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The judge leaned over the bench. “Ms. Nichols, please.”
“Sorry, Judge.”
Jack continued. “When asking you about MAP, Ms. Ellis describedcyberattacks MAP launched to deter piracy. My question to you is this: Did you, personally, launch any cyberattacks against any websites?”
“No.”
“Do you even know how to create or launch computer malware?”
“I don’t know the first thing about it.”
“What did you do when you found out that MAP was fighting piracy by itself committing cybercrimes?”
“I resigned as president.”
“Did you maintain any ties at all with MAP?”
“I remained a dues-paying member for a while. But I gave that up when I found out MAP’s new leadership was planning something even more radical than just cyberattacks.”
“Do you know what this more radical action was?”
“I don’t have specifics.”
“Were you married to Mr. Nichols at the time you gave up your membership?”
“Yes.”
“Did he ask you to resign?”
“To the contrary, he told me to stay active with MAP.”
“Did he say why he wanted you to stay active?”
“Shaky was president of my record label, EML. You have to understand that MAP and the music industry were aligned in their fight against piracy.”
“So, as president of EML Records, Shaky Nichols wanted to stop piracy.”
“Of course.”
“And to that end, he actually supported MAP’s criminal conduct.”
“Objection,” said Ellis. “There’s no evidence that my client was aware of MAP’s criminal conduct.”
“I can fix that,” said Jack. He was getting out over his figurative skis a bit, and he could only hope his client’s answers in the courtroom would match what she’d told him over the break. “Imani, did you ever tell your husband that MAP committed cybercrimes in the fight against piracy?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Did you tell him that MAP was considering something even more radical than cybercrimes?”
“Yes.”
“To your knowledge, did Shaky Nichols ever ask you or anyone else at MAP to stop all illegal activity?”
“No. Like I said, he told me to stay involved in MAP.”
“Would it be accurate to say that to the extent MAP engaged in criminal conduct to stop piracy, you did not condone it?”
“Yes, that’s why I quit.”
