids at the center and helping the

community and then also with spreading Good News, you know,

disseminating the gospels at the provinces.

Q. And a lot of the good works that Hope Transitions did cost

money? 

For example --

MS. MAXFIELD: Oh, he -- I'm sorry. He's nodding.

You didn't say "yes." You just nodded.

THE WITNESS: Yes.

BY MS. MAXFIELD: (Continuing) 

Q. Thank you.

And it was Daniel Johnson's job to raise that money?

A. Yes. He's the one to find the financial provider or

sponsor, and he has relationship with those people to -- you

know, to help with the financial part.

Q. And Mr. Johnson would need to come to the United States a

couple of times each year to raise that money?

A. That's correct. He told me to go because he -- he's

leaving to go so that he can find help to get assistant to help

the kids in Cambodia.

Q. So he would come to the United States to raise money to

help the Cambodian children?

A. Yes. He's -- he would always tell me. He would always

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say that.

Q. And all the money that the children at the center lived on

was the money that Mr. Johnson raised here in this country?

A. That, yes. Correct. He got assistance from the people

from the United States and some other organization too.

Correct.

When you said "organization," what are you talking about?

That's okay.

Q. Okay. So -- but he also needed to raise money to fund

many of the projects that happened out in the provinces; is

that right?

A. (Witness nods.)

Q. And some of those -- 

MR. WEINERMAN: He said "bat," but she didn't say --

MS. MAXFIELD: I know. I know. I'm sorry.

THE WITNESS: Yes.

BY MS. MAXFIELD: (Continuing) 

Q. You talked about being in Prey Veng when Pastor Pilot

left.

A. What?

Q. You testified that you were in Prey Veng when Pastor Pilot

left.

A. At that time is like I was in Prey Veng for two months.

Q. And you said you were there looking at properties?

A. Because at that time there was a lot of people that were

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not happy because we're Christians, and they would throw rocks

or they would throw things at us, you know, when we were

around. So, therefore, he asked me to go as -- to help out, to

help the teacher. Pastor K-i-m, S-a-n -- to help

Pastor Kim San at the province.

Q. I want to show you what's been marked as Defense Exhibit

616, page 2. Do you recognize that?

A. Recognize? Yes.

Q. And what is that?

A. This is in Prey Veng.

Q. One of the things that Daniel Johnson wanted to do with

you was to build this compound in Prey Veng?

A. Correct. This is the -- this is the design, you know.

It's a model design. And we saw that, and we also want that

also.

Q. So the plan was to build this entire compound for the

people in Prey Veng?

A. What people in Prey Veng?

Q. The Christians in Prey Veng?

A. Yes. Yes, for the Christians in Prey Veng.

Q. And in order to build -- this was an ambitious project.

A. (Indicating.)

Q. You have to say it out loud.

A. Yes.

Q. And Mr. Johnson raised the money to buy all the land?

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A. Yes.

Q. Let me show you what's been marked as Defense Exhibit 616,

page 119. Do you recognize the person in that picture?

A. I.

Q. Who is that?

A. It is me.

MS. MAXFIELD: Is this published for the jury? I'm

sorry. 

A JUROR: Yes.

BY MS. MAXFIELD: (Continuing) 

Q. What are you doing, Pastor Sopheak?

A. So at that time we were in the middle of buying wood, you

know, to build the building, you know, for whatever parts --

whatever structure we need.

Q. And you and Mr. Johnson and BT XXXXX and the kids at the

center needed the help from various church groups to build

these buildings; is that right?

A. What kind of help? What kind? Energy or budget?

Q. Both.

A. Yeah, we have -- we have our fellow Christians who help

us, you know, in terms of the labor force.

Q. Teams would come from the United States?

A. Yes. Yes. The fellow Christians came, yeah, came to help

build.

Q. And those Christian teams would stay anywhere between ten

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days and two weeks to help?

A. Most of the time, two weeks. Most of the time, two weeks.

Mostly.

Q. I want to show you what's been marked as

Defendant's Exhibit 710, page 1.

MR. SWEET: No objection.

THE COURT: All right. It will be received.

DEPUTY COURTROOM CLERK: Counsel, you already had a

710. Is it the BT XXXXXX --

MS. MAXFIELD: I have a 710? I'm not the numberer.

THE WITNESS: What is this? What is this?

MS. MAXFIELD: Well, it's something we'll talk about

in a minute, but right now we need to make sure we have the

numbers correct.

THE COURT: We need to get it a number.

MS. MOSS: Let's make this 720.

MS. MAXFIELD: Let's make it 720.

THE COURT: Okay. 

BY MS. MAXFIELD: (Continuing) 

Q. Now, let me ask you to look at Exhibit 720, the exhibit in

front of you. This is in English. Do you read English?

THE INTERPRETER: It's a little bit blurry. The

interpreter thinks it's a little bit blurry.

THE WITNESS: What's up with this? Why do you want

me to read it?

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THE COURT: I don't want you to ask questions about

your questions.

Do you have a hard copy that we can give the translator to

read to --

MS. MAXFIELD: You know, I do. Is it too teeny?

THE WITNESS: This is a schedule.

BY MS. MAXFIELD: (Continuing) 

Q. Pastor Sopheak, can I ask you a couple of questions about

that?

A. Yes. Yes.

Q. When the Christian groups would come from the United

States, Mr. Johnson would need to organize their activities?

A. That's correct. He would have to organize the schedule

for the guests.

Q. Is that what this is -- a very detailed schedule of what

the people would do when they were in Cambodia?

A. Yes. This is the schedule when, you know, for -- for

going to -- going out to visit, to -- to help the church to

help spread the Good News. There's many other activities.

Q. And Mr. Johnson was the person in charge of organizing all

those activities?

A. Yes. He's the one who organized this schedule.

Q. I want to show you what's been marked as Defendant's 616,

page 170. Do you recognize that?

A. I think that's in Prey Veng.

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Q. Yes. And in Prey Veng, you brought -- Hope Transitions

brought electricity into that Prey Veng compound; is that

right?

A. Are you talking about in the whole Prey Veng city or just

in the center, the electricity to the center?

Q. Well, two questions. You brought it to the center?

A. In the building. In the church.

Q. And by bringing electricity into the church, you were also

able to give electricity to many people in the village?

A. No. That, I do not think in that way because it is -- the

government, you know, it's their duty to put electricity for

all those villages. Because in all those little villages and

in the quarters, part of the district, they all have

electricity.

Q. I want to show you Defendant's Exhibit 616, page 2 again.

Was part of that plan to build a church in the Prey Veng

compound?

A. Yeah, that's the plan.

Q. Can you mark for us where the church would be?

A. That's the church. That's the bathroom.

Q. I want to show you what's been marked as Defendant's

Exhibit 616, page 51.

A. That's the church.

Q. The church was completed; is that true?

A. Yes.

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Q. And let's look at page 6 -- or Exhibit 616, page 2 again.

Part of the plan was to build student housing on the

compound; is that right?

A. What do you want me to show you?

Q. Yes. Could you show us where the student housing is?

A. This is the -- that's for the kids center. It's the kids

center. This is the plans for the kids center. 

Q. So you called it the kids center?

A. That's the plan for -- it's just a plan where you put for

the orphaned children. This is the plan.

Q. So let me show you what's been marked as Defendant's

Exhibit 616, page 238. And is that the completed kids center

or student center?

A. It completed the lower level, the second level. But the

highest level, it was not. I did not -- they did not put

the -- they did not put the ceiling yet.

Q. So you're saying it got mostly finished and Mr. Johnson

got arrested?

A. Yes.

Q. Has it been finished --

A. However --

Q. -- since then?

A. Are you asking just specifically this building or all the

buildings?

Q. I'm asking about the -- what you call "the kids center"

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Sopheak - X

and I called "the student center."

A. Yes.

Q. Do you know whether any students are living there now --

any orphans are living there?

A. Right now?

Q. Uh-huh.

A. No. Only Pastor Kim San's family.

THE INTERPRETER: Kim San is the same spelling.

K-i-m. San, S-a-n.

BY MS. MAXFIELD: (Continuing) 

Q. Let's look at Exhibit 616, page 2 again. Was there a

planned medical center in the compound?

A. That one is where they want to have a clinic.

Q. Let me show you what has been marked as Defense

Exhibit 616, page 193. Is that the medical center?

A. Yes. Yes.

Q. And that's what it looked like when Mr. Johnson was

arrested at the time of his arrest?

A. It's still the same, yes.

Q. Medical center hasn't been completed?

A. Yes.

Q. Pastor Sopheak, is this a congregation in Prey Veng that

you minister to on this compound?

A. Can you make your question a little bit more clear?

Q. Yeah. Do you spread the gospel at this church in

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Prey Veng -- the one you built?

A. Yes. I have done that in the Prey Veng church. Yes, I

have done that in the Prey Veng church.

Q. Do you go there a few times a year to preach to that

congregation?

A. It's not two, three times a year. It's -- I don't know

how many times a year. 

Are you talking about in the past? Are you talking about

before or right now?

Q. Right now.

A. Now I go once every two weeks. And then you normally --

this week I go to Kampot Province, and the next week I go to

Pre Veng Province. And now it's like I go more regularly to

Prey Veng Province because I want to go to the other small

towns and all the villages.

Q. So in one week you go to the church in Prey Veng and

preach the gospel to that congregation?

A. The Harvest Church. So when I go to teach the gospel, I

go to the church; but when I go to disseminate the Good News, I

go to the Harvest Church.

Q. And you said that then some -- the other week you were in

Kampot?

A. Yes. There's some weeks I go to Kampot.

Q. And can I show you what has been marked as Defendant's

Exhibit 615, page 48? Is that where you preach the gospel in

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Kampot?

A. Yes.

Q. And that's also a church that was built by the Hope

Transition Center and Mr. Johnson?

A. Yes.

Q. Pastor Sopheak, is the property in Prey Veng and the

property in Kampot legally held in your name and the name of

BT XXXXXXX?

A. In Kampot Province, in terms of the church, it does not

have -- it does not have my name. It has four section. Before

the church part has -- does not have my name, and the other

three parts has my name.

Q. Prey Veng has your name?

A. Yeah. The one in Prey Veng has my name, but I would like

to elaborate or explain. Before Prey Veng had my name.

Before. Before. Okay. Before it has my name; however,

because of the government in charge of the land ownership came,

and it's called a land certificate, they own -- now only put

one person's name, which is Pastor Kim San.

Q. So the land is no longer in your name?

A. In the -- in the property, off the land, it does not have

my name. However, because we only put the land in one person's

name because of our faith, but we believe -- 

THE INTERPRETER: I said wait. I cannot -- you know,

the translation.

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Sopheak - ReD

THE WITNESS: Because we believe in our faith, and we

want to be, you know, trustworthy of each other's fellow

Christians and then we -- so we have -- so we can do the

gospel-spreading, dissemination of the gospel, spreading the

Good News of the Lord. 

However, related to the land certificate, he gave it to me

to -- for safekeeping.

MS. MAXFIELD: Thank you. I have no further

questions.

THE COURT: Redirect?

MR. SWEET: I just have one photograph for

Pastor Sopheak. I'm going to just ask this be shown to

Pastor Sopheak.

Pull up Exhibit 98, please. This is just to Counsel and

Pastor Sopheak at this point.

MS. MAXFIELD: Objection. Beyond the scope, I think.

THE COURT: I'll allow it. Go ahead.

REDIRECT EXAMINATION 

BY MR. SWEET: 

Q. Pastor Sopheak, there was a discussion of a film projector

in Mr. Johnson's room. Are you familiar with Mr. Johnson's

room in the third house?

THE INTERPRETER: Counsel, "third house"?

MR. SWEET: Yes.

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THE WITNESS: Do you mean do I recognize his room?

BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. Yes. Do you recognize it?

A. Yes.

Q. Is that a photograph of Mr. Johnson's bedroom at the third

location?

A. Correct. Correct. That's it.

Q. And did you see Mr. Johnson's bedroom on the day of his

arrest?

A. I saw, yes.

Q. And is the film projector that you discussed with

Ms. Maxfield visible in the center of this photograph?

A. That's the projector right there.

Q. So does that photograph generally depict Mr. Johnson's

bedroom around the time of his arrest?

A. Yes.

MR. SWEET: Your Honor, the government is not asking

that the photograph be published at this point, but we believe

a foundation has been laid for its admission. We would ask

that it be admitted but not yet published.

MS. MAXFIELD: We would ask the Court to withhold

ruling so we can have a chance to argue it.

THE COURT: Okay.

MR. SWEET: The government has no further questions

for Pastor Sopheak.

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THE COURT: Pastor Sopheak, thank you very much.

You're free to step down.

THE WITNESS: It's over?

THE COURT: Yes.

THE WITNESS: Can I go home?

THE COURT: Is he still under subpoena?

MR. SWEET: He is, Your Honor. We do not anticipate

we'll need to call Pastor Sopheak again, but until the

conclusion of the case, we ask to keep him under subpoena.

THE COURT: Pastor Sopheak, it's possible you could

be re-called to the stand.

Okay. Next witness.

MR. SWEET: Thank you, Your Honor. We do have our

next witness, but I believe the Court was reviewing one matter

that the parties needed to discuss.

THE COURT: Okay. Folks, I need to have a quick

discussion with the attorneys. We'll take a morning break.

(Jury not present.) 

THE COURT: All right. I have reviewed the

disclosure order that I previously ordered turned over from the

government to the defense regarding the performance improvement

plan. It was signed between Special Agent Schoening and his

supervisor. And I have reviewed the performance improvement

plan. It's my ruling that the disclosure letter covers all of

the relevant to the critical elements of the improvement plan

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Case 6:14-cr-00482-MC Document 272 Filed 10/24/18 Page 44 of 91
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and it covers, with specificity, any reference in the plan to

Agent Schoening's performance in the Johnson case, and,

therefore, the -- the plan itself is not to be turned over.

MR. WEINERMAN: Judge, would the Court mark that as a

Court's exhibit what the Court has reviewed and put it under

seal so that there's a record in case somebody wants to raise

this issue in the future?

THE COURT: Yes. All right. So we will mark the

disclosure letter. 

Char, is that already filed under seal?

DEPUTY COURTROOM CLERK: It is not.

THE COURT: It is not. So the disclosure itself will

be Court Exhibit -- 

DEPUTY COURTROOM CLERK: 8. 

THE COURT: -- 8?

DEPUTY COURTROOM CLERK: Yes.

THE COURT: Then the performance improvement plan

will be filed under seal as Court Exhibit 9.

MR. WEINERMAN: Judge, I noticed in the letter that

it refers to CE No. 2, CE No. 5, CE No. 8. I assume those are

all separate documents, and I assume the Court has reviewed

those. And if the Court's ruling is the same, we would ask

that those also be marked as Court's exhibit and filed under

seal.

THE COURT: I have not received, I guess, what's

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Case 6:14-cr-00482-MC Document 272 Filed 10/24/18 Page 45 of 91
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been -- what was referred to as the letter and the personal

improvement plan. Critical elements numbers 2, 5, and 8, they

are referenced in the plan, but critical element 2 is organized

planning and coordinating; though, there is an outline of what

needs to be achieved to meet that. Critical element 5 is

maintain high professional standards. Critical element number

8 is intelligence.

Certainly, those three areas are subject to

cross-examination, if you wish.

MR. WEINERMAN: Well, Judge, without the document, I

would be hesitant to -- to dive into it. So if those -- all

I'm asking is if the Court has reviewed those and we don't --

the Court doesn't feel there's anything exculpatory and then

that they just, again, be made part of the record and filed

under seal.

THE COURT: It will be made part of the record.

Anything the government wants in the record with regard to

those documents?

MR. SINHA: No, Your Honor. My understanding, for

what it's worth -- and I don't have the document in front of

me -- is that what the Court has is the performance improvement

plan, and that the -- just to be clear, I think that's the

whole of the performance improvement plan. I do know it

references the critical elements, but I don't think that

that's -- I think that that's just things that a federal

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Case 6:14-cr-00482-MC Document 272 Filed 10/24/18 Page 46 of 91
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employee has, is critical elements of his or her employment. I

don't think it's part of the performance plan, that I'm aware

of. It's not a separate document, I guess, is what I'm saying.

THE COURT: I don't have a separate document

outlining the standards or some sort of internal standards

document of either the Department of Justice or the FBI. It

just references certain critical elements. But in terms of the

particular critical elements, which I believe it's relevant to

the performance in this case, is critical element number 5,

which, I believe, is maintaining high professional standards.

I think that speaks for itself.

MR. WEINERMAN: So is, then, if I were to ask him

whether he has been -- I'm searching for the right word --

disciplined -- I'll just use that word -- and maybe that's the

wrong word -- is the Court saying I can ask him whether he has

been disciplined -- sanctioned -- I'm not sure we can come up

with the correct description -- for not maintaining high

professional standards in his work in this case?

MR. SINHA: So, Your Honor, I guess our position

is -- and I think it says this in the letter and in the motion,

and it may say this, frankly, in the performance improvement

plan -- this is not a discipline. It's not a sanction. It

really is just an internal -- an internal, you know,

performance.

THE COURT: It's an improvement plan.

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Case 6:14-cr-00482-MC Document 272 Filed 10/24/18 Page 47 of 91
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MR. SINHA: Yes.

THE COURT: I think they can ask, "Isn't it true that

based on your performance in the Johnson case, you had to meet

with your supervisor and come up with a plan to improve your

level of professionalism because of your investigation into the

Johnson case?" 

That seems to cover it.

MR. WEINERMAN: I'll make sure I get with the court

reporter and ask him the question just like that.

THE COURT: Thank you. 

MR. WEINERMAN: Thank you. 

THE COURT: Is that going to be our next witness? 

MR. SWEET: He is, Your Honor. And there are a

series of exhibits that -- a very -- probably 50, or so,

exhibits that we're going to be offering through Special

Agent Schoening. I have a list for Ms. Pew. The defense has a

list. 

There are some of the exhibits that the defense is not

objecting to their admission, but because they're voluminous,

we want to give everybody a little time to make sure there's

nothing buried in there that is irrelevant. So we're not going

to be asking the majority of them to be published to the jury

today. We're just laying the foundation. And then over the

next few days we'll sort through them. But we will be moving

through those quickly. 

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Case 6:14-cr-00482-MC Document 272 Filed 10/24/18 Page 48 of 91
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And now that it seems we will have a stipulation for

residency, which I think we're drafting, we will -- the

government will shorten its section on residency and just --

and just seek to admit a whole bunch of documents. So I don't

think -- I think we'll be done by -- the government will

certainly be done in 35 minutes or so.

THE COURT: Okay. Great. Thank you.

All right. Let's get the jury.

MR. SWEET: Actually --

THE COURT: Ten minutes maybe?

MR. SWEET: Your Honor, if I can just update Special

Agent Schoening as to what we are and aren't talking about now? 

(Jury present.) 

THE COURT: Next witness for the government.

MR. SWEET: The government calls Special Agent

Forrest Schoening.

THE COURT: Step up to the witness stand and remain

standing for just a moment. We'll have you sworn in.

FORREST SCHOENING,

called as a witness in behalf of the Government, being first 

duly sworn, is examined and testified as follows:

THE WITNESS: Yes, I do, ma'am.

DEPUTY COURTROOM CLERK: Please be seated. State

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your name for the record, spelling your first and last.

THE WITNESS: My name is Forrest Schoening.

F-o-r-r-e-s-t. S-c-h-o-e-n-i-n-g.

THE COURT: All right. Mr. Sweet, go ahead, please.

DIRECT EXAMINATION 

BY MR. SWEET: 

Q. Tell us how you're employed.

A. I'm a special agent with the Federal Bureau of

Investigation.

Q. And how long have you been a special agent for?

A. In August it will be 16 years.

Q. And what did you do before joining the FBI?

A. I was an intelligence officer in the United States Marine

Corps.

Q. How long did you do that for?

A. About six and a half years.

Q. And what rank did you leave the Marine Corps?

A. Captain, which is an O-3.

Q. Before joining the Marine Corps, what did you do?

A. I went to college.

Q. Now, for the FBI, do you investigate a variety of cases

and crimes?

A. Yes, I do.

Q. Have you been involved in the investigation of

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Daniel Stephen Johnson for several years?

A. Yes. I opened the investigation, and I've been the case

agent ever since.

Q. And have you written numerous reports and interviewed

multiple people?

A. Yes.

Q. Do you remember every detail of every report that you have

written in this case?

A. No, I certainly don't.

Q. Do you have with you some reports and documents that

you've written or reviewed in this case?

A. Yes, I do.

Q. And so if I ask a question that you don't recall the

answer to but you have a document for, please -- please ask and

let us know what you will be looking at, and we can discuss

using that to refresh your recollection.

A. Okay.

Q. So, first, I would like to ask you some questions

regarding Mr. Johnson's residency. Have you had the

opportunity to look at some documents regarding what state he's

resided in?

A. Yes, I have.

Q. And what -- what did you determine, please?

A. That he's a resident of Oregon.

Q. Okay. And I would like to turn you to Exhibit 220 and ask

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that this one be published, please.

A. All right. 

Q. What is Exhibit 220, please?

A. That's a printout of his Oregon driver's license.

Q. For Daniel Stephen Johnson?

A. Yes.

Q. What is the issue date of the Oregon driver's license?

A. 4/14 of 2010.

Q. And what is Mr. Johnson's date of birth, please?

A. 4/18 of 1978.

Q. Okay. Have you had the opportunity to review some

passport records of Mr. Johnson?

A. Yes, I have.

Q. And, specifically, were these applications for passports?

A. Yes.

Q. Were those sworn statements in those applications?

A. Yes, they were.

Q. And did they list an address in the applications?

A. Yes, they did.

MR. SWEET: I would like to pull up Exhibit 210,

please, and ask that that be published as well.

THE COURT: It will.

BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. Let's go to page 8, please. Special Agent Schoening, on

page 8, are you able to see a listed address on there? We can

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expand it if -- 

A. Yes.

Q. And what is that address, please?

A. 63341 Shasta Road in Coos Bay, Oregon.

Q. And is that the listed address for Daniel Stephen Johnson?

A. Yes, it is.

Q. And looking at the bottom of that, what is the date on

which that is signed?

A. April 13th of 2010.

Q. And this is an example of one of the documents that's

under oath?

A. Yes.

Q. And so did you review other applications or passports or

renewal of getting more pages added to your passport for

Mr. Johnson?

A. Yes, I did.

Q. And did you see the same address for 63341 Shasta Road in

Coos Bay, Oregon, listed for other years as well?

A. Yes, I did.

Q. And, specifically, did you see that for 2003?

THE COURT: Mr. Sweet, I'll have you slow down just a

bit. We're firing off a lot of quick questions.

MR. SWEET: Thank you, Your Honor. I'll do that.

BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. And did you see that for the year 2003?

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A. Yes.

Q. 2006?

A. Yes.

Q. 2013?

A. Yes.

Q. Okay. And Special Agent Schoening, have you also reviewed

financial records and credit card records for Mr. Johnson?

A. Yes, I have.

Q. And did those cover a period of several years prior to

Mr. Johnson's arrest?

A. Yes, they did.

Q. And did those records list an address for Mr. Johnson?

A. Yes.

Q. And do you recall what that address was?

A. It's the same address that was on the passports and the

driver's license.

Q. The Shasta Road address?

A. Yes.

Q. And did you specifically review Capital One records?

A. Yes.

Q. Citi credit card records?

A. Yes.

Q. Discover card records?

A. Yes.

Q. And Oregon Pacific Bank records?

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A. Yes.

MR. SWEET: Your Honor, the government would ask the

following exhibits be admitted: Exhibit 220, 210, 177, 178,

180, and 186.

THE COURT: Is there any objection, or do we need

time to review?

MR. WEINERMAN: I think we need some time to review

just to make sure.

THE COURT: Okay. We'll do that, and we'll make a

ruling at a later time.

BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. And, Special Agent Schoening, do you know where

Daniel Stephen Johnson was born?

A. In Oregon.

Q. And do you recall what city?

A. Dallas, I believe.

Q. And have you also had the opportunity to review travel

documents for Mr. Johnson?

A. Yes.

Q. And, specifically, have you reviewed a copy of one of his

passports?

A. Yes.

Q. And was that a United States passport?

A. Yes, it was.

Q. And did you also review Customs and Border Patrol records,

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inspection records, relating to Mr. Johnson?

A. Yes, I did.

Q. And did those show that Mr. Johnson, when he was traveling

overseas, that he did so on a U.S. passport? And I'm going to

list some years, please. In 2002?

A. Yes.

Q. 2003?

A. Yes.

Q. 2005?

A. Yes.

Q. 2006?

A. Yes.

Q. 2009?

A. Yes.

Q. And 2014?

A. Yes.

MR. WEINERMAN: And then, Your Honor, those would be

Exhibits 181 and 183. I understand that defense may need more

time, but those are also ones we would be asking to be

admitted.

THE COURT: Folks, we won't show you all of the

documents at this time. Some of them will likely be admitted,

and you'll have them to review during deliberations.

MR. SWEET: Thank you, Your Honor.

And, Your Honor, at this time I would like to read in one

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of the stipulations that the parties reached regarding travel.

THE COURT: All right. Folks, the stipulation is

something both parties agree upon. You can accept it and

should accept it as true.

MR. SWEET: Your Honor, because it is lengthy and

detailed, I'll read the main paragraphs and a short example

from each below.

Stipulation: The parties agree that Mr. Johnson's TECS,

T-E-C-S, records, airline records, passport and U.S. and

Cambodian immigration records, including records regarding

immigration status, travel, and entry and exit data may be

admitted and that the information contained in those records is

true and accurate.

Number two: The parties agree that Mr. Johnson became a

United States citizen at birth and that he has remained a U.S.

citizen continuously and without interruption from the time of

his birth to present.

Three: The parties agree and stipulate that Mr. Johnson

traveled in interstate and foreign commerce between the

United States and Cambodia between on or about the following

dates -- and I'm just going to read the first one --

November 28, 2005, departing the U.S. and then December 6,

2005, arriving in Cambodia.

The next paragraph says, "The parties further agree and

stipulate that Mr. Johnson was present within the District of

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Oregon and then traveled in interstate and foreign commerce

between the United States and Cambodia between on or about the

following dates" -- and reading just the first one -- "June 21,

2011, in Oregon; July 5, 2011, departed the U.S.; and then

July 7, 2011, arrived in Cambodia."

BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. Special Agent Schoening, have you reviewed the travel

dates I just listed as well as other travel dates as set forth

in that stipulation?

A. Yes, I have.

Q. And do you -- is it your understanding that those travel

dates are based off of various supporting records?

A. Yes.

Q. And have you had an opportunity to review those supporting

records?

A. Yes, I have.

MR. SWEET: And, Your Honor, this is a fairly long

list. With the Court's permission, I'm just going to read it,

ask that none of this be published, and just slowly read it

into the record.

THE COURT: Thank you.

MR. SWEET: Thank you.

BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. Exhibit 173, AirAsia records; Exhibit 174, American

Airlines records; Exhibit 175, Asiana Airlines records;

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Exhibit 176, Cambodian entry and exit records; Exhibit 179,

trip itinerary; Exhibit 182, TECS records; Exhibit 184 TECS --

which is T-E-C-S, all caps -- person list; Exhibit 185 American

Airlines records; Exhibit 187, Cambodian travel history report;

Exhibit 188, Department of State passport details; Exhibit 189,

confirmation and itinerary; Exhibit 190, itinerary;

Exhibit 191, bus ticket; Exhibit 193, AirAsia records; and

Exhibit 223, Facebook IP records.

And, Your Honor, again, we would ask that those all be

admitted, and we can discuss those further.

THE COURT: All right. 

BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. Special Agent Schoening, I have what seems like a very

simple question, but is Cambodia a foreign country?

A. Yes, it is.

Q. And to get there, do you have to travel in foreign

commerce?

A. Yes, you do.

Q. And in order to travel from Oregon to Cambodia, do you

have to cross the state line?

A. Yes.

Q. Okay. Could I ask you to speak -- I think the microphone

is actually -- it's a little silver dot. 

THE COURT: The large microphone is for the

translator, but the silver dot there is what is picking up your

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voice. 

THE WITNESS: Okay.

THE COURT: Thank you.

THE WITNESS: Thank you.

BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. Special Agent Schoening, did you travel to Cambodia in

December of 2014?

A. Yes, I did.

Q. And did you meet with Daniel Stephen Johnson when you were

in Cambodia?

A. Yes.

Q. Did you accompany Mr. Johnson from Cambodia to the United

States?

A. Yes, I did.

Q. And was the first location in the United States that you

and Mr. Johnson arrived at Portland, Oregon?

A. Yes, it was.

Q. Okay. I would like to show you what's marked as

Exhibit 221, please.

MR. SWEET: If that could -- we can -- if there's no

objection from the defense -- that's an itinerary -- I would

ask that 221 be published.

MR. WEINERMAN: Just the one page?

MR. SWEET: It is just one page. It is just one

page.

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Counsel, do you have any objection to that?

MR. WEINERMAN: Let me -- can we scroll up a little

more, so I can see the whole document?

MR. SWEET: The top or the bottom, Counsel?

MR. WEINERMAN: I want to see the bottom, please.

No objection.

THE COURT: All right. 221 will be received.

BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. Special Agent Schoening, could you please walk us through

the itinerary, including the departure date, the cities that

you and Mr. -- cities or countries that you and Mr. Johnson

traveled to and then your arrival date?

MR. WEINERMAN: Based on the stipulation, objection.

Relevancy.

THE COURT: Overruled.

Go ahead.

THE WITNESS: So we departed Phnom Penh on

December -- December 22nd of 2014. We flew to Seoul,

South Korea, where we had about a 12-hour layover. We departed

Seoul on December 23rd and flew to Vancouver, Canada. I

believe the layover there was about two hours, maybe an hour

and a half, and then we flew from Vancouver -- on December 23rd

we departed Vancouver and flew into Portland, Oregon.

BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. So then your arrival date in Portland, Oregon, one more

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time, was?

A. I'm sorry. It was December 23rd of 2014.

Q. Okay. And were you -- was that -- was Portland, Oregon,

the first location in the U.S. that Mr. Johnson arrived after

leaving Cambodia?

A. Yes.

Q. Special Agent Schoening, going -- going back a bit, what

was the date that Daniel Johnson was arrested in Cambodia by

the Cambodians?

A. That was December 9th of 2013.

Q. And do you know if digital devices were seized from him at

that time?

A. Yes.

Q. And were -- did you also seize two digital devices from

Mr. Johnson when you met him in Cambodia?

A. Yes.

Q. Special Agent Schoening, did you subsequently obtain a

search warrant for the digital devices seized from Mr. Johnson?

A. Yes. For those and for the ones that I seized.

Q. I'm going to ask you about some documents. Did you review

the contents -- you and another agent review the contents of

those digital devices after the search warrant?

A. Yes, we did.

Q. And did you locate documents relating to Hope Transition

Center, the children staying there, that kind of thing?

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A. Yes.

Q. Okay. I would like to show you Government's Exhibit 157,

please. If there's no objection, I'll ask that that be

published.

MR. WEINERMAN: No objection.

THE COURT: It will be received and published.

BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. And, Special Agent Schoening, the green highlighting was

added by the government, but do you recognize this document?

A. Yes. It's a list of some of the individuals that were at

the orphanage.

Q. And does it list dates, approximate dates, in which

children arrived and their age on arrival?

A. Yes, it does.

MR. SWEET: And Exhibit 159, please.

BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. Could you identify 159, please?

A. It's another list or roster of some of the individuals

that were at the orphanage and their dates of birth.

MR. SWEET: And then 158. And if -- I believe with

no objection, I would ask that this be published, Your Honor.

MR. WEINERMAN: One page?

MR. SWEET: No. It's --

MR. WEINERMAN: Can we defer ruling on this one?

It's been a while since we read this one.

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THE COURT: That's fine.

BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. Let me ask you this, Special Agent Schoening, were there

several documents related to, sort of, the operation of

Hope Transition Center which you found as well?

A. Yes.

MR. SWEET: And, specifically, Exhibits 158 and 160,

I'll show you 160, since you just saw 158. 160 can just be to

Special Agent Schoening.

THE WITNESS: Yes.

BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. Okay. And so for these documents we just discussed

regarding the boys' ages and the Hope Transition documents, do

you know where those were found? 

A. They were found on one of the digital devices. The way

our system is set up, it's hard to sometimes go back and

remember which exact item; but I believe it was the computer.

Q. And --

MR. SWEET: At this point, Your Honor, so we don't

get too far ahead, I would ask that 221, 157, 159, 158, and 160

be admitted, understanding --

THE COURT: I'll defer ruling until after defense has

had time to review.

BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. Did you also locate, sort of, information sheets for the

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boys? Sort of a summary for each boy for a sponsor?

A. Yes.

Q. I would like to show you -- I would like to show you an

example of one.

MR. SWEET: 195, please. Let's go to -- let's try

202, please.

And if there's no objection, I would ask that that be

published, Your Honor.

MR. WEINERMAN: No objection to this.

THE COURT: All right. 202 will be published.

BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. Is that one of the sheets that we're talking about,

Special Agent?

A. Yes, it is.

Q. What is it that's on there, please? What kind of

information is there?

A. General information. Name, date of birth, age, gender,

and then general subjects, like, you know, animals, I guess,

that they like, maybe. Food, sports, cars. Interests, I

guess, of the children.

Q. Okay. And did you find those for a series of the boys

involved with this case?

A. Yes.

Q. Okay.

MR. SWEET: And, Your Honor, the government is

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offering for information sheets for the boys 195, 200, and 202

through 209.

THE COURT: All right. I'll defer ruling. I'll give

the defense a chance to review it before they're admitted.

BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. And, Special Agent Schoening, the majority of the

documents that we're discussing, the children's information

sheet, as well as the Hope Transition Center documents, is it

your recollection that they were on one of the computer --

either the computer or the laptop?

A. Yes.

Q. I'd like to show you Government's Exhibit 201. Could you

identify that, please?

A. That's a letter of recommendation that Mr. Johnson wrote

concerning BT XXXXXXXXX.

Q. And I'd like to read --

MR. SWEET: I would ask that this be published,

Your Honor.

MR. WEINERMAN: That's fine. No objection to this

one.

THE COURT: All right. It will be.

BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. If we can zoom in on the top half of that, please, I'd

like to read a little bit of this and ask if this is correct.

Is this a letter from Daniel Johnson?

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A. Yes.

Q. "To Whom it May Concern: I would like to share with you a

little bit about BT XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. There are few young men

like this one. BT XXXX is one of the most extraordinary young

men I have ever met. From the day that I met him, I knew that

he had a higher calling. BT XXXX is a respectful,

intellectual, bold, prompt, and a God-fearing man. He is

humble and moldable, always eager to learn and willing --

willing to admit when he is wrong."

Is that -- is that accurate? Is that what Mr. Johnson

wrote regarding BT XXXXXXX?

A. Yes.

Q. And what is the date on that, please?

A. May 1st of 2013.

Q. And, Special Agent Schoening, I would like to show you --

I would like to show you a board with some of the orphanage

locations on there.

MR. SWEET: Your Honor, this is something that

Counsel has seen previously and I do not believe has any

objection to this being shown to the jury.

MR. WEINERMAN: We may have some questions relating

to foundation that we would like to ask before it's admitted.

So questions in aid of objection.

THE COURT: Okay. Do you want to ask those now?

MR. WEINERMAN: I think the better way is for Counsel

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to ask preliminary questions and when we feel we've reached

that point --

THE COURT: Okay. Go ahead and lay a foundation.

MR. SWEET: If I may, then, Your Honor, just for --

so Special Agent Schoening can see it, can I set it up over

here?

THE COURT: Yes.

BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. I'm sure there's a better way, but I think for a moment

this might -- can you see that Special Agent Schoening?

A. Yes, I can.

Q. So can you tell us what is on that board, please?

A. There's a diagram for each location that -- or for three

locations that the orphanage had been operating out of, along

with the corresponding time frame, and then some photographs.

Q. And so you're referring to Mr. Johnson's Hope Transition

Center Orphanage; is that correct?

A. Yes.

Q. And are you aware that it was at three different

locations?

A. Yes.

Q. And potentially more, but at least three different

locations that have been addressed in this case?

A. Correct.

Q. Okay. And in terms of -- in terms of the dates for

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when -- the dates for each location, let's start with -- let's

start with the last date. What -- where do you have location

three being active until?

A. I believe that was the location that he was living and

working at when he was arrested.

Q. Okay. What's the date at which you have -- what's the

last date on there, please?

A. The last date on the --

Q. Yes. The last date of which it shows location three

was -- was still --

A. December of 2013.

Q. Okay. And is that the month in which Mr. Johnson was

arrested?

A. Yes, it is.

Q. Okay. And what's the date that you show the orphanage

moving to location three?

A. September of 2012.

Q. Okay. And had you reviewed -- looked at records, be it a

lease or other documents?

A. Yes.

Q. And in terms of location two, what do you have for the end

date of location two, please?

A. August of 2012.

Q. And what do you have as the start date for location two,

please?

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A. July of 2011.

Q. Okay. And what do you have as the end date for location

one? 

A. June of 2011.

Q. Do you recall what records it was -- what kinds of records

you reviewed in confirming those dates?

A. There were a couple of documents that we found on the

computer. And then I believe some Facebook records as well.

Q. Okay. Now, the first date, though, the start date for

location one, is that a date that you have come across

information for?

A. I don't remember specific information on the start date,

but I think it's generally correct.

Q. Okay. Now, what about the diagrams? How did you -- what

information do you have in the diagrams that are for each

location?

A. Other than what's marked or what's marked?

Q. Just what's marked, please.

A. Just what the various areas are, whether it's a dining

room or a common area, then Mr. Johnson's bedroom.

Q. And how is it that those diagrams came to be created?

A. We interviewed. And when I say "we," I interviewed some

and some other agents interviewed other people that were

familiar with orphanages, and they kind of sketched them out,

and we turned the sketches into diagrams.

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Q. And have you shown those diagrams to other people, as

well, for corrections and clarifications?

A. Yes.

Q. And from that, do you believe you have information such

that you could indicate where Daniel Johnson's room was?

MR. WEINERMAN: I'll object and ask that I be able to

ask some questions at this time.

THE COURT: Go ahead.

MR. WEINERMAN: So it's -- it's a little far for me

to see, but if I may approach, so I can see, Your Honor?

THE COURT: Yes.

MR. WEINERMAN: Thank you.

So we're talking now about the sketches on the top row of

this poster board; correct?

THE WITNESS: Yes, sir.

MR. WEINERMAN: And you have indicated -- I assume

you're the ones who have labeled the particular rooms and

buildings? So, in other words, look at location three. You've

indicated where certain places were. Laundry, kitchen, TV

room, et cetera; correct?

THE WITNESS: They were labeled when I was given the

diagram, sir, and I showed them to one of the witnesses, and he

made corrections.

MR. WEINERMAN: So you didn't label them?

THE WITNESS: Not originally, no.

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MR. WEINERMAN: So would it be fair to say that for

all three of these locations the labels of where rooms were was

based on what somebody else told you?

THE WITNESS: Yes.

MR. WEINERMAN: You've never been in any of these

locations yourself?

THE WITNESS: No, I haven't.

MR. WEINERMAN: That's all the questions I have,

Judge. I would object. It's based on hearsay.

THE COURT: Mr. Sweet?

MR. SWEET: Well, Your Honor, I think we can probably

turn to the defense exhibits and get a lot of that information,

but we can wait until we do that to admit that, so that's fine.

In terms of the labels, I'm happy to wait until we can --

until we can supplement that.

THE COURT: It seems we have plenty of witnesses that

were available and could clarify the accuracy of the diagrams

based on their residence in these three places. So I think we

can get it in, but I think through this particular witness it

is hearsay.

MR. SWEET: Absolutely.

BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. And, Special Agent Schoening, I would like to -- we talked

a little bit about -- we've mentioned Facebook IP accounts. Is

one of the things the FBI used to determine Mr. Johnson's

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travel IP addresses for activity off of his Facebook?

A. Yes.

Q. And did you obtain a search warrant for two of

Mr. Johnson's Facebook accounts?

A. Yes, I did.

Q. Okay. And from that, did you obtain some of

Mr. Johnson's -- or many of Mr. Johnson's Facebook messages?

A. Yes, I did.

Q. And also voluminous Facebook IP data?

A. Yes.

Q. Did you also obtain a search warrant for what I'll call

the GaryDonna Johnson Facebook account?

A. Yes.

Q. And tell us, please, who are Gary and Donna Johnson?

A. Gary is Mr. Johnson's brother, and Donna is Gary's wife.

Q. Did you review the contents of those Facebook accounts as

well?

A. Yes, I did.

Q. From your review -- let me ask you this: Are we talking

hundreds of pages, thousands of pages, in terms of the volume

of Mr. Johnson's -- Daniel Johnson's Facebook account, roughly?

A. Just Mr. Johnson's?

Q. More than 1,000; more than 5,000?

A. It was probably 28- to 30,000 pages.

Q. And from reading -- and did you read the vast majority of

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those messages?

A. Yes and no. I read a redacted version of the Facebook

records.

Q. Okay. And were you able to determine that Mr. Johnson was

often able to access and use Facebook while he was in jail in

Cambodia?

A. Yes.

Q. So there are a few messages I would like to -- I would

like to turn to.

MR. SWEET: If I may, Your Honor, I'm going to take

that down since that hasn't been --

THE COURT: Yes.

BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. Before going into the content of some of these messages, I

do have a question for you, Special Agent Schoening. Is it

true that based on your performance in the Daniel Johnson case

you had to meet with your supervisor to come up with a plan to

improve your level of professionalism because of your

investigation in the Johnson case?

A. Yes.

Q. And do you agree with that decision?

A. No, I don't.

Q. I'm going to show you some -- I'm going to show you some

Facebook chats, and I would like to turn your attention first

to 162. Exhibit 162.

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MR. SWEET: Your Honor, this is one I would ask, if

there's no objection from the defense, that it be published to

the jury.

MR. WEINERMAN: Other than previously.

THE COURT: With the previous objections, Exhibit 162

will be received.

BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. And, Special Agent Schoening, let me ask you, first, who

is Becca Norris?

A. Becca Norris is a member of Calvary Baptist Church down in

Texas.

Q. And how does she come up? What is her role?

A. She handled a lot of the donations and contributions and

money.

MR. WEINERMAN: Objection. This is based on hearsay,

based on contacts or discussions with Rebecca Norris.

THE COURT: Overruled. I think from his

investigation he can clarify who this individual is.

BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. And if you can just give a short summary of what her

connection was to the orphanage?

A. Sure. She -- she collected all the money that was donated

or offered and sent it to the ministry.

Q. Okay. And so did you review Facebook messages between

Daniel Johnson and Becca Norris?

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A. Yes, I did.

Q. And for Exhibit 162, what is the date, please, for the

start of this communication?

A. 05/26 of 2014.

Q. So May 26, 2014, was that after Mr. Johnson was arrested?

A. Yes.

Q. So I'm going to read some of it and ask you if you know

who this is talking about. So a message from Daniel Johnson.

"You rest and speak words of peace into SES XXX. SES XXX is

being fed by BT XX, and BT XX is being fed by Karla."

From reviewing these messages, who do you believe Sopheak

is?

A. Pastor Sopheak.

Q. And BT XX?

A. BT XXXXXXX.

Q. And Karla?

A. Is Karla Comstock.

Q. And next, "But don't tell them that you know this because

they all don't know or understand what they're being led into.

The problem is they need to see it is hurting the body of

Christ. The silence is Golden Rule needs to be spoken into

their hearts and spirits. They are leaning on their own

understanding, yet they do not even understand." 

Is that an accurate reading?

A. Yes, it is.

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Q. And in reviewing Mr. Johnson's Facebook communications

with various people, did you come across other messages in

which he would talk about the importance of not speaking out or

being silent?

A. Yes.

Q. I'd like to turn your attention to Government's

Exhibit 171. And this is a redacted version, just the -- just

a second.

MR. SWEET: So, Your Honor, what we've done is we've

taken the second page of Exhibit 171, which we discussed

earlier, we have redacted -- we have redacted out -- so a

fairly limited amount of text remains. I'll give the defense

the opportunity to review that and make sure that is consistent

with their understanding.

(Pause-in-proceedings.) 

MR. WEINERMAN: That's fine.

MR. SWEET: I ask this be published to the jury,

Your Honor.

THE COURT: Yes.

MR. WEINERMAN: Exhibit number again? 171?

MR. SWEET: This is 171. Second page of 171.

MR. WEINERMAN: Oh, it's double-sided. I had both

pages, Judge.

THE COURT: All right.

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Case 6:14-cr-00482-MC Document 272 Filed 10/24/18 Page 77 of 91
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BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. Special Agent Schoening, let me ask you this: What

Facebook account is this message from in Exhibit 171?

A. It's from the GaryDonna Johnson account.

Q. Okay. And in reviewing the GaryDonna Johnson account, did

you see messages communicating with individuals in Cambodia

that are involved in this case?

A. Yes.

Q. And though this is only one message, did you see, you

know, a lot of messages, a few messages with people involved in

this case?

A. Numerous messages.

Q. Okay. And did those messages sometimes identify who the

author was who was using the GaryDonna Johnson account?

A. Yes.

Q. And who did it identify that as?

A. For the Cambodian individuals, it was usually or almost

always Gary.

Q. So the person in the U.S. communicating with the

Cambodian -- the author for the GaryDonna Johnson account

communicating with Cambodian individuals was usually Gary? 

A. Yes.

Q. Or "almost always Gary" I think you said.

A. Yes.

Q. Okay. And was -- how could you determine that?

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A. Just by the text. A lot of times the other person would

say, "Hey, Bro," or sometimes they would say -- they'd put his

name in there. Gary.

Q. From your review of messages, did it appear that sometimes

messages were being relayed or copy-and-pasted from

Daniel Johnson through the Gary Johnson account?

A. Yes.

MR. WEINERMAN: Object as leading, and it calls for a

characterization. The best evidence is the chats themselves

and not his interpretation of them.

THE COURT: Overruled as to, you know, why he even

focused on these particular chats. 

So go ahead.

THE WITNESS: Yes.

BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. So I would like to read a portion of the unredacted

portion from 171. Well, let me ask you this: Are there

misspellings in some of the chats from the GaryDonna Johnson

account?

A. Yes. Some of them.

Q. Okay. Would you see -- would you see the word "BT XX" pop

up fairly frequently with a capital "B"?

A. Yes.

Q. And just from context and from looking at other messages,

who do you believe BT XX to be?

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A. BT XX.

Q. Please tell me if this is correct. "Please plan a visit

to BT XXX's family, along with Da Sothea. Explain to BT XXX's

family that BT XXXX should return to Cambodia because he, and

he alone -- all caps -- is planning on testifying against me in

exchange for citizenship. They need to know that I am in jail

because BT XXXX believe and is only thinking of himself. He

needs to retract and return to Cambodia. Offer them 10k as

though it's coming from Sinai -- it's from Sinai?" Is that

correct?

A. Yes.

Q. So, first of all, who do you believe -- do you know who

Sinai is?

A. It's Pastor Sinai.

Q. And did you see other messages involving Pastor Sinai?

A. Yes.

Q. As far as you know, was Gary Johnson in jail during the

time of these chats?

A. Not as far as I know.

Q. I would like to turn your attention to Exhibit 224,

please.

MR. SWEET: Your Honor, I would ask that this one be

published to the jury. It's between Daniel Johnson and

SO XXXXXXX.

THE COURT: It will be published and received.

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MR. SWEET: 224.

BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. So are you -- do you recall this -- do you recall this

chat? If we need to -- let's expand towards the bottom, the

bottom three paragraphs.

A. Yes, I do.

Q. I would like to read it and then ask you a question.

So is the author from the -- the first expanded paragraph,

is that Daniel Johnson?

A. Yes, it is.

Q. Okay. And what's the date that that message was sent,

please?

A. 5/26 of 2014.

Q. And was Mr. Johnson in jail in Cambodia at that time?

A. Yes.

Q. And does it say, "I don't understand why Christian cannot

see they hurt all Christian when they speak bad and make more

problem. God don't like this." Is that correct?

A. Yes.

Q. Okay. What did Mr. Johnson -- what's the next message

after that, please?

A. Did you want me to read that?

Q. Yes, please.

A. It says it's from Daniel Johnson. The recipient was

SO XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. It says, "Can you post that or write

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something like it and post?"

Q. Sorry. Can you say the last part louder again, please?

A. Yes. "Can you post that or write something like it and

post?"

Q. And were those two messages sent close in time to each

other? First, the suggested text and then the request?

A. Yes. About a minute apart.

Q. Actually, just looking at it, I mean, it's --

MR. WEINERMAN: Objection. The document speaks for

itself.

THE COURT: I'll allow him to ask questions about the

document.

BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. So 13:01:50 is the first message?

A. Yes.

Q. 13:02:05 seconds?

A. Yes. 

Q. So approximately 15 seconds apart? 

A. Yes.

MR. SWEET: I have one more of these. Exhibit 286,

please.

Your Honor, this is one of the -- we have switched the --

the raw data is available as part of this exhibit, but a

streamlined version of the same text is what is depicted. And

after Counsel has an opportunity to review it, I would ask that

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286 be published.

MR. WEINERMAN: No objection.

THE COURT: All right. It will be published. It's

already received.

BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. And, Special Agent Schoening, who is this message -- who

are these messages from and who are they to?

A. From Mr. Johnson to SO XXX.

Q. Okay. And so this is fairly long. So there are just

parts of this I would like to highlight. Please tell me if

this is correct.

And what's the date of these chats, please?

A. June 28th of 2014.

Q. "I love you forever and nothing you or anyone can say or

do to change that will ever change my heart and feelings for

you. I pray that you will come and see me and we can talk face

to face. I have many things to tell you, but I refuse to do it

through electronics. My heart is torn and broken for so many

reasons now. Mostly because you are looking for any reason to

abandon me right now."

Going down below, "I love you so much, sweet son, and I

miss you. My heart is bleeding while waiting to see you face

to face." 

Below, "Waiting for the day I can be together with you

free so I can show you that I always -- I will always be by

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your side to walk with you, to help you stand when you are

weak, to catch you when you fall, to help you stand -- to help

stand you back up, to be there for you when no one else is, to

die for you if needed." 

Are those correct so far?

A. Yes.

Q. And, finally, does it end, "I'm very destroyed. You don't

talk with me like before, son. I can feel you pulling away

from me, so I tried to honor your feelings and give you some

space. My heart is as strong as ever for you and even if your

heart and mind changes from the words you have spoken to me,

mine never will change because what I told you is true

forever." 

Is that correct?

A. Yes.

Q. And did you find multiple Facebook messages,

Special Agent Schoening, between Daniel Johnson and many of the

boys?

A. Yes.

MR. SWEET: Your Honor, given the volume, if I may, I

would just like to read the exhibit number, and I understand

ruling may need to be deferred, but just to lay the foundation

for their admission.

THE COURT: All right.

MR. SWEET: Exhibit 162, 165, 166, 167, 169, 170,

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171, 224, 276, 277 -- 277 through 289, 291, 293, 299, 304, and

that is -- those are the Facebook chats.

BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. I only have a couple more things, Special Agent Schoening.

Have you reviewed on audio that is a recording of an

in-person conversation between Mr. Johnson and his relatives?

A. Yes.

Q. Okay. And was that audio from January 21, 2015?

A. Yes.

Q. And do you recall if that audio is Exhibit 197?

A. I believe so.

MR. SWEET: Your Honor, we're not asking it be played

but just asking that that be admitted.

MR. WEINERMAN: No objection --

THE COURT: All right. It will be received.

MR. WEINERMAN: -- other than previously made.

DEPUTY COURTROOM CLERK: What exhibit was that?

MR. SWEET: 197.

BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. So wrapping up, Special Agent Schoening, did you interview

BT XXXXXXX as part of this investigation?

A. Yes. Several times.

Q. And do you recall the date of your first interview with

him?

A. April 17, I believe, of 2014.

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Q. Feel free to check if that would help you.

A. April 17 of 2014 was the first time I interviewed him.

Q. April 17th of 2014?

A. Yes.

MR. SWEET: I just have one clerical clarification.

I said 304 for one of the last exhibits. I should have said

305. Not 304. I apologize.

BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. Special Agent Schoening, where did you interview

BT XXXXXXX?

A. At the Fry Road Nursery in Albany.

Q. Did he know you were coming?

A. No, he didn't.

Q. Had you spoken with him before you went to the nursery?

A. No.

Q. Had he made any efforts to contact you?

A. Not that I know of.

Q. Okay. And while working on this case, did you come across

a document which named or had BT XXXXXXX mentioned in it?

A. It had him by his Cambodian name, which was BT XXXXXXXXX.

Q. Okay. Is that what led you to go talk with BT XXXXXXXXX

or BT XXXXXXX?

A. Yes.

Q. After speaking with BT XXXXXXX, did you later try to

figure out how he could stay in the U.S. to be available for

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trial?

A. Yes, I did.

Q. Okay. Is that something a -- a process that you were

familiar with?

A. No.

Q. And did you reach out to Immigration and Customs

Enforcement about that?

A. Yes, I did.

Q. And did they put you in touch with someone?

A. Yes. An immigration attorney that they had worked with in

the past.

Q. And then did you facilitate that immigration attorney

getting in touch with BT XXXXXXX?

A. Yes.

Q. And, Special Agent Schoening, when you first met

BT XXXXXXX on April 17th of 2014, did he talk to you about any

sexual abuse?

A. Yes, he did.

Q. Did he mention discussing sexual abuse by Daniel Johnson

to him?

A. Yes.

Q. And, in summary -- and summary is fine -- what did he say?

A. That he -- I believe, initially, it was that he had been

abused five or six times. He didn't go into too much detail as

far as the specific instances. That was in a later interview,

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once he got a little bit more comfortable with me. He also

stated that he was basically afraid of Mr. Johnson. He was

afraid of retaliation.

Q. And, Special Agent Schoening, I just have -- I just have

one last question. There's one more Facebook chat that I would

like to -- I would like to bring up, and that is 305.

I'll give Counsel a minute, because we discussed this

earlier, but then I believe we --

MR. SWEET: At this point, if we can just have it

published to Counsel.

MR. WEINERMAN: No objection.

THE COURT: All right. It will be received. It can

be read into the record if you wish.

MR. SWEET: Thank you, Your Honor.

BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. Special Agent Schoening, is this message from the

GaryDonna Johnson Facebook account to the SO XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

account?

A. Yes, it is.

Q. What's the date, please?

A. January 30th of 2015.

Q. And does it say --

MR. SWEET: And if this could be published to the

jury, please.

THE COURT: Yes. Sorry. I thought it was.

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BY MR. SWEET: (Continuing) 

Q. Does it say, "Get a hold of BT XXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX family.

Try to get them to talk BT XX into stopping what he's doing to

Daniel. Let them know he can recant his accusations on Daniel.

It would be the right thing to do. Also, our dad is very sick,

and he needs to see he's son. This is killing him. Thanks. 

This would end this terrible action against Daniel for

good. Then Daniel could have a solid case on suing FBI. He

would be able to pay everyone back.

Also help BT XX gets out of Cambodian prison. Because

when they get what they want, they will extradite him back.

This is a guarantee they never ever keep their promises. This

could be a happy ending for everyone except the FBI. 

Also pass on not to talk about the case about

Daniel unless it's Daniel's attorney." Is that accurate?

A. Yes.

MR. SWEET: Thank you, Your Honor. I have no further

questions.

THE COURT: Excuse me. Sorry, folks.

We will break, folks, for lunch until 1:15 at which time

we will have cross-examination.

(Jury not present.) 

THE COURT: All right. Anything we need to discuss

before we break?

MR. SWEET: Nothing from the government, Your Honor.

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MR. WEINERMAN: Nothing.

THE COURT: See everybody at 1:15. Thank you.

(Lunch recess taken.)

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Case 6:14-cr-00482-MC Document 272 Filed 10/24/18 Page 90 of 91
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C E R T I F I C A T E 

United States of America v. Daniel Stephen Johnson 

6:14-cr-00482-MC-1 

TRIAL DAY 8, VOLUME 7A 

PAGES 892 - 982 

May 9, 2018 

I certify, by signing below, that the foregoing is a 

true and correct REDACTED transcript of the record, taken by 

stenographic means, of the proceedings in the above-entitled 

cause. A transcript without an original signature, conformed 

signature, or digitally signed signature is not certified. 

/s/Jill L. Jessup, CSR, RMR, RDR, CRR, CRC 

_____________________________________________ 

Official Court Reporter Signature Date: 5/9/18 

Oregon CSR No. 98-0346 CSR Expiration Date: 9/30/20 

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Case 6:14-cr-00482-MC Document 272 Filed 10/24/18 Page 91 of 91