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Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document 533 Filed 12/09/21 Page 2 of 8

of Government Exhibit 52, under Rule 902. For the reasons set forth below, the record at trial
establishes that Government Exhibit 52 is authentic. Accordingly, excerpts of Government Exhibit
52 should be admitted.

I. Applicable Law

The Second Circuit has “often commented that the bar for authentication of evidence is not
particularly high.” United States v. Al-Moyad, 545 F.3d 139, 172 (2d Cir. 2008) (alteration and
internal quotation marks omitted). The “proponent of the evidence is not required to rule out all
possibilities inconsistent with authenticity, or to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the evidence
is what it purports to be.” United States v. Dhinsa, 243 F.3d 635, 658 (2d Cir. 2001). All that is
required is “sufficient proof . . . so that a reasonable juror could find in favor of authenticity or
identification.” Id. (internal quotation marks omitted); see Fed. R. Evid. 901(a). The “standard
for authentication is one of ‘reasonable likelihood’ and is ‘minimal.’ The testimony of a witness
with knowledge that a matter is what it is claimed to be is sufficient to satisfy this standard.”
United States v. Gagliardi, 506 F.3d 140, 151 (2d Cir. 2007) (citations and internal quotation
marks omitted); see United States v. Al Farekh, 810 F. App’x 21, 24-25 (2d Cir. 2020) (authenticating
“handwritten letters” based on their contents and “considerable similarities between the handwriting”
and known exemplars). After this low bar is satisfied, “the other party then remains free to
challenge the reliability of the evidence, to minimize its importance, or to argue alternative
interpretations of its meaning, but these and similar other challenges to go the weight of the
evidence—not to its admissibility.” United States v. Tan Yat Chin, 371 F.3d 31, 38 (2d Cir. 2004)
(emphases in original).

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