Day 6 - January 22, 2015

Thomas Kiernan completed testimony about files recovered from Ross Ulbricht's laptop and two thumb drives. He described decrypting two active thumb-drive files with a password found on the laptop, comparing website files and log versions, and extracting a bitcoin wallet file. On cross-examination, he acknowledged that timestamps and chat text were editable and that his hash comparison checked his working copy against Christopher Jon Beeson's image, not directly against the laptop. No actual intrusion or alteration was established. Kiernan described encryption-related access difficulties but later acknowledged lacking personal knowledge of what would have happened had the laptop been closed. The court limited questioning about computer security and malware. FBI Special Agent Gregory Fine identified the two USB drives recovered from Ulbricht's bedroom and described their transport to evidence storage. Richard Chapman Bates then testified that Ulbricht told him in 2011 that he had created and ran Silk Road. Bates described providing programming help before and after learning its purpose. He admitted lying to investigators after Ulbricht's arrest and testified under a nonprosecution agreement. The court admitted chats over defense objections and a voicemail without objection. Outside the jury's presence, the court explained its authentication and hearsay rulings on the chats. Joshua Dratel sought a mistrial over restrictions on questioning Kiernan and the court's comment that the defense could call a witness. The court denied the motion. After lunch, it instructed jurors that the defendant need not call witnesses and that the government retained the burden of proof throughout. Bates's resumed testimony addressed both continued involvement and statements about leaving Silk Road. He testified that Ulbricht was running the site in October 2011, but recounted Ulbricht saying on November 11 that he had already sold it. Bates said he believed that account. He interpreted a February 2013 chat as acknowledging that Ulbricht was no longer working on the site while still requesting secrecy. Cross-examination examined Bates's prior lies, his agreement's incentives, and his receipt and deletion of Silk Road code. After Bates was excused, the prosecutor read previously admitted chats concerning a claimed sale and later adoption of the Dread Pirate Roberts name. Beeson described copying selected folders and imaging the laptop's Linux partition while it remained running because of encryption. On cross-examination, he acknowledged a tar error and uncertainty at the time about whether all files had copied. He could not identify the precise cause or affected file. An attempt to image and hash simultaneously failed; he repeated the imaging without simultaneous hashing and calculated the hash later. He also acknowledged possible access-time changes without establishing that they occurred here. His cross-examination remained unfinished at recess.