EFTA01126074.pdf

1 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIFTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, IN AND FOR 2 PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA 3 JEFFREY EPSTEIN, 4 Plaintiff, 5 vs. Case No. 502009CA040800XXXXMBAG 6 SCOTT ROTHSTEIN, individually, BRADLEY J. EDWARDS, 7 individually, and L.M., individually, 8 Defendants. CERTIFIED COPY 9 10 11 EXCERPT TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS 12 13 DATE TAKEN: Thursday, October 25th, 2012 14 TIME: 1:30 p.m.- 2:23 p.m. PLACE 205 N. Dixie Highway, Room 9C 15 West Palm Beach, Florida BEFORE: David Crow, Presiding Judge 16 17 This cause came on to be heard at the time and place aforesaid, when and where the following proceedings were 18 reported by: 19 20 Sonja D. Hall Florida Professional Reporter 21 Palm Beach Reporting Service, Inc. 1665 Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard, Suite 1001 22 West Palm Beach, FL 33401 (561) 471-2995 23 24 25 PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126074  2 1 APPEARANCES: 2 For Bradley Edwards: 3 SEARCY, DENNEY, SCAROLA, BARNHART & SHIPLEY, P.A. 4 2139 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd. West Palm Beach, FL 33409 5 By DARRYL L. LEWIS, ESQUIRE 6 Pro Se: 7 FARMER, JAFFE, WEISSING, EDWARDS, FISTOS & LEHRMAN, P.L. 8 425 North Andrews Avenue #2 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 9 By BRADLEY J. EDWARDS 10 For Jeffrey Epstein: 11 FRED HADDAD, P.A. 12 One Financial Plaza, Suite 2612 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33394 13 By FRED HADDAD, ESQUIRE 14 For Jeffrey Epstein: 15 TONJA HADDAD COLEMAN, P.A. 524 S Andrews Avenue 16 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 By TONJA HADDAD COLEMAN, ESQUIRE 17 18 For Jeffrey Epstein: 19 ATTERBURY, GOLDBERGER & WEISS, P.A. 250 Australian Ave. South, Suite 1400 20 West Palm Beach, FL 33401 By JACK A. GOLDBERGER, ESQUIRE 21 22 23 24 25 PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126075  1 DIRECT EXAMINATION 2 SY MR. LEWIS: 3 Q What is your profession? 4 A Attorney. 5 Q At some point in time were you employed by 6 the law firm of RRA, the way it's been called in this 7 case? 8 A Yes, from approximately April of 2009 until 9 what Mr. Haddad described as implosion around, I 10 believe, November 1st, 2009, but possibly the day 11 before. 12 Q And in what capacity were you employed by 13 that firm? 14 A I was an attorney. I was an employee there. 15 Q And when you came to the firm, did you 16 bring some cases with you where you were prosecuting 17 some cases on behalf of some minor children against 18 Mr. Epstein for him molesting them? 19 A Yes. There were two different 20 classifications of cases all revolving around the same 21 issue. I filed them all around the same time in 2008. 22 One, I represented -- ultimately I represented, I 23 believe, 10 to 12 victims of Jeffrey Epstein. But 24 while I was at RRA, I represented at least three files 25 that were being litigated. I had filed those in 2008. PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-299S EFTA01126076  1 In addition to those files, I was 2 litigating, and still currently litigating, another 3 case on behalf of all of Jeffrey Epstein's minor 4 victims against the United States Attorney's Office 5 wherein the allegations are that the U.S. Attorney's Office improperly gave Jeffrey Epstein immunity from 7 prosecution of the crimes against these victims in 8 violation of the Crime Victims Rights Act. That 9 case is currently pending in front of Judge Marr a. 10 Jeffrey Epstein has intervened in that case and 11 certainly is interested in knowing the info rmation 12 that we have regarding those allegations. 13 And if -- one of the things that we are 14 asking for in that case is to overturn the immunity 15 agreement which would open him back up to 16 prosecution. Those causes were all being litigated 17 while I was at RRA, and the Crime Victims Rights Act 18 case is still active today. 19 Q Now, who was your supervisor at RRA, your 20 direct supervisor? 21 A Russell Adler was the head of the pers onal 22 injury tort division. He was in charge of the 23 division, and that's the division that I was in. 24 Q And did you have communications from time 25 to time with Mr. Adler regarding these cases against PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126077  1 Mr. Epstein? 2 A It was more than just from time to time. 3 Russell Adler knew what was going on with the cases, we 4 had Epstein meetings where myself, former Judge Bill 5 Berger, Russ Adler, other members of the firm would 6 talk about Epstein, talk strategy about Epstein. Our 7 mental impressions were out on the table, so to speak; 8 discovery, strategy was discussed. Not only that, the 9 intimate details of our clients was discussed. Things 10 that all fall into the parameter of work product 11 privilege and attorney-client privilege, and that's 12 just in-person communication. 13 Q In addition to in-person communications 14 with Mr. Adler on a regular basis regarding these 15 cases, was there also a computer program at the firm 16 called Q Task? 17 A Yes. 18 Q Can you explain to Judge Crow what Q Task 19 is? 20 A Yes. 21 THE COURT: Say that again. 22 MR. LEWIS: Q Task, T-A-S-K, Judge. 23 Q Can you explain what that is, please? 24 A Russell Adler describes that program much 25 better than I do. He was one of the creators of the PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126078  6 1 program, and it was a very good program. I only used 2 it during the time at RRA. I think Russ Adler has 3 described himself as an evangelist for the program. 4 But it is basically a virtual boardroom for attorneys 5 to communicate specifically back and forth, have 6 meetings in a virtual manner so that you can discuss 7 cases, details of cases, strategy on cases. And one of 8 the projects -- actually, every case, I think, had a 9 project within Q Task. Certain people who would give 10 impact or input on cases were invited to the project. 11 Both myself and Russ Adler were on those projects, 12 which means everything that I posted or Bill Berger, 13 for instance, posted, or Russ Adler posted -- I believe 14. those were the main participants in that project -- 15 would have access to literally everything that was in 16 that communication device. 17 Q Let's be very specific for Judge Crow. Did 18 the Epstein project have a Q Task project associated 19 with that case? 20 A There was an Epstein project. 21 Q Was Mr. Adler also on the Q Task list for 22 that project? 23 A Yes. Meaning he had access to literally all 24 of the privileged communications and privileged 25 information, work product, attorney-client and PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126079  1 otherwise, all of it that I had access to, Mr. Adler 2 also had access to. 3 Q And can you explain to the Judge what it 4 was for? 5 A It was so that we could brainstorm, share 6 ideas, discuss strategy, discuss discovery, discuss 7 what was going on in the case, and we would not have to 8 call formal meetings. We would communicate in a 9 private manner about details involving any case going 10 to that project. 11 Q Let's be specific about the Epstein case, 12 which is why we are here to show that they have an 13 unfair advantage by Mr. Haddad representing both 14 Mr. Epstein and -- go ahead. Just keep it to the 15 Epstein -- 16 A The Epstein case was one project that I 17 communicated ideas in, Russ Adler communicated ideas 18 in. I was handling the case; I was the primary 19 attorney. Any idea that I had to bounce off of any 20 other attorney that was in this project, the other 21 attorneys invited to that private project also had 22 access to. 23 So Russ Adler had access to literally all 24 of my mental impressions going on that were in this 25 private site. It is designed -- basically designed PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126080  1 and utilized solely for the purpose of sharing 2 privileged information amongst lawyers in the law 3 firm. 4 Q Can you please share with the court whether 5 or not you considered all of those communications 6 with Mr. Adler and the other lawyers who were on that 7 Q Task project privileged? 8 A Of course, so did Russ Adler, and, I believe, 9 Mr. Haddad definitely won't dispute that. 10 Q Now, from your perspective, are you 11 concerned with respect to all of the communications, 12 personal communications that you had with Mr. Adler 13 in person where you were talking about the Epstein 14 case, all the communications that you had on Q Task 15 that you considered privileged, that with Mr. Haddad 16 representing Mr. Adler how that can give him a 17 tactical advantage in his representation now of 18 Mr. Epstein? Can you explain that to Judge Crow, 19 please? 20 A I am concerned because Russ Adler had access 21 to all of the information I knew. Mr. Haddad 22 representing Jeffrey Epstein would be no different at 23 this point than Russ Adler representing Jeffrey 24 Epstein. 25 Jeffrey Epstein's lawsuit against me was PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126081  1 based exclusively on things that I did while at RRA. 2 The allegations against Russ Adler had been made 3 similar allegations, but made by Scott Rothstein 4 against Russ Adler. 5 Mr. Haddad has the task of defending Russ 6 Adler in those allegations. I am assuming any 7 information that would help to acquit or defend Russ 8 Adler, that Mr. Haddad could ask his clients about 9 those things. And if it would assist in that 10 defense then he certainly would. And certainly, all 11 of this information that is privileged that Russ 12 Adler has, he would have the ability to share with 13 his attorney -- probably should share with his 14 attorney so that his attorney can effectively 15 represent him. 16 And I have a problem understanding how 17 Mr. Haddad could represent Russ Adler in the exact 18 accusations related to his actions at the time that 19 he was at RRA when Scott Rothstein is alleging that 20 he was, in Scott Rothstein's words, deeply involved 21 in the Ponzi scheme and a co-conspirator, that Russ 22 Adler is saying are false; and how Mr. Haddad can 23 represent Russ Adler against those accusations and 24 divorce himself from the knowledge that he learned 25 from Russ Adler so that he can represent Jeffrey PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126082  10 1 Epstein in this action without utilizing information 2 he learned or could learn from his client. 3 THE COURT: Let me -- I want to -- I'm 4 confused. What lawsuit or claim is 5 Mr. Haddad representing Mr. Adler in regards 6 to allegations that he is involved in the 7 Ponzi scheme? 8 THE WITNESS: I believe that from the 9 very -- Mr. Adler has not been charged. 10 THE COURT: I am asking is there any 11 pending either criminal or civil matter 12 against Mr. Adler based upon allegations 13 that he was involved in some way in this 14 youmkeep saying that he is defending him 15 against these allegations. I want to know 16 what case -- 17 THE WITNESS: I am sure that Mr. Haddad 18 would be better able to explain this. But 19 Mr. Adler was from the very beginning a 20 target of a criminal investigation. He has 21 not been cleared as of yet to the extent 22 that I know. 23 THE COURT: I understand that, sir. 24 What I am asking you is -- I may have 25 misunderstood. But I got the impression PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126083  11 1 here there is an active, pending litigation 2 or criminal proceeding. And maybe there 3 isn't. What you're talking about is the 4 potential for some claim down the road or 5 some possible criminal action or some sort 6 of possible civil action, but anything 7 pending right now, to your knowledge? 8 THE WITNESS: I don't know. There was also an adversary proceeding, which I 10 believe also settled where -- 11 THE COURT: The clawback -- 12 TEE WITNESS: Right. But other than 13 that, I don't really know. 14 MR. LEWIS: Thank you very much, Your 15 Honor. Just a few more questions. 16 BY MR. LEWIS: 17 Q To put everything in context, you heard. 18 Mr. Haddad in his opening statement in response to a 19 statement I made to the court in our opening 20 statement how is he going to cross-examine Mr. Adler 21 about information that may be adverse to Mr. Epstein 22 and Adler in this case. And you heard him say that, 23 well, I probably wouldn't cross-examine Mr. Adler, 24 Mr. Goldberger would do that. You heard him say 25 that, right? PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126084  12 1 A Yes. 2 Q Now, practically, if he's a co-counsel, I 3 guess he's also representing Mr. Epstein, too? 4 A Yes. 5 Q And Mr. Haddad is representing Mr. Epstein, 6 too? 7 A Right. 8 Q Do you have a concern at all that all 9 Mr. Haddad has got to do is say Mr. Goldberger, why 10 don't you ask him this, don't ask this, that they can 11 communicate things that you have asserted as 12 privileged in our case that he knows from 13 MR. GOLDBERGER: Judge -- 14 THE COURT: This is not closing 15 argument, counsel. Just ask the question. 16 MR. LEWIS: I apologize, Judge. I want 17 to get to the issue. 18 THE COURT: Ask your question. 19 BY MR. LEWIS: 20 Q Are you concerned about that? And can you 21 please explain to the court what your concern is? 22 A My concern is that any privileged information 23 that Mr. Haddad wants, if we invoke a privilege all he 24 has to do is ask Russ Adler. That's my concern. 25 That's it. PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126085  13 1 MR. LEWIS: Thank you, Judge. I don't 2 have any other questions for Mr. Edwards 3 right now. 4 THE COURT: Cross-examination, sir? 5 MR. HADDAD: Yes, sir. 6 CROSS-EXAMINATION 7 BY MR. HADDAD: 8 Q Mr. Adler is a very close friend of yours, 9 correct? 10 A That's true. 11 Q And Mr. Adler is the one who brought you 12 into RRA, correct? 13 A That's true. 14 Q And as a matter of fact, if Mr. Adler were 15 to testify for you, he would be a character witness, 16 would he not? 17 A I would think so. 18 Q He considers you one of the finest lawyers 19 around, does he not? 20 A I believe so. 21 Q He's expressed that to a number of people? 22 A I believe so. 23 Q Do you think that Mr. Adler is going to be 24 a witness adverse to you? 25 A I think that -- PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126086  14 1 Q Answer the question please, sir. 2 THE COURT: Excuse me, sir. 3 If you can answer the question, answer, 4 but you can explain your answer if you can. 5 A I don't know what that question means. 6 Q Mr. Edwards, you will concede that 7 • Mr. Epstein dropped his lawsuit against you, correct? 8 A Yes. 9 Q And the only thing pending now is your 10 lawsuit against Mr. Epstein, correct? 11 A Right. 12 Q Would you concede that Mr. -- that RRA fell 13 apart and the Feds came in from October to November 14 of 2009? 15 A I believe so. 16 Q Would you agree that the files that were 17 RRA files regarding Epstein were taken at that time? 18 A Right, Russ Adler no longer had access. 19 Q He had no access to Q Task or anything, 20 correct? 21 A I don't know that. 22 Q Now, that was before I began to represent 23 him, correct? 24 A I guess so. 25 Q Well, you would agree November 2nd was when PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126087  15 1 you guys were told this is it? 2 A That's right. I just don't know when you 3 started representing him. 4 Q On November 2nd you sent an email, as a 5 matter of fact, to Mr. -- I can't say his name. 6 Epstein's lawyer at that time, Cuman (phonetic) or 7 something like that? 8 A Okay. 9 Q And you asked him in an email if he would 10 agree to reset the deposition because you had no 11 access to files, your office or anything else, 12 correct? 13 A That's true. 14 Q And you sent an email saying you were very 15 surprised that he said no, correct? 16 A I don't remember which lawyer this is because 17 it is a whole team of them. I don't doubt that this 18 happened. 19 Q Well, I think you filed a joint motion to 20 continue on the 14th of November, 2009 setting forth 21 that you had no office, no files, no ability to do 22 anything, and therefore you would request that it be 23 continued? 24 A I don't remember doing that, but I don't 25 quarrel with any of that because it is all true. PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126088  16 1 MR. HADDAD: May I show him a certified 2 copy of the motion? 3 A I am not disputing it. I haven't seen a copy 4 in years. 5 Q That looks like it? 6 A Filed by Bob Crichton as a joint motion, yep. 7 Q Now, did you today get to review a copy of 8 an affidavit by Russell Adler that I filed this 9 morning by email? 10 A I saw it. 11 Q And, of course, you are aware of your 12 answer to Interrogatory 32 of the second set of 13 interrogatories -- the third set of interrogatories 14 to you, correct? 15 A Am I aware of my answer to question 16 Number 32? 17 Q Yeah, where I put out there that you said 18 in your answer to interrogatory that -- let me read 19 it: Identify all attorneys who worked on the client 20 cases against plaintiff-counter defendant Jeffrey 21 Epstein, including, but not limited to the attorneys 22 formerly at RRA, abbreviated, the attorneys of the 23 former Jaffe -- that's your firm, correct? 24 A Correct. 25 Q -- and outside attorneys and referring PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126089  17 1 attorneys. And your answer was: Brad Edwards, Paul 2 Cassel (phonetic) -- that's the lawyer in -- 3 A Correct. 4 Q Matt Weissing, Steve Jaffe and Bill Berger 5 rendered substantive services in the prosecution of 6 the plaintiff Jeffrey Epstein. Russell Adler was in 7 attendance, you said, at multiple depositions, but 8 was not an active participant, correct? 9 A All true. 10 Q Russell Adler did not actively participate 11 in your case at all, correct? 12 A Other than what you just described. 13 Q Now, is it not correct that none of the 14 Epstein cases settled during the period of time that 15 you were at RRA? 16 A That is true. 17 Q And you are aware, of course, that 18 Mr. Rothstein said in his deposition that you 19 attended with Mr. Scarola, that in fact you settled 20 one of them that was part of the Ponzi scheme, 21 correct? 22 A I don't remember that at all. 23 Q There's no question one of the cases 24 settled? 25 A No question about it. PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126090  18 1 Q And you were there for a grand total of six 2 months? 3 A At the most. 4 Q Six months at the most. You brought your 5 files with you, you left with your files? 6 A True. 7 Q And you settled them later, correct? 8 A Over a year later. 9 Q Now, whatever work product -- and I don't 10 know what work product you have or what you are 11 talking about, you did have interviews with the Daily 12 News, correct; for the reporter for the Daily News, 13 regarding Jeffrey Epstein? 14 A Over the last few years. 15 Q Even at that time, yeah? 16 A I believe so. 17 Q You had an interview with a gentleman named 18 Rush, George Rush? 19 A I think Epstein had an interview with George 20 Rush. 21 Q Yeah, and then you called the guy back 22 after that and you had a conversation with him, which 23 you filed an affidavit on, right? 24 A Right. 25 Q And you used that affidavit and other PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126091  19 1 affidavits to make a determination of why you found 2 it necessary to depose Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, 3 Prince Albert -- was it Prince Albert? One of those 4 guys, and all of those individuals, correct? 5 A I didn't -- 6 THE COURT: Where are you going with 7 this? 8 MR. HADDAD: To show that every single 9 thing that he claimed would have been 10 privileged, he put out in affidavits and 11 interviews that he gave to the press. 12 THE COURT: That's going to be a neat 13 trick if you don't know what he spoke to the 14 press about. 15 MR. HADDAD: I'm sorry? 16 THE COURT: Go ahead. 17 MR. HADDAD: Well, Russ Adler is going 18 to testify and I think that will clear that 19 up. 20 THE COURT: Mr. Adler is not going to 21 talk about attorney-client privilege 22 communication he had with him, is he? 23 MR. HADDAD: He's got an affidavit I 24 can show the court. 25 THE COURT: I have seen the affidavit. PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126092  20 1 I didn't see the emails. I'm not on your 2 email list. 3 MR. LEWIS: We did object -- 4 TEE COURT: Just ask the question, 5 okay. I was wondering where you were 6 headed. 7 MR. HADDAD: I'm sorry, yes, sir. 8 BY MR. HADDAD: 9 Q You never had a conversation with Mr. Adler 10 regarding Epstein until you got to RRA, correct? 11 A Correct. 12 Q And then when you were at RRA you advised 13 him of these cases that you had, correct? 14 A What I advised him of, I believe, would be 15 product privilege, which is the problem here. 16 Q I am talking about the existence of the 17 case which is public record, not any inner workings, 18 all right? 19 A Okay. 20 Q Did you not make the statement that Russ 21 Adler learned about the case from the newspapers in 22 your deposition? 23 A I might have. 24 Q You won't dispute that, correct? 25 A No. PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126093  23. 1 Q Sir? 2 A I wouldn't dispute it. 3 Q Now, you have read Mr. Adler's deposition, 4 correct, in this matter? 5 A At some point in time I did. 6 Q You have read my response in opposition to 7 the motion to disqualify me, correct? 8 A Yes. 9 Q And do you disagree with Mr. Adler's 10 assertions that he had nothing to do with the file 11 and has no privileged information? 12 A Which question are you asking, that he had 13 nothing to do with the file? 14 Q Do you agree with his assertions in his 15 deposition that he had no privileged information or 16 anything that was privileged regarding that case? 17 A I don't think he said that, so that's the 18 problem. He invoked the privilege at the deposition 19 where you represented him. 20 Q I understand that. He invoked every 21 privilege he could in that deposition? 22 A Right, implying that -- 23 Q My question to you is -- sir? 24 A -- implying that he had privileged 25 information, and that's all I'm -- PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126094 EFTA01126095  22 1 Q I will let it go at that point. 2 Do you have any -- you wouldn't, but okay. 3 The claim that now exists is your claim 4 for damages against Mr. Epstein, correct? 5 A Yes. 6 Q And that claim for damages is for abuse of 7 process, correct? 8 A That's one of the counts, correct. 9 Q And the other is what, defamation? 10 A Malicious prosecution. 11 Q Malicious prosecution. 12 Those are separate and apart from the 13 claims that you have with the United States of 14 America, correct? 15 A Separate claims from that claim? 16 Q Yes. 17 A Yes, they are separate claims. 18 Q And you filed -- excuse me, Mr. Epstein's 19 attorneys filed a lawsuit against you while you were 20 actively prosecuting claims for the victims that you 21 cited were of what occurred, correct? 22 A That's true. 23 Q And that is where your inner workings were, 24 involving the plaintiffs who have already settled, 25 correct? They have all settled? PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126096  23 1 A They have settled. The case against Epstein 2 has settled. 3 Q That's what I'm saying. The case against 4 Epstein has settled, the case against you by Epstein 5 has settled? 6 The case against you by Epstein has 7 settled by his dismissal of the claims against you? 8 A He dismissed the claim, right. 9 Q So the only thing remaining is the claim 10 that you have against him? 11 A That's correct. 12 Q For malicious prosecution and for abuse of 13 process? 14 A As well as the Crime Victims Rights Act. 15 That's still ongoing. 16 Q Okay, now, you made mention to the Judge of 17 Mr. Adler's defense. Are you aware of anything that 18 Mr. Adler has outstanding where I represent him? 19 A By outstanding -- 20 Q Well, other than -- let me put the caveat. 21 I am sure you've read -- he may have an appeal of a 22 30-day suspension by Judge Brown for a failure to 23 sign an affidavit and a fraudulent mortgage 24 application. But other than that, are you aware of 25 anything against Mr. Adler with whom you are very PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126097  24 1 friendly? 2 A I talk to Russ Adler frequently. I know 3 generally what he believes is going on with respect to 4 Scott Rothstein's accusations. And I don't know 5 exactly formally where that prosecution or potential 6 prosecution is or if it will ever be. But that is the 7 only thing that I know is ongoing that you have any 8 role in representing him in. 9 Q Let me ask you this. Based upon your 10 long-term knowledge and friendship with Mr. Adler, is 11 there any doubt in your mind he would never breach a 12 confidence and share anything with me? 13 A ' If he's -- 14 MR. LEWIS: Your Honor, how -- 15 THE COURT: Excuse me. Please stop. I 16 think you are asking for credibility. This 17 is character reference. I don't think 18 that's -- 19 BY MR. HADDAD: 20 Q Okay, I will rephrase it. Do you have any 21 information to remotely suggest that Russell Adler 22 has passed one bit of information to me? 23 A I would believe that Russ Adler will tell you 24 all of the information that would assist you in 25 representing him. And if the allegations against him PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126098  25 1 are that he was involved in a Ponzi scheme and emails 2 would help to refute that, then I would hope that he 3 would pass that on to you. But I don't know what he's 4 given you, because I'm not involved in your 5 attorney-client relationship. 6 Q Do you have any information that Russell 7 Adler would in any way share any information with 8 me -- share any information that's privileged with 9 me, if there is any, regarding Jeffrey Epstein and 10 this case? 11 A He shares a privilege with you. So if it 12 helped in his defense, he would and he could and he 13 should. 14 Q I am talking about the instant case. 15 A It's all related to the same subject matter. 16 Q Do you have any information, even remotely, 17 that Mr. Adler was involved in a Ponzi scheme? 18 A No. 19 Q Did you ever hear any -- Mr. Adler has 20 denied from the first day that he had any knowledge 21 of the Ponzi scheme, correct? 22 A He has. 23 Q And he said the only way he found out about 24 the Ponzi scheme was the same way you did, in the 25 newspaper? PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126099  26 1 A Correct. I have read that. I believe that. 2 MR. HADDAD: I don't have anything 3 else. 4 THE COURT: Any redirect? 5 MR. LEWIS: Just real brief, Judge. 6 REDIRECT EXAMINATION 7 BY MR. LEWIS: 8 Q Were you deposed in the case that's pending 9 before Judge Crow? 10 A For hours. Eight hours, sure. 11 Q And during the time that you were deposed, 12 did you have occasion to assert work product 13 privilege to questions that Mr. Epstein's lawyers 14 were asking you? 15 A Yes. 16 Q And those questions that you were asserting 17 privilege to, would Mr. Adler have access to that 18 information that you were asserting privilege to? 19 A I don't remember the specific questions, but 20 he had access to all information that I had access to 21 at RRA. He had access to the information. 22 He wasn't the active attorney prosecuting 23 the file, but through Q Task he had access to all 24 privileged information, yes. 25 MR. LEWIS: May I approach, Your Honor, PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126100  27 1 and show the witness one document? 2 BY MR. LEWIS: 3 Q Mr. Edwards, I am going to hand you a 4 document, it's two pages. And first of all, can you 5 tell the court what it is? 6 A A string of emails that four emails that 7 began October 13th, 2010 from one of Russell Adler's 8 other attorneys. By other, I mean other than Fred 9 Haddad, and it is initially directed to Russ Adler and 10 Fred Haddad. And it is asking: Russell, any idea what 11 this is all about? It was in response to pleadings 12 filed by Jeffrey Epstein's attorneys at the time in the 13 bankruptcy case wherein they were attempting to gain 14 access to privileged information, including emails at 15 RRA, Q Task information. It was a list. The court is 16 familiar with that subpoena. 17 Mr. Haddad apparently responds: Russ, I 18 thought Sheer (sic), referring to Bill Sheerer, I 19 presume -- 20 Q Explain to the court who Mr. Sheerer was. 21 A Mr. Sheerer was representing some creditors 22 in the bankruptcy proceeding, who were apparently a 23 part of the purchase of fraudulent settlements that 24 Scott Rothstein had made up out of thin air related to 25 Jeffrey Epstein. PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126101  28 1 Q And so Mr. Haddad is cc'd or whatever on 2 this string. And what does Mr. Haddad do with 3 respect to Mr. Adler after receiving this? 4 A He forwards to Russ Adler an email that says: 5 Russ, I thought Sheer filed for that discovery of 6 Stettins stuff from RRA. You better reread in case you 7 have to assert privilege. Your name was mentioned. 8 This says to me Mr. Haddad is telling 9 Russell to protect the privilege of the victims of 10 the Epstein girls if need be, discussing privilege. 11 Russell Adler responds back to Mr. Haddad 12 with the message: Pedophile Jeffrey Epstein is 13 trying to capitalize on the Rothstein situation by 14 filing lawsuits and making baseless claims in the 15 bankruptcy case that the lawsuits filed against him 16 by Brad Edwards on behalf of the young girls Epstein 17 molested were cooked up and fabricated as part of 18 Rothstein's Ponzi scheme. This claim is ridiculous 19 and Epstein has settled most of the molestation 20 cases with Brad Edwards. 21 Most of what Epstein and others are asking 22 for is privileged, and Brad and Seth Lehrman, my 23 current partner, are already fighting the disclosure 24 of the materials sought in the notice. 25 The only reason that I have this PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126102  29 • 1 information is because Russ forwarded it to me 2 saying do I need to assert a privilege since my name 3 was mentioned? And we told him back, no, we are 4 protecting the same information. You are protecting 5 privileged information relating to the girls, we are 6 already protecting privileged information related to 7 our communications and the girls, you don't have to 8 additionally protect that same privileged 9 information. So we took care of it, so that's the 10 only reason I even have this email. I don't know 11 what other emails exist. 12 Q Exactly. And the import of that is that 13 privilege that he's asserting and Mr. Haddad asked 14 him to assert, are these consistent with the 15 privileges you have asserted in this case with 16 respect to specific questions that Mr. Epstein's 17 lawyer has asked you? 18 A Like I said, if my privilege is asserted 19 here, the only thing that Mr. Haddad would have to do 20 is ask his client, Russell Adler, who would be able to 21 tell him all of the privileged communications, so long 22 as Russell remembers those things. 23 Q Would that give Mr. Epstein a tactical 24 advantage in his defense of the case that you have 25 brought against him for abuse of process and PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126103  30 1 malicious prosecution? 2 MR. GOLDBERGER: Argumentative, Your 3 Honor. 4 THE COURT: It is argumentative, 5 Counselor. 6 MR. LEWIS: Your Honor, may I go ahead 7 and mark this, please? 8 THE COURT: Exhibit Number 1. 9 Any objection, Counsel? 10 MR. HADDAD: If I can cross-examine on 11 it. 12 THE COURT: I will allow that. 13 (Plaintiff's Exhibit Number 1 was marked 14 for identification.) 15 THE COURT: Are you finished, Counsel? 16 BY MR. LEWIS: 17 Q Sir, Mr. Adler was also deposed in this 18 case pending before the court, correct? 19 A That's correct. 20 Q Did Mr. Adler on many occasions in that 21 deposition invoke a work product privilege? 22 A His deposition has been filed. And 23 basically, at the beginning of the deposition he said I 24 am going to invoke privilege on all communications and 25 everything else. So it was basically a standing PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126104  31 1 objection, and additionally, throughout the deposition 2 he invoked privilege. 3 MR. LEWIS: Thank you very much, Judge. 4 THE COURT: Mr. Haddad, limited to the 5 document. 6 MR. HADDAD: Yes, sir, limited to the 7 document. 8 May I approach the witness? 9 RE-CROSS EXAMINATION 10 BY MR. HADDAD: 11 Q This email has a string of emails that 12 begins with from Russell Adler to Katie Adler; 13 Slatkin, who is the bankruptcy lawyer, Fred Haddad? 14 A Okay. 15 Q "What is this?" Dated October 13th, 16 2010 -- 17 A Correct. 18 Q -- at 10:46, correct? 19 A Yeah. 20 Q And that's the whole pedophile stuff, 21 Epstein? 22 A Right. 23 Q Most of what Epstein is asking for is 24 privileged. Brad and Seth Lehrman -- Brad, that's 25 you -- are fighting the disclosures of the materials PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126105  32 1 sought, right? 2 A Right. 3 Q The sentence you left off is Russ Adler 4 saying I am not involved in that battle? 5 A He wasn't. 6 Q Okay, you didn't tell that to the Judge. 7 A I think there's even a back page, if you 8 wanted to read the last one. 9 Q There is a response, as opposed to being in 10 that, is from me on October 14th, the next day. So 11 the sequence you have is in error, correct? 12 A Okay. 13 Q Correct? 14 A Yes. 15 Q And my response was: Russ, I thought Sheer 16 filed for the discovery of Stettins stuff from RRA. 17 You better receive (sic) that in case you have to 18 assert a privilege, correct? 19 A That appears to be correct. 20 Q You don't know whether I was discussing 21 with him the Fifth Amendment privilege or 22 attorney-client privilege? 23 A I have no idea what your discussions would 24 be. 25 Q What kind of law do I practice? PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126106  33 1 A What kind of law are we practicing in this 2 case? 3 Q It's pretty close to criminal. 4 You know that -- 5 THE COURT: We are in civil court, 6 right? 7 MR. HADDAD: I am trying to be, Judge. 8 THE WITNESS: He forgot for a second. 9 BY MR. HADDAD: 10 Q You don't know what privilege I was talking 11 about, correct, Mr. Edwards? 12 A No, I have no idea. 13 Q And there was another response to that 14 later that day. Brad said do I need to assert 15 privilege since my name was mentioned? His response 16 was: I don't think so, since my only communic ations 17 were within the firm. He puts work product, and all 18 of that was already being asserted by you guys ? 19 A Correct. 20 Q I have never had any communication with any 21 Epstein clients? 22 A That's true. 23 Q Now -- 24 MR. HADDAD: Okay, I will let it go, 25 Judge. I said I would only go that far, PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126107  34 1 sorry. 2 THE COURT: You can step down, sir. 3 Thank you for your time. 4 5 (The requested portion of proceedings were 6 concluded at 2:23 p.m.) 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126108  35 1 COURT CERTIFICATE 2 3 4 STATE OF FLORIDA : SS 5 COUNTY OF PALM BEACH ) 6 7 I, SONJA D. HALL, certify that I was 8 authorized to and did stenographically report the 9 foregoing proceedings and that the transcript is a 10 true record of my stenographic notes. 11 12 13 Dated this 29th day of October, 2012. 14 15 16 SONji((ellf 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 PALM BEACH REPORTING SERVICE, INC. (561)471-2995 EFTA01126109