Once again, thanks to Jonathan for providing me with his copy of this recording and enabling me to make this transcript for those who'd prefer to read this interview than listen to it.
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Danae Kelley: Well, eight days ago, on June 20, I was — I received a subpoena from the FBI and it read to go to the federal grand jury. I was shocked, because I haven’t been active in a very long time and, I mean, to my understanding, it’s about a meeting that was held two years ago, and about a meeting that was videotaped by police officers and the media mainstream, and numerous people had videotapes of this. And since then I’ve read on the Internet that the homes of certain people who had videotapes of the meeting were raided and the videotapes confiscated, even though the police have their own copies that they could watch.
And I’m just here doing my grand jury, showing up for the date. I was postponed from 11:30 to 1:30, and I’m not speaking about my strategy or anything like that. And I just kind of wanted to point out the fact that there were several days when the police — it’s for five days, my impression is, that the FBI was coming to my house and knocking on my door. My neighbors told me at all hours of the day, just throughout the whole day for five days. And they were bothering my neighbors and asking my neighbors for identity, and bothering their out-of-town guests, and just wanting to know, like, if they’re associated with this and what they have to say, basically.
And I don’t really appreciate that, and I also don’t appreciate them coming over at such early hours of the morning, like 7 o’clock in the morning, 6:45, during numerous days. It’s just a little much.
Jonathan: Had they made any attempt to contact you before issuing the subpoena?
Kelley: No, and the subpoena was issued — I’m reading the subpoena — on the 3rd, but I was not attempted being served until the 20th, from a little business card being left on my door, and then given it to me, received on the 28th. So from the 3rd to the 28th, I guess, it was just this kind of hanging out somewhere.
Jonathan: So they had never asked you in an informal way to [provide information]?
Kelley: No, never.
Jonathan: When they gave you the subpoena, did they tell you what it was about? Or was it just fairly vague?
Kelley: It was very vague. I received one sheet of paper, the subpoena, and they said, “Can you read to me the person’s name in the bottom right-hand corner?” And I said, “Stephen Cook, assistant United States attorney,” and they said, “O.K.,” and they started to walk down the stairs. And I said, “Is there any kind of contact of yours, like is there any kind of reference, documentation that you guys are the people — you two, in specific — who came to my house and gave this to me?” And they said, “Everything that you need is on the paper. Contact the person that you just read to me.” I said, “O.K.,” and they left.
Onell Soto: Did you contact that person?
Kelley: I can’t speak on that at the moment.
Soto: Do you have the subpoena?
Kelley: Yeah, my attorney has that for the moment. He’s stepped out for lunch.
Soto: Who’s your attorney?
Kelley: Linda Blair.
Soto: Linda Blair?
Kelley: Yes.
Soto: I’m Onell Soto. I’m with the Union-Tribune.
Kelley: Oh, O.K.
Soto: So you haven’t actually been questioned? You don’t know what they’re going to be asking?
Kelley: No, not until 1:30.
Soto: Why do you think it’s related to this? Were you at that —
Kelley: I have no idea why it’s related. I’m only going off assumptions and what I’ve read off the Internet.
Soto: Do you — were you at that meeting on [August 1, 2003]?
Kelley: I’m not going to speak about anything along those lines. I apologize.
Soto: All right.
Kelley: Without my attorney present.
Soto: That’s fine. And when you talk to your lawyer, my understanding — and I’ve talked to at least one of the lawyers involved in this — is that witnesses are free to talk about their testimony, and about what their experience is in the grand jury, and so you can check with your lawyer about that. My basic interest is to find out what it is that they’re asking, what kinds of questions that they’re asking, and what kind of investigation is this.
Kelley: I’m only left now to speculate from things that I’ve read on the Internet.
Soto: O.K.
Kelley: That’s my only real reference, and I know the Internet’s not … [Recording breaks off at this point.]
Mark Gabrish Conlan
e-mail:: mgconlan@earthlink.net
