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CaGade20-rr-0028640APAC DOnourEaissa Fieeoa2Z2eP?1 Pafageok 26 20 BACKGROUND L Procedural History Following an extensive investigation by law enforcement authorities, Schulte was arrested in August 2017 on suspicion of leaking national defense information that he had obtained while working for the CIA. (Schulte Br. at 2, ECF 435; Gov’t Opp. Br. at 1, ECF 444) Schulte has been in custody since his arrest. (Gov’t Opp. Br. at 1.) On June 18, 2018, an indictment charged Schulte with thirteen counts of espionage and other offenses. (See id.) On October 31, 2018, the Government obtained a superseding indictment, which incorporated the same offenses as the initial indictment but added two additional counts of unlawful disclosure and criminal contempt of court. (See id. at 1-2.) On February 2, 2020, Schulte proceeded to trial on the eleven national security related charges. (id. at 2.) On March 9, 2020, the jury returned a guilty verdict on two counts: (1) making false statements to law enforcement, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001, and (2) criminal | contempt of court, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 401(3). Ud.; Schulte Br. at 2.) The jury, however, was unable to reach a unanimous verdict with respect to the remaining eight national security charges. (Schulte Br. at 2.) Accordingly, the Court granted the Defendant’s motion for a mistrial on those counts. (Gov’t Opp. Br. at 2.) Immediately following the trial, New York City emerged as the global epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. See Hopkins Hawley LLC v. Cuomo, No. 20-CV-10932 (PAC), 2021 WL 465437, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 9, 2021) (describing the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on New York City). As a result, the vast majority of in-person proceedings throughout the Southern District of New York (the “District”) were substantially dialed back or suspended altogether. See, e.g., Standing Order, M-10-468 (CM) (S.D.N.Y. April 20, 2020). Grand juries and jury DOJ-OGR-00002823