The Scoop

Lawyer Argues For Release Of Footage From Capitol Breach That Will ‘Contradict Public Narrative’

By • July 13, 2021 1:43 pm

A lawyer for a 61-year-old man charged in the January 6 U.S. Capitol breach has submitted a letter asking that the government disclose footage that she claims “contradicts the public narrative” of the breach and provides crucial context for her client’s acts.

Attorney Marina Medvin, who represents John Steven Anderson, claims that the film is critical to her client’s case because it “exposes the weakness of their case… and it contradicts the public narrative that the government has put forward.”

“That is why the government is fighting tooth and nail to conceal evidence in Mr. Anderson’s case,” the lawyer argued.

Video of individuals charged in the incident has been kept from being released in a number of instances due to apparent national security reasons. Last week, U.S. Attorney Robert Juman warned that wide video release demands “would allow the public dissemination of many hours of video from security cameras inside the U.S. Capitol.”

In response to this logic, the Press Coalition, comprised of 16 news organizations, has filed a lawsuit to enforce the release of the footage.

In fact, Medvin’s most recent filing was in favor of the coalition’s motion.

“[The Press Coalition] want to dispute a government contention that a video clip from a closed-circuit TV camera should be exempt from release under a protective order Medvin previously opposed,” The Florida Times-Union explained in a report published Monday.

“The order applies to video the government has labeled ‘highly sensitive,’ but the news organizations note Medvin has called it ‘highly exculpatory’ and that still images from the video have already been included in public filings,” the outlet continued.

“Especially when weighed against the public’s interest in viewing evidence that the defendant claims is exculpatory, the government cannot justify maintaining its designation of the video as highly sensitive,” the news coalition added.

According to The Florida Times-Union, Medvin also claimed that, “the government’s broad security concerns simply don’t hold water in this instance when only a narrow piece of evidence is being sought for release,” and explained how the video provides crucial context to the accusations against her client:

“Medvin argued last week that her 61-year-old client, who faces an eight-count indictment that includes charges of theft of government property, civil disorder and assaulting or impeding officers, only approached police after he was sprayed with some chemical that triggered an asthma attack.”

“The video that the government is seeking to hide in this case shows Mr. Anderson being sprayed by a chemical substance before he approaches the police line to seek medical assistance,” she wrote. “… This video also puts the government’s other videos of Mr. Anderson into context, explaining why he makes his way to the front of the police line, which is to seek medical assistance from law enforcement.”

“How the feds are rigging the evidence against January 6 defendants by showing partial video clips and refusing to provide the context of the actions depicted in them ⁦@MarinaMedvin @julie_kelly2,” Dinesh D’ Souza wrote to Twitter.

Michelle Malkin also responded, “Why are the feds fighting so hard to keep THIRTY SECONDS of a Jan. 6 Capitol surveillance video hidden from the public? READ my latest column & download important @MarinaMedvin motions in John Steven Anderson‘s case at @UnzReview: unz.com/mmalkin/the-ja #freethetapes“

Download ‘The Scoop TV’ video streaming app, the Conservative Alternative to Netflix!

 

Cameron Shizznit


LINKED IN Email
Read Cameron Shizznit's latest articles.