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10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document562 Filed 12/17/21 Page 63 of 82 testimony and accept it with great care. This is not to suggest that any witness who has an interest in the outcome of a case would testify falsely. It is for you to decide to what extent, if at all, the witness’s interest has affected or colored his or her testimony. You are not required to accept testimony even though the testimony is not contradicted and the witness’s testimony is not challenged. You may decide because of the witness’s bearing or demeanor, or because of the inherent improbability of the testimony, or for other reasons sufficient to yourselves that the testimony is not worthy of belief. On the other hand, you may find, because of a witness’s bearing and demeanor and based upon your consideration of all the other evidence in the case, that the witness is truthful. Thus, there is no magic formula by which you can evaluate testimony. You bring to this courtroom all your experience and common sense. You determine for yourselves in many circumstances the reliability of statements that are made by others to you and upon which you are asked to rely and act. You may use the same tests here that you use in your everyday lives. You may consider the interest of any witness in the outcome of this case and any bias or prejudice of any such witness, and this is true regardless of who called or questioned the witness. Finally, as you know, I have permitted certain witnesses to be referred to in open court either by their first name or a pseudonym. As I explained to you in my preliminary instructions before opening statements, this process is to protect the privacy of witnesses as this case has received significant attention in the media. I instruct you again that this process should not bear in any way on your evaluation of the evidence or credibility of any witness in this case. 62 DOJ-OGR-00008519