A growing number of people charged with
crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol are requesting
trial delays so they can review newly disclosed footage
Zachary Stieber
Shane Jenkins became one of the latest defendants when he filed a motion through an attorney to delay the trial due to the disclosure of some 41,000 hours of security footage from Jan. 6, 2021.
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People outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Photo: John Mincillo/AP |
“Mr. Jenkins requests that his trial currently set to begin on March 21, 2023, be moved so defense counsel can review the additional discovery,” Dennis Boyle, the attorney, wrote in the motion.
Republicans, having taken
control of the House of Representatives in January, disclosed the footage to
Fox News and said they were granting access to any defendants
who want to view the video.
The tranche includes some
25,000 hours of footage that Jenkins hasn’t been able to review, according to
the new filing.
“The request for additional
time is necessary in order to adequately and diligently review all discovery
pertaining to Mr. Jenkins and to determine whether any video contains relevant
and material information that would pertain to Mr. Jenkins’ defense. Video
evidence depicting Mr. Jenkins would constitute both exculpatory and material
evidence, which would require disclosure from the government,” Boyle said. “Due
to the large amount of video being released, and because Mr. Jenkins is
currently incarcerated, we request additional time to review the information
and prepare for trial.”
Government prosecutors oppose
the request.
U.S. District Judge Amit
Mehta, the Obama appointee overseeing the case, hasn’t ruled on the motion yet.
Jenkins has been charged with physical violence in the Capitol grounds or building and disorderly conduct, among other charges.
William Pope, another
defendant, told the court in a separate filing that he lacks access to “more than
99 percent of discovery” even though more than two years have elapsed since he
was arrested.
Prosecutors have opposed
making much of the footage available because the legislative branch was the
original owner of the evidence, Pope wrote. “However, now that the Legislative
Branch has given defendants their blessing to have due process access to
legislative files, the government’s already weak argument to deny due process
has collapsed. This court should immediately grant me full access to
discovery,” he wrote.
If the government continues to
deny Pope access to discovery necessary for his defense, the case should be
dismissed, Pope argued. He has been charged with civil disorder and other
charges.
U.S. District Judge Rudolph
Contreras, another Obama appointee, is overseeing the Pope case. During a status hearing after the filing was lodged,
Contreras delayed a trial in order to give the government time to respond to a
different motion, which asks the judge to unseal footage from three undercover
officers on Jan. 6, 2021.
Ryan Nichols, a third
defendant, recently asked the court to delay his trial until his
attorneys, and crowdsourced helpers, review the newly disclosed footage.
“Defendant’s position is
simple and straightforward: there is no justifiable reason why this newly
available evidence had not been made available before today—thus, any possible
prejudice to the prosecution from a continuance is dwarfed by Defendant’s
constitutional right to defend himself,” Nichols said through his lawyers. He’s
been charged with physical violence, obstruction, and other charges.
U.S. District Judge Royce
Lamberth, a Reagan appointee overseeing the case, hasn’t ruled on the matter
yet.
Request Denied
Another defendant, Sara
Carpenter, saw her request to delay her trial in light of the recent
developments denied.
U.S. District Judge James
Boasberg, the Obama appointee overseeing the case, rejected the motion during a
March 3 hearing.
Carpenter’s lawyers had argued
that the surveillance disclosed by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) “is
far in excess of what was previously disclosed by the government and known to
exist” and that, while the government had disclosed some footage, “there remain
temporal gaps in the footage thus far provided between the moments Ms.
Carpenter is shown entering and exiting the Capitol.”
The government asserted that
trial extensions shouldn’t be granted “on the unsupported allegation that
pertinent information may exist somewhere, but is not currently known to either
the prosecution or the defense.”
Boasberg said Carpenter failed
to show that the previously undisclosed footage would prove exculpatory, Politico reported. He said that allowing a delay for
defendants could “derail dozens of trials that are set in the next few months.”
Carpenter has been indicted on
three counts, including knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted
building or grounds without lawful authority.
‘Not Gotten My Evidence’
Rachel Powell, another Jan. 6,
2021, defendant, who’s facing more than a half dozen charges, said that she
hasn’t received evidence crucial to her case.
McCarthy had told reporters
that defendants had access to footage before.
“I am a J6 defendant and have
not gotten my evidence even though it has been over two years,” Powell told The
Epoch Times via email. “So when McCarthy says January 6 defendants have had
access to the evidence he is wrong and possibly lying.”
She was preparing a motion to
delay her trial.
William Shipley, a lawyer
representing multiple defendants, wrote on Twitter that attorneys have access
to thousands of hours of footage but that the Department of Justice (DOJ)
database didn’t include footage that Congress didn’t give to the agency.
“If Congress … held back video
then DOJ would not have it to put in the database,” he wrote. “It is not
possible to say definitively right now that defense attorneys did — in fact —
have all the videos that Tucker/Fox is showing. McCarthy says he gave Fox everything.
That might include videos not given to DOJ.”
Zachary Stieber, THE EPOCH TIMES, March 7, 2023
Tucker Carlson says Jan. 6 footage 'demolishes' claims of insurrection
Sobre a impossibilidade da concórdia
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