6.James Eppard — Direct/Cross
170 linesJAMES EPPARD, duly sworn
COURT CLERK: State your name, spell your last name for the record, keep your voice up and speak into the mic so everyone can hear you.
JAMES EPPARD: James Eppard, E-P-P-A-R-D.
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. CHAKRAVARTY:
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Good afternoon. Where do you work?
JAMES EPPARD: I work at the FBI.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: What job?
JAMES EPPARD: I work in the office of public affairs. I'm a web manager in the FBI.gov and Internet Operations Unit.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: What are your responsibilities there?
JAMES EPPARD: Manage content on the website, upload material to the website. Pretty much everything having to do with maintaining the FBI's websites.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Is that the FBI.gov website or are there other websites?
JAMES EPPARD: There's the FBI.gov website and then each of the field offices have websites, and there are some FBI-related websites, but primarily the FBI's main website FBI.gov.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: What kind of things do you put up on FBI.gov?
JAMES EPPARD: Outreach material, fugitive publicity material if we're trying to reach out to the public to enlist their help in getting tips on ongoing cases. We upload stories, we have videos, wanted posters, seeking information posters.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And what did you do before you joined the FBI?
JAMES EPPARD: I was a newspaper reporter for seven years, a community paper in Washington, D.C., and after that, I worked at AOL as a news editor for seven years. I've been at the FBI for ten years.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Now, were you working back on April 15, 2013?
JAMES EPPARD: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And did you and your unit begin mobilizing after the Boston Marathon bombing?
JAMES EPPARD: Yes, after the explosions and the FBI's involvement in Boston, we created a page that would include continuous updates on the case.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And when you say "continuous updates," what do you mean? What was being published publicly?
JAMES EPPARD: Any press conferences, any press releases related to the ongoing investigation were posted on this page.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And were there several of those statements during the week of the marathon?
JAMES EPPARD: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Now, fast-forward to the days after the marathon while the investigation was continuing. Were statements about the status of the investigation and what help law enforcement was asking for, was that published on FBI.gov?
JAMES EPPARD: Yes, it was.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Was there a tip line also set up?
JAMES EPPARD: Yes, a tip line was established, and it was put on that page along with information for victims in the case and the continuing updates in the case.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: On that Thursday, April 18th, was there a press conference that afternoon?
JAMES EPPARD: Yes, there was a press conference. It was held by the FBI. The special agent in charge called a press conference for 5 p.m. that day.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And were various other law enforcement agencies who were participating in the investigation, were they also part of that press conference?
JAMES EPPARD: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And where were you during this time?
JAMES EPPARD: I was at FBI headquarters. I was working.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And what were you preparing to do?
JAMES EPPARD: In the hours leading up to that press conference, we'd received images of the two suspects in the case as well as video -- surveillance video of the case, and we were preparing that for upload to the FBI website. So we had multiple images and video uploaded to the site and prepared for release to coordinate with the press conference.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And what was the intended purpose of uploading that information and coordination?
JAMES EPPARD: This was going to be the first images of the primary suspects in the case. In the days leading up to that release there was a lot of speculation in the media, and the intent of the press conference was to focus everybody's attention on these two suspects.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And was it also to exclude other individuals who had been identified?
JAMES EPPARD: Yes. Yes. The special agent in charge at the time stated that during the press conference.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And were you watching the press conference during this time?
JAMES EPPARD: Yes, I was.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And during the press conference, did, in fact, you release those videos and photos onto the FBI.gov website?
JAMES EPPARD: Yes. During the press conference -- there was actually a moment during the press conference when the posters were essentially turned around for the public to view. At that point we made everything live on our website so it would be available for the public to view and for news media to access and download.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Can we, Mr. Bruemmer, if you wouldn't mind calling up 1507.
These are not yet admitted, so just for the witness, your Honor.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Is this one of the images that was released that day?
JAMES EPPARD: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And 1508.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And is this a close-up of the -- one of the poster boards that was released that day?
JAMES EPPARD: Yes; that's correct.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And 1510, please.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And is this a wider view of the press conference depicting two poster boards that depicted the suspects?
JAMES EPPARD: Yes, it is.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: I'd move into evidence and ask to publish 1507, 1510 and 1508.
THE COURT: Any objections?
MR. BRUCK: No.
THE COURT: Those three exhibits are admitted and now publicized.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Thank you, your Honor.
(Government Exhibit Nos. 1507, 1508 and 1510 received into evidence.)
BY MR. CHAKRAVARTY:
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Now, Mr. Eppard, can you describe what's depicted in the image?
JAMES EPPARD: In the image, these two posters, one was of Suspect No. 1, one was of Suspect No. 2. They contain video screen grabs made from the surveillance video as well as some of the images that were released on FBI.gov.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And what did the FBI ask for during the course of the press conference?
JAMES EPPARD: The special agent in charge at the time asked for -- enlisted the public's help to submit tips, information in the case that might support the investigation.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Can we show Exhibit 1508, please.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And is this one of the subjects, the subject later identified as Jahar Tsarnaev?
JAMES EPPARD: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And Exhibit 1507, please.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And is this a still shot of video that was released of surveillance video that day?
JAMES EPPARD: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: So once these images were released, what did you do?
JAMES EPPARD: Well, I watched the coverage. Once everything was pushed live on our site, we were watching the news coverage, and almost simultaneously we saw the footage that we had released and that was released at the press conference being played on multiple networks.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: So the news media carried it and you were -- did you check various different outlets to see if they were carrying the same images?
JAMES EPPARD: Yes. Yes. In my observation, it was widely covered.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And did the news media, all the various outlets, also cover the press conference?
JAMES EPPARD: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Did you see it in all sorts of media: print coverage, on the Internet, as well as on TV and radio?
JAMES EPPARD: Yes, I did.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: In addition to seeing that it was widespread amongst the media, does the FBI have a way of capturing analytics related to how much traffic your website is getting?
JAMES EPPARD: The video -- yes, the video was released on YouTube, on the FBI's YouTube channel. That video is also embedded within our own pages, and the metrics on that showed that we -- the page was viewed 12 million times within the first 24 hours of its release.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And how does that compare to the typical viewing activity?
JAMES EPPARD: That's more than we get in a month. We get about 10 million in a month.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: In addition to the surveillance video, were there other, just, visits to the FBI.gov web page?
JAMES EPPARD: Yes. So when we released the video and the images, they were placed on top of this running investigative updates page. There was a photo montage on that page. If you clicked on the photo montage, that would take you to all of the photos that had been released so far in the case. In the first 24 hours, that had been viewed more than 4 million times. So we knew that we were getting a lot of traffic to the site. I mean, traffic to the FBI site was unprecedented on that day.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Did that press conference occur a little after 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 18th?
JAMES EPPARD: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And over the next 24 hours, how would you describe the media coverage of the release of those images?
JAMES EPPARD: It was -- in my observation, it was quite broad.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And how about the traffic to the FBI.gov website?
JAMES EPPARD: Again, unprecedented.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Were there more images released over the next 24 hours?
JAMES EPPARD: There were additional images released around 2 a.m. on April 19th, early in the morning, and then again around 8:20 on the morning of April 19thth there was another image. The images at 2:00 were of both suspects, just clearer, sharper images, and then at 8 a.m. -- 8:20 a.m. there was an image released of Suspect No. 2 who at that time was identified as Tsarnaev.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: When you say "Tsarnaev," you mean Dzhokhar Tsarnaev?
JAMES EPPARD: Yes; correct.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And was he still not located by law enforcement at that time?
JAMES EPPARD: Correct. He was -- he was still being sought. Additional posters had been created seeking his capture -- seeking tips to aid in his capture, information in the case.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And was that also put up on the FBI.gov website?
JAMES EPPARD: That was also put up on the FBI.gov website as well.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Just for the witness, your Honor, Exhibit 1439.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Do you recognize this?
JAMES EPPARD: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: What is it?
JAMES EPPARD: That is the digital version of the wanted poster seeking Dzhokhar Tsarnaev that we posted on the website.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And this was out on the website at some time between -- well, when did you know that this was on the website?
JAMES EPPARD: This would have been after -- after 8:20 in the morning of April 19th when we had a new image. The image in that poster on the left was the image that we released at 8:20 a.m., so it would have been after that time.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: I'd move into evidence Exhibit 1439.
MR. BRUCK: May we approach? We do have a matter concerning this.
THE COURT: All right.
(Discussion at sidebar and out of the hearing of the jury:)
MR. BRUCK: The poster states the person is considered armed and extremely dangerous. Before this goes to the jury, we think that should be redacted. The same is true -- and I failed to notice -- that the press conference display, which is already in, also states "armed and extremely dangerous." It suggests that there may have been additional information that's not in evidence, and there will not be evidence. That was from law enforcement. And, in fact, we know this is a standard description issued in the case of this nature.
But in order to avoid speculation by the jury we would ask that this not be published at this time and that the "armed and dangerous" designation from both exhibits be redacted.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: We don't need to introduce this exhibit but we do think the "armed and dangerous" on the earlier exhibit is important. It goes to what information was disseminated that he may have seen that led him to take subsequent actions.
THE COURT: Okay. So you're not offering this present one?
THE COURT: Okay. And as to the other one, I think it is fair to have in evidence what was actually said. Okay?
(In open court:)
BY MR. CHAKRAVARTY:
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Agent Eppard, is this a standard wanted poster that the FBI issues when it's looking for a fugitive?
JAMES EPPARD: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And again, that was released only after the defendant was identified at some point in the morning of Friday, April 18th -- excuse me, April 19th?
JAMES EPPARD: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Now, in response to the FBI's publishing a -- I think a phone number and the website for purposes of receiving tips, did, in fact, the FBI receive tips?
JAMES EPPARD: Yes. In this case a tip line was established that would accept images, video, text, any types of tips that the public had to offer. And we got an enormous number of tips through that channel.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And did that continue for the next several days, if not longer?
JAMES EPPARD: Yes, it did.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: That's all I have, your Honor.
CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR. BRUCK:
MR. BRUCK: Good afternoon, Mr. Eppard. My name is David Bruck. I'm one of Jahar Tsarnaev's attorneys.
JAMES EPPARD: Good afternoon.
MR. BRUCK: And I've just got very few questions for you, please.
MR. BRUCK: Mr. Bruemmer, can you pull up 1507? Is that it? Thank you.
MR. BRUCK: Mr. Eppard, that is, of course, one of the video surveillance photographs that you published on the website?
JAMES EPPARD: That is a screen grab from the video that was published on the website.
MR. BRUCK: A screen grab from a television broadcast?
JAMES EPPARD: Yeah. In this case, yes.
MR. BRUCK: Okay. But the way the light and shadow is shown is -- was something that was done by you, by the FBI, or it was done by the news organization?
JAMES EPPARD: The shadowing wasn't done by the FBI.
MR. BRUCK: Okay. So this was something that apparently CBS News did in order to highlight the suspect of interest. Is that correct?
JAMES EPPARD: Possibly, yeah. I can't speak to that, but, yeah, I could only assume.
MR. BRUCK: Okay. And, in fact, this is a surveillance video that the FBI had received earlier?
JAMES EPPARD: Yes.
MR. BRUCK: And it shows, does it not, outside of the -- let me ask you this: Were similar shots isolating the other individual of interest also exhibited at the same time?
JAMES EPPARD: In the video that we released?
MR. BRUCK: Yes.
JAMES EPPARD: Both Suspect No. 1 and Suspect No. 2 were seen.
MR. BRUCK: Okay. And at the press conference posters were exhibited that showed -- and I think we've seen these, that showed an individual in a black hat and an individual in a white hat, correct?
JAMES EPPARD: Correct.
MR. BRUCK: And they were shown at the same time?
JAMES EPPARD: Yes.
MR. BRUCK: So that contrary to any impression that this picture would suggest, there was not an emphasis on the individual with the white hat?
JAMES EPPARD: On the FBI -- on the video that we released, no.
MR. BRUCK: Right. And, in fact, the news organizations also, so far as you're aware, focused on both suspects, not simply the person in the white hat?
JAMES EPPARD: At the time the video was released, yes.
MR. BRUCK: Right. Outside of the bright area containing the individual in the white hat, do you see on this exhibit a backpack in the lower left-hand corner, what appears to be a backpack?
JAMES EPPARD: In the lower left-hand corner?
MR. BRUCK: Yes.
JAMES EPPARD: I can't tell.
MR. BRUCK: Well, you're familiar with the video surveillance photographs, correct?
JAMES EPPARD: Yes.
MR. BRUCK: Are -- do you recall that that figure, or that bit of a figure in the lower left-hand corner of this screen grab is, in fact, the suspect with a black hat?
JAMES EPPARD: Are we looking at the same image? You're talking about -- if I was to see this video without the shading, you're asking me what I would be seeing right now?
MR. BRUCK: No, I'm asking you if you know what we're looking at in Exhibit 1507.
JAMES EPPARD: Yes.
MR. BRUCK: So that is video surveillance that shows the individual in the white hat walking behind the individual of interest in the black hat?
JAMES EPPARD: As I recall, yes.
MR. BRUCK: And the black hat individual, of course, was subsequently identified as Tamerlan Tsarnaev?
JAMES EPPARD: Correct.
MR. BRUCK: Thank you.
THE COURT: All right, sir. Thank you. You may step down.
(The witness is excused.)
MS. PELLEGRINI: Chief John DiFava.