The attorney for a defendant in Georgia’s sprawling 2020 election case confessed Wednesday to publicly revealing conversations between potential witnesses and prosecutors.
Jonathan Miller, who represents former Coffee County elections supervisor Misty Hampton, admitted in court that he sent video footage of the so-called bid discussions to a media outlet he did not identify.
“To be transparent with the court and make sure that no one else is blamed for what happened, and so that you can sleep well tonight, judge, I posted those videos to a media outlet,” Miller said, according to multiple reports.
“And quite frankly, I need the court to know that.”
Miller’s confession came during an emergency hearing on prosecutors’ request for a protective order to restrict the sharing of evidence.
That hearing was prompted by the leak of on-camera statements made by four co-defendants who pleaded guilty in the case: attorneys Kenneth Chesebro, Jenna Ellis and Sidney Powell, as well as bail bondsman Scott Hall.
Although Miller did not specify which outlet he sent the material to, the Washington Post reported that it had received videos of the four defendants, while ABC News said it had received videos of the depositions of Ellis and Powell.
Jonathan Miller admitted in court that he sent video footage of the so-called bid discussions to a media outlet he did not identify. Getty Images Misty Hampton faces charges for allegedly allowing a breach of Coffee County election machines.
A leaked video showed Ellis claiming that a senior Trump adviser told him that the then-president “won’t go away.” [office] under any circumstances” after his loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
Another leak showed Powell telling prosecutors that he “still believes ‘automated fraud’ tainted the 2020 presidential election.”
The four defendants were required to make the videos as part of their plea deals, which include a mandate to expose what they know about the plan to overturn Biden’s victory in Georgia and testify against their co-defendants in court if The prosecutors call them.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ office is prosecuting the extortion case.REUTERS
In particular, the charges against Miller’s client concern alleged access to Coffee County election machines after the 2020 election, in which Hall and Powell were allegedly involved.
Miller defended his decision to leak the material, reportedly arguing that “hiding those offers that show all the underlying aspects of those pleas misleads the public about what’s going on.”
“I think they help my client and the public needs to know that,” the attorney told Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee.
Judge Scott MacAfee presided over the emergency hearing Wednesday.AP
Tom Clyde, an attorney for several media outlets, urged the judge not to issue the protective order, arguing that the material was newsworthy.
Ultimately, McAfee indicated he would comply with Fulton County prosecutors’ request to issue the warrant.
“Until we decide what will be relevant and admissible, this case should be tried and not in the court of public opinion,” the judge said, NBC reported.
“We’ve seen what can happen when there is no protective order.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn