Jonathan Miller: Lawyer admits he leaked tapes in Georgia Trump trial to 'sleep better at night'
ATLANTA, GEORGIA: Jonathan Miller, an attorney for one of former President Donald Trump's co-defendants in the Georgia 2020 election case, has admitted to leaking videos showing conversations between prosecutors and other co-defendants in the case.
Miller, who has been defending former Coffee County election supervisor Misty Hampton, claimed he shared witness proffer videos with one media outlet but refused to disclose its name.
"In being transparent with the court and to make sure that nobody else gets blamed for what happened and so that I can go to sleep well tonight, judge, I did release those videos to one outlet," Miller told Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee.
"In all candor to the court, I need the court to know that," he said, according to NBC News. When asked why he had taken this action, the attorney replied that even though the four had entered public guilty pleas, "to hide those proffers that show all the underlying things went into those pleas, it misleads the public about what's going on."
He continued by adding that two of the defendants "were directly related to my client. And I don’t believe that either one of those hurt my client. If anything, I believe they help my client, and the public needs to know that.”
What was mentioned in videos leaked by Jonathan Miller?
Miller made the shocking admission during a crucial protective order hearing after parts of Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, Kenneth Chesebro, and Scott Hall's video comments were leaked to ABC News and The Washington Post.
In the August racketeering case, Powell, Ellis, Chesebro, and Hall were among the initial 18 defendants indicted with former President Donald Trump.
As part of their plea agreements, all four defendants were compelled to provide the recordings. They also agreed to reveal any information they had on the plan to trump Biden's victory in Georgia and to testify against their fellow defendants in court if the prosecution called them.
In one of the leaked videos, Ellis stated that she was informed by a senior Trump staffer at the time that the President "is not going to leave [office] under any circumstances" following his loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 contest.
Another leak showed Powell telling prosecutors she “still believes ‘machine fraud’ tainted the 2020 presidential election.”
Why is Fani Willis demanding a protective order?
In a court filing, Fulton County DA Fani Willis argued that a protective order was necessary to protect witnesses and "safeguard sensitive and confidential information" during the discovery process.
She said the leaks were "clearly intended to intimidate witnesses in this case, subjecting them to harassment and threats prior to trial."
Tom Clyde, an attorney for a coalition of media organizations that did not include NBC News, urged the judge not to issue a protective order.
“Notwithstanding how newsworthy that information is, notwithstanding how much it might inform the public about the circumstances of this case, but particularly in this case, the circumstances of an election that took place, that’s extremely significant in public importance,” Clyde argued.
Following the arguments, judge McAfee stated he was mindful of Clyde's First Amendment concerns, but disagreed with his arguments.
“Until we decide what’s going to be relevant and admissible, this case should be tried and not in the court of public opinion,” McAfee said.