Hide, seek, selective leak: Update on Jan. 6 Anderson tapes

Two weeks ago, I introduced you to the case of Jan. 6 Capitol rally defendant John Steven Anderson, whose lawyer Marina Medvin is fighting for the release of 30 seconds of an exculpatory Capitol surveillance video clip that prosecutors don’t want the public to see.

There’s a new filing in the case from lawyers for a press coalition that also wants the video made available publicly. The lawyers point out that the feds agreed to release four clips of video from Capitol surveillance cameras in a separate Jan. 6 case–one clip of which was tweeted out by reporter Ryan Reilly:

Ahead of the detention hearing for Capitol defendant Robert Morss at 4 p.m., the government has released a number of videos (thanks to pressure from the media coalition). Here’s some footage from inside the tunnel battle that features some familiar faces: pic.twitter.com/emYSrNJBt0

— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) July 20, 2021

As the July 21 motion from the Press Coalition lawyers points out:

The four Capitol surveillance video clips released in the Morss case depict activity in the tunnel leading to the Lower West Terrace doors to the U.S. Capitol. See Gov’t’s Mem. in Supp. of Pretrial Detention at 12-17, United States v. Morss, Dkt. 80.

The Video Clip at issue in this case, according to Defendant Anderson, depicts activity in the same exact location.

See Mem. in Supp. of Def’s Oral Mot. to Remove Designation of “Highly Sensitive” from CCTV Video Clip at 2, Dkt. 24. In fact, the Video Clip at issue here depicts events that occurred in the Lower West Terrace tunnel at approximately 2:53 PM, see id., while Exhibit H from the Morss case depicts events that occurred

, at approximately 2:57 PM, see Gov’t’s Third Suppl. Mem. in Supp. of Pretrial Detention at 4, United States v. Morss, Dkt. 91 (describing Exhibit H).

Here’s another clip in the same tunnel, used as a DOJ exhibit in other case, tweeted out by another reporter:

The strobe light! Newly released video exhibit from US Justice Dept shows the movement of a disorienting light amid the mob on the frontlines ==> pic.twitter.com/5IrqG3l3lf

— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) July 21, 2021

The absurdity and disingenuousness of the feds’ “mosaic theory” rationale for suppressing the Anderson video grows ever more apparent.

Free the Anderson tapes!

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[READ THE PRESS COALITION NOTICE OF SUPPLEMENTAL AUTHORITY]