Tucker Carlson's Jan. 6 footage creates legal headache for DOJ prosecutions | Washington Examiner
By: Washington Examiner
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The release of new tapes from the Jan. 6 Capitol riot on Tucker Carlson's Fox News show could create a major legal headache for the Department of Justice's handling of cases against hundreds of defendants, according to legal experts.
A lawyer representing one of five Proud Boys members on trial for seditious conspiracy referenced Carlson's showcase on Thursday, saying the tapes offered to the commentator by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) prove federal prosecutors hid "plainly exculpatory" Capitol security footage.
The court filing is the latest of several requests for a mistrial from attorneys representing the five Proud Boys, who have repeatedly accused the government of wrongdoing. All their previous requests have been denied by U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, an appointee of former President Donald Trump.
One of the nation's leading defense attorneys, Harvey Silverglate of Boston, told the Washington Examiner that Carlson's footage appearing to show U.S. Capitol Police escorting the infamous "QAnon Shaman" Jacob Chansley could be a foreshadowing of an appeal to vacate his guilty plea, which through bargaining was chiseled down to a single count of obstruction of an official proceeding, landing him 41 months in prison.
"Virtually every moment of his time inside the Capitol was caught on tape," Carlson said on Monday. "The tapes show the Capitol Police never stopped Jacob Chansley. They helped him. They acted as his tour guides."
Silverglate, a criminal defense and civil liberties attorney representing onetime Trump attorney John Eastman, said, "I think that he can get his guilty plea vacated," referring to Chansley, who has yet to file an appeal or request a retrial.
"He certainly is going to try. I think he will probably succeed," Silverglate said, adding, "It's not the defense's fault [the footage] wasn't turned over."
On Thursday, Roger Roots, the attorney for New York-based Proud Boy Dominic Pezzola, wrote the footage from Carlson on Chansley is evidence that protesters went into the Senate chamber through the invitation of Capitol Police officers. Roots claimed the prosecutors "withheld" the footage from his client.
"This footage is plainly exculpatory; as it establishes that the Senate chamber was never violently breached, and — in fact — was treated respectfully by January 6 protestors," Roots wrote in the 11-page court filing. "To the extent that protesters entered the chamber, they did so under the supervision of Capitol Police. The Senators on January 6 could have continued proceedings."
Roots also alleged it was not Pezzola nor his co-defendants that caused Congress to recess on the day of the riot, arguing, "Congress interrupted its own proceedings."
The filing does not mention any video pertaining specifically to Pezzola. According to video shown at one of the House select committee hearings on the Jan. 6 riot, Pezzola is shown smashing one of the first Capitol windows that day. He's pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Roots's filing also details remarks from Chansley's counsel at the time of his November 2021 sentencing, Albert Watkins, who said while he was given many hours of video footage by prosecutors, he was not given the footage aired by Carlson on Monday night.
"What's deeply troubling," Watkins said Tuesday, "is the fact that I have to watch Tucker Carlson to find video footage which the government has but chose not to disclose despite the absolute duty to do so, despite being requested in writing to do so multiple times."
Prosecutors with the DOJ said Tuesday that "nearly all" of the Capitol security footage Carlson aired was previously available to attorneys representing the riot defendants.
Chansley's current lawyer, Bill Shipley, contends that his defense team "did not have this material."
Since Carlson's Monday night debut of the footage, several other riot defendants who have yet to face a final judgment over their criminal cases have requested a delay in their trial in order to review the footage released from McCarthy that he said would be made available to all defendants.
In response to two defendants' requests on Tuesday, the DOJ filed similar motions, arguing they should not be able to delay their pending trials based on speculation over the 41,000 hours of Capitol surveillance footage made available to Carlson and defendants.
"The United States does not know the extent of any material that a member of the legislative branch purportedly provided to other individuals. This Court should not commit to an indefinite trial extension for this Defendant, or for any defendants," DOJ attorneys said of prominent Jan. 6 defendant Ryan Nichols while also submitting a nearly identical filing in the case of Shane Jenkins.
The DOJ responses requesting judges not to delay criminal trials inspired curiosity from Silverglate: "Why is the government adamantly opposing the delay in these trials? So that this, arguably and I think clearly exculpatory evidence, can be examined and factored into the retrial?"
U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan, who is presiding over Nichols's case, will ultimately determine whether to grant or deny the defendant's request for a trial delay.
The Washington Examiner contacted the DOJ for response.
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Just as suspected. The release of the video the Democrats kept secret are possibly going to have an effect on the convictions that come from the protest.
There is no question about it. The accused in this case were denied all kinds of rights. We still have a biased DC court to deal with.
That will all come out during re-tials for the withheld evidence. Whether or not we see any results remains to be seen.
Is there any reason for the House not to impeach Garland now?
Withholding evidence is a crime.
Garland is the head of the DOJ. He is responsible for what occurs on his watch.
Pure, disgraceful insanity. A mob broke into the Capitol violently. No one knew how many weapons that mob may have had, and it could be presumed that they had violent intentions. The idea of continuing congressional proceedings under such circumstances is not only crazy, it represents an evil point of view.
I have to agree with JR on this point. There was a mob that was breaking windows and breaking into the Capital. At that point nobody really knew if any in that mob were carrying weapons or not. Congress in good faith could not have continued their proceedings like that, they had to pause and regroup. We know the Secret Service was urging Pence to get out as well.
There were a lot of problems around due process for those arrested but one really cannot state that it was business as usual at the Capital that day.
We are now in a strong gaslighting phase from the MAGA right. Carlson's bombshell was more like a smoke bomb that emits noxious clouds of bs.
The pos Carlson has claimed, rather directly, that the 40,000 hours of video proves that Chansley was "escorted" through the halls of the capitol, that officer Sicknick didnt die that day, and that Hawley wasnt the only one who ran for their life on Jan 6. Carlson has literally claimed that these three items were the most discussed issues of the riot/insurrection, which is beyond absurd.
Its all about the gaslighting now, because the facts dont align with the MAGA wishes.
Well there is the released video of Chansley being escorted throught he Capitol.
Date of death is 7 January and of natural causes. You should have really done some research.
But we know none of this has anything to do with the fact the DOJ illegally withheld evidence from defense teams that could overturn many convictions in this matter.
So do us all a favor and keep it on topic.
Your so called "facts" don't coincide with the tapes.
The participants look more like reverent tourists awed by the majestic grandeur of our nation's Capitol, than criminals.
The vast majority of the protestors were simply observers and were wrongly charged and denied their legal rights.
"House GOP organizing trip to see jailed Jan. 6 defendants, led by Marjorie Taylor Greene."
To offset the strong gaslighting from the Pelosi hand picked TDS driven mighty mental midget Jan 6th committee that turned their investigation into another "get Trump at all costs" shit show. Which was picked up by every last damn MSM and left wing pundit and crammed down everyone's throats as gospel. Your side has had their highly partisan devoid of any facts that didn't fit their narrative already. Now it is time for the other side to get their turn.
Don't believe your lying damn eyes John. The video clearly shows it. Tucker aired more than ample footage. Footage that wasn't provided to Chansley's lawyers; which is a fucking crime- and those responsible need to be held accountable! Looking at you Garland!
Keep repeating the damn lie. It is all the left has. It has been debunked so damn often it is sickening. Yet leftists trot it out and present it again, again, and again. Only one person was killed on Jan 6th. Ashley Babbitt who was unarmed, by Barney Fife with a gun. Barney should never have been allowed to stay on the force after leaving his loaded Glock in a bathroom stall in the Capitol.
And the Jan 6th committee, MSM, and Democrat sheeple kept concentrating on Hawley running; and fist pumping protesters attending the Trump rally. Hawley isn't guilty of anything; but the Jan 6th committee went after him still. Sorry, free speech and peaceful assembly are still protected rights. The crowd on Jan 6th to attend the rally was estimated at 120,000; of that it was estimated that around 1,200 to 1,300 entered the Capitol Building. Of those that entered even a smaller percentage assault DC police or did any damage to the Capitol. To use the left's vernacular in the proper way for once, "It was a mostly peaceful protest".
Again, your side already had it's highly partisan say. Now it is time for the other side to get theirs. Judging by the amount of squirming, twisting, and screaming going on- the left is scared shitless of what information is going to be released that the Jan 6th committee ignored or hid.