On Monday night, Tucker Carlson released shocking footage from January 6th, 2021 that showed “QAnon Shaman” Jacob Chansley walking through the halls of the Capitol with two Capitol Police officers in tow. At one point, one of the officers takes point, appears to try opening a door or elevator, and then turns and leads Chansley in another direction. Later in the video clips, Chansley is seen walking past nine police officers gathered in a hallway intersection. Chansley and his police escorts walk right past the nine officers without any resistance.
This new video evidence is downright shocking, however, the more shocking part is that this evidence was withheld from Chansley’s legal team.
1/ This is the most shocking revelation from the Tucker clips from last night. 11 USCPD officers WATCH the Qanon Shaman, by himself, walk escorted by two officers into, eventually, the Senate Chambers. pic.twitter.com/Z01K8lziyN
— CannCon (@CannConActual) March 7, 2023
On Tuesday, the Washington Post published an article focused on the Capitol Police chief calling Tucker’s claims “filled with offensive and misleading conclusions.” But buried in this article was a reference to Jacob Chansley’s own legal defense team:
Albert Watkins, Chansley’s attorney through sentencing in November 2021, said he had been provided many hours of video by prosecutors, but not the footage which Carlson aired Monday night. He said he had not seen video of Chansley walking through Capitol hallways with multiple Capitol Police officers.
“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.” He no longer represents Chansley and said he could not comment on what remedy might be sought for the defendant. Watkins suggested that all Jan. 6 defendants who were convicted based on video from the riot should have their convictions vacated.
This very well could be a violation of the Brady Rule. According to the Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute:
The Brady rule, named after Brady v. Maryland, requires prosecutors to disclose material, exculpatory information in the government’s possession to the defense. Brady material, or the evidence the prosecutor is required to disclose under this rule, includes any information favorable to the accused which may reduce a defendant’s potential sentence, go against the credibility of an unfavorable witness, or otherwise allow a jury to infer against the defendant’s guilt.
Albert Watkins no longer represents Chansley, so it is unclear if this evidence can or will be used to appeal the previous decision or motion for a mistrial based on withheld evidence. Chansley is serving a 41-month sentence upon his conviction.
Yesterday, The Gateway Pundit reported that a “non-violent” defendant, Sara Carpenter, a retired NYPD policewoman, was denied a continuance in order to allow her legal team to comb through the hours of J6 footage just released to counsel. US District Court Judge James Boasberg was cited as saying Carpenter’s request was “certainly not a frivolous request by any means” but still sided with prosecution and ordered the trial begin this week as scheduled.
