Evidence leak in Trump case was 'poor professionalism' but 'didn’t violate the law': ex-federal prosecutor

Wednesday, November 15 brought a new development in Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis' criminal case against former President Donald Trump and a long list of allies: Defense attorney Jonathan Miller, who is representing co-defendant Misty Hampton, admitted that he has leaked some proffer videos to the media.

Willis' office, in response to the leak, requested a protective order. And Judge Scott McAfee granted that request on November 16.

In an op-ed published by MSNBC on November 20, former federal prosecutor Barbara McQuade notes that Miller didn't do anything illegal. But she emphasizes that a protective order should have been issued before Miller gave those videos to the media.

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"This episode demonstrates why such an order should have been in place earlier and why they are essential in high-profile cases," argues McQuade, who is often featured as a legal expert on MSNBC. "The leak was poor professional form by the defense attorney, but in the absence of a protective order at the time he leaked the videos, his disclosure did not violate the law."

McQuade continues, "Leaks in criminal cases are often blamed on prosecutors, but in my experience, it's more often the case that such unauthorized disclosures come from attorneys for defendants or witnesses, in an effort to make their own clients look better in the public arena."

In legal cases, a proffer is a meeting between defendants and prosecutors. The videos that Miller leaked featured three co-defendants who have flipped on Trump, entered guilty pleas, and agreed to fully cooperate with Willis' office in exchange for avoiding prison: Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis and Scott Hall.

According to McQuade, "Previewing evidence in the media can taint a jury pool and cause potential jurors to form opinions about a case before the trial begins…. Hearing inadmissible evidence could unfairly prejudice the public against one of the parties, leading to a biased jury and an unfair trial…. Releasing some co-defendants’ statements can also lead to intimidation and threaten the safety of other co-defendants or witnesses."

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Read Barbara McQuade's full MSNBC op-ed at this link.