“QAnon Shaman’s” defense lawyer, Albert Watkins, is requesting the Justice Department (DOJ) publicly admit that it failed to release all of the film available of his client in the Capitol during his prosecution.
Watkins: the DOJ Suppressed the Crucial Video
Watkins, a lawyer with almost 40 years of experience located in St. Louis, spoke to the Daily Caller about his reaction to the fresh video made public by Fox News anchor and Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson.
This footage showed his client escorted by police inside the Capitol. Watkins claimed the Justice Department suppressed the video that Carlson played throughout the trial.
Chansley’s attorney, Albert Watkins, told Carlson he was never shown the bombshell footage of his client being peacefully walked around the Capitol with non-confrontational Capitol police officers. Watkins explained he did not see the footage until Carlson aired the video of… https://t.co/EjCGRDjsop pic.twitter.com/xvDGGraQDm
— I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) March 9, 2023
Watkins then said the government gave QAnan Shaman, a Navy veteran whose true name is Jacob Chansley, a major mental health illness. Chansley experienced severe psychological problems when he was in solitary confinement, but was ignorant of them.
Chansley is accused of engaging in unruly and disruptive behavior in a secured building, as well as forceful entry and disorderly behavior in the Capitol building.
Because of Chansley’s mental health difficulties, Watkins filed three applications for pretrial release and he thinks the recently made video would have strengthened his case. Chansley was given a sentence in November that included 41 months in jail and 36 months of supervised release.
🚨BREAKING: Never before seen video of January 6 shows Jacob Chansley, the QAnon Shaman, being led through the Capitol by police the entire time that he was in the building. pic.twitter.com/rikoRMWezF
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 7, 2023
Carlson Exposed the Painful Truth of the Justice System
“The government’s failure to produce sufficient discovery in the Chansley case was not a one-and-done matter. It was actually only the top of the iceberg,” according to Watkins. “A comprehensive, institutional failure on the side of the government with regard to the distribution of discoveries.”
According to Watkins, the Justice Department ought to openly admit that it violated the law by “not [disclosing]” video evidence that contradicted its story.
Despite being required to do so, Watkins claimed, “the government was extremely cautious not to divulge” any video material that did not support its story. There isn’t a single federal judge who will accept being taken advantage of by a large group of assistant U.S. attorneys.
Watkins predicts that the government’s choice to conceal the film will lead to mistrust in the institution.
What the government did, in addition to being abhorrent, gave credence to a sizable portion of our population that some may characterize as having already fallen down the rabbit hole.
He said, “By putting this out there, Mr. Carlson exposed a gaping, painful, diseased tumor of our justice system. This has nothing to do with Fox News or Tucker Carlson; it’s all about the defendants’ rights.”
Watkins continued, “This cannot pass without a robust, overwhelming, and public criticism. I feel duped.”
On Tuesday, federal prosecutors argued that Carlson’s video should not be used to prolong the criminal cases of suspected Capitol rioters.
This article appeared in TheDailyBeat and has been published here with permission.
