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Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document 457 Filed 11/13/21 Page5of8
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seizure of the USB drive, Federal Rule of Evidence 901(b)(4) permits authentication based on
‘[t]he appearance, contents, substance, internal patterns, or other distinctive characteristics of the
item, taken together with all the circumstances.’” /d. (alteration in original) (quoting Fed. R. Evid
901(b)(4)). Witness testimony about the content of the letters was “sufficient to pass the relatively
low bar for authentication of evidence,” and the Second Circuit explained that “any remaining
questions as to the reliability of the letters go to their evidentiary weight, not their admissibility.”
Id. at 24-25; see United States v. Bagaric, 706 F.2d 42, 67 (2d Cir. 1983), abrogated on other
grounds by Nat'l Org. for Women, Inc. v. Scheidler, 510 U.S. 249 (1994) (letter’s contents were
sufficient to authenticate it under Rule 901(b)(4)).
The same is true here. Employee-1 will identify Government Exhibit 52 as the defendant’s
contact book based on its appearance and contents. Moreover, Employee-1’s testimony will be
corroborated by the contents of the book itself, which includes (a) contact information for the
defendant’s family, and (b) contact information for victims who interacted with the defendant
during the relevant time period. That is more than sufficient to establish the authenticity of the
exhibit under Rule 901. To the extent the defense disputes Employee-1’s testimony, or takes issue
with the circumstances under which Government Exhibit 52 came into the Government’s
possession,* those arguments are for the jury. The anticipated testimony satisfies Rule 901, and
the evidence should be admitted.
3 Tt is a matter of public record that in 2009, an employee of Jeffrey Epstein, Alfredo Rodriguez,
attempted to sell Government Exhibit 52 to a plaintiffs attorney. The attorney contacted the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, and agents seized Government Exhibit 52 from Rodriguez, who
was arrested. Rodriguez has stated that he took the book from Epstein’s Palm Beach residence
during his employment for Epstein from 2004 to early 2005. Government Exhibit 52 has remained
in the possession of the FBI since that time. Rodriguez pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and
acknowledged that he was obligated to turn this evidence over to the FBI years earlier, when he
was interviewed during the course of the FBI’s investigation of Epstein. See United States v.
Alfredo Rodriguez, 10 Cr. 80015 (KAM). Rodriguez passed away following the conclusion of the
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Document Details
| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00006967.jpg |
| File Size | 849.9 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 94.3% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 2,570 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 17:17:11.351207 |