Amber Heard ‘knowingly smuggled dogs Pistol and Boo into Australia’

Amber Heard ordered a Depp aide to perjure himself after she flew Pistol and Boo to Australia despite repeated advice against it.

Amber Heard posted an Instagram picture of Pistol back in the States after she and Boo where removed from Australia.

Amber Heard smuggled her dogs Pistol and Boo into Australia in 2015 despite being told she could not take the miniature Yorkshire terriers when joining Johnny Depp on Queensland’s Gold Coast, London’s High Court has heard.

The actress was also accused of “stealing” the horrific rape experience of an employee to use in the libel case about alleged domestic violence she suffered during her marriage to Depp.

Depp, 57, is suing Dan Wootton, executive editor of The Sun, and the publisher of the newspaper over an article in 2018 that described him as a “wife beater”. The Sun relies on 14 alleged incidents of domestic violence, all of which are denied by the star of Pirates of the Caribbean

The court was told on Wednesday that Heard ordered one of Depp’s staff to perjure himself after she was charged with smuggling the dogs. Kevin Murphy, Depp’s former estate manager, said he had repeatedly explained to Heard that she could not take her miniature Yorkshire terriers when joining her husband on Queensland’s Gold Coast.

Pistol and Boo leaving Australia in 2015.

Barnaby Joyce was Minister for Agriculture and Deputy PM at the time. Picture: Ray Strange.

Heard, 34, claimed that she was unaware that the correct paperwork was not in place when she faced criminal proceedings after taking the dogs, Boo and Pistol, into Australia on a private jet in April 2015. Mr Murphy told the court that Heard had demanded he make a “false witness statement”.

He said: “When I expressed that I was extremely uncomfortable with this, Ms Heard said to me, ‘Well I want your help on this … I wouldn’t want you to have a problem with your job.’

Sasha Wass, QC, representing The Sun, asked Mr Murphy: “You are now admitting that you committed perjury in Australia as a result of something your boss’s wife asked you to do?” Mr Murphy replied: “That’s correct.”

“Why on Earth did you not go to Mr. Depp to ask him to intervene rather than just lying on oath?” the lawyer asked.

Mr Murphy said: “Because Amber wielded a lot of power and would have made my life miserable.”

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard leave the Southport Court, Southport, Queensland in 2016. Picture: AAP.

His account was backed by Kate James, who was Heard’s personal assistant between March 2012 and February 2015.

In a written witness statement, Ms James said Heard ignored advice from her and Mr Murphy that taking the dogs to Australia would be problematic.

She said Heard “deliberately smuggled the dogs into Australia. As in several circumstances which I observed, it was as if she felt that she was above the law.”

Heard pleaded guilty to making a false customs declaration and agreed to appear in a video alongside Depp for the Australian Department of Agriculture in which they praised the country’s strict biosecurity laws.

Ms James, who was sacked by Heard in February 2015, said she was in tears when she learnt that Heard had later blamed her in court when she was prosecuted for smuggling her dogs into Australia. Ms James said that it was “a complete lie”.

Ms James also accused the actress of “stealing” her own horrific experience of rape to use against Depp.

Ms James said she had told Heard she had been raped in bed at knifepoint over six hours, which she said Heard had “twisted into her own story” in a witness statement for the court case.

“This of course caused me extreme distress and outrage that she would dare to attempt to use the most harrowing experience of my life as her own narrative,” Ms James said.

She also claimed that Heard had asked her to help to draft a letter to US Homeland Security in 2014 that falsely claimed that her stylist, Savannah McMillan, was just a friend, meaning that she would not fall foul of visa regulations. She said: “I knew this to be untrue, and that Amber was therefore wilfully lying.”

Yesterday a picture was shown in court of the kitchen in Depp’s rented house in Australia, showing blood on the floor and an allegedly undamaged phone. Heard said that Depp hurt his hand while smashing a phone against the wall. He says the damage happened when she threw a vodka bottle at him.

The hearing continues.

The Times, AP