Albert Watkins, a defense attorney for the “QAnon Shaman,” is claiming he was misled.
By now, most of you have probably seen the footage of the Shaman cruising through the Capitol with, at one point, nine Capitol Police officers around him, not a single one ever attempting to stop him.
The Shaman, whose real name is Jacob Chansley, was sentenced to four years in prison for his alleged crimes.
Now his attorney is saying the government held back evidence that would have proven his client innocent, or, at the very least, resulted in far less extreme charges, reports the Washington Examiner.
Demanding Justice!
Watkins was interviewed by Tucker Carlson this week when he dropped the bombshell regarding the lack of discovery provided by the government.
To be clear, the defense is entitled to every piece of evidence the prosecution has before they go to trial. If Watkins’ claim is true, this is a huge problem for the prosecutors in the case.
Watkins stated, “It is really important for people to understand and appreciate the government had a lawful and uncompromisable duty to disclose all exculpable evidence. I have a duty to put my client in a position of knowledge of all the evidence, good and bad, and the depriving of a defendant of any evidence, good and bad, especially exculpatory evidence, [is] unforgivable, in the context of justice, vile,” reports the Daily Caller.
He later stated, “The deficiency that was evident in the production of discovery by the government in the Chansley case was not a one-and-done situation. Rather, it was the tip of the iceberg. A wholesale, systemic failure on the part of the government with respect to discovery dissemination.”
Watkins continued, “The government was very careful not to disclose, despite requirements that they do so, video footage that did not match the government’s narrative. There is not one federal judge who will embrace having been duped by an entire team of assistant U.S. Attorneys.”
Jacob Chansley's Former Attorney Albert Watkins Joined Tucker Carlson To Discuss The New Footage Showing Chansley Being Led Through The Capitol By Police
Tucker: "Had you seen that clearly exculpatory tape of your client at trial?"
Albert: "No." pic.twitter.com/B7cU6l3iEv
— The Columbia Bugle 🇺🇸 (@ColumbiaBugle) March 9, 2023
I have to be honest… when I first saw that video, that attorney came off as a dime-school kind of guy that simply missed the evidence and screwed up the case. Even if that were the case, though, Chansley could file for a new trial based on legal malpractice.
However, after that segment aired, U.S. Attorney Sean McCauley argued, “This Court should not commit to an indefinite trial extension for this Defendant, or for any defendants, based on the unsupported allegation that pertinent information may exist somewhere, but is not currently known to either the prosecution or the defense.”
That kind of tells me that Watkins may be right and the government held back evidence figuring it would never see the light of day.
The Justice Department was also very careful in how it responded, stating, “Nearly all the footage displayed on the program has long been in the government’s production to defense counsel and, in some cases, has also been admitted in public hearings and/or trials and has been available to, released to, and/or published by news media.”
That word “nearly” is the one that has me thinking they know they screwed up.
One other thing that just popped up...
It would appear that my initial feelings about Watkins were correct based on a recent report by Tucker Carlson. As you are about to hear, when the case landed on Watkins' desk, he just wanted to get it over with and it would appear that he made a plea deal before all of the evidence had even been gathered...
Either way, I think Chansley is entitled to a new trial if the report above is accurate, Watkins is going to have some serious legal problems himself for not properly representing his client, so he may have been a dime-story attorney after all.
The only possible thing that could save Watkins and hurt Chansley if is he signed off any rights he had to take action against Watkins as well as his appeal rights, as the attorney in the video above stated. There still may be hope, especially if the judge in the case felt deceived.
We are definitely going to keep an eye on this to see how it develops moving forward.
