{"id":1542762,"date":"2022-07-07T09:34:36","date_gmt":"2022-07-07T13:34:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1542762"},"modified":"2022-07-07T09:34:39","modified_gmt":"2022-07-07T13:34:39","slug":"jan-6-committees-reliance-on-legally-inadmissible-hearsay-further-demonstrates-that-its-a-show-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jan-6-committees-reliance-on-legally-inadmissible-hearsay-further-demonstrates-that-its-a-show-trial\/","title":{"rendered":"Jan. 6 Committee\u2019s Reliance on Legally Inadmissible Hearsay Further Demonstrates That It\u2019s a Show Trial"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjan-6-committees-reliance-on-legally-inadmissible-hearsay-further-demonstrates-that-its-a-show-trial%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1542762&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<p>In case you needed further proof that the Soviet-style show trial being conducted by Rep. Liz Cheney and the rest of Nancy Pelosi\u2019s Jan. 6 Committee is a sham that would never hold water in a court of law, look to the committee\u2019s most recent use of rampant hearsay in last week\u2019s testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson.<\/p>\n<p>The now-unemployed Hutchinson was <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/news\/cassidy-hutchinson\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">an assistant<\/a> to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.\u00a0She <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2022\/06\/28\/1108396692\/jan-6-committee-hearing-transcript\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">testified<\/a> that White House Deputy Chief of Staff Tony Ornato relayed to her a story that as President Trump was returning to the White House after the rally on the Ellipse, he angrily lunged forward from the back seat of the Beast (the presidential armored limousine which Trump was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/2022\/06\/cassidy-hutchinsons-testimony-against-trump-is-devastating\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">not using that day<\/a>) and grabbed the steering wheel, presumably to steer the car back towards the Capitol.\u00a0According to Hutchinson,\u00a0the president then assaulted the chief of his own Secret Service detail, Bobby Engel, who had tried to restrain him.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>Hutchinson\u2019s Testimony Is Hearsay and Contested<\/h2>\n<p>It has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/tony-ornato-did-not-brief-cassidy-hutchinson-trump-tried-lunge-secret-service-agent-sources\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported that Ornato has denied<\/a> telling Hutchinson what she claims he said.\u00a0Both <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PeterAlexander\/status\/1541910389289635841?s=20&#038;t=Tvaip-48DtkZminETvp-CQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">NBC<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NicoleSganga\/status\/1541921124031799297?s=20&#038;t=R3GbmqSnH0Gk7E2O4tG9lA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CBS<\/a> have reported that Engel and the SUV driver were prepared to testify under oath that the events described by Hutchinson never happened.\u00a0These and other problems with Hutchinson\u2019s testimony have been well-documented by now, but the most egregious aspect is that her hearsay testimony never should have been publicly aired and promoted as true by Cheney and the committee.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Hutchinson had no first-hand knowledge about what happened in the vehicle.\u00a0Her testimony about the events in the vehicle was unreliable hearsay, untested and unverified by the slightest pretense of any cross-examination. In fact, it was double hearsay because Hutchinson claims that she heard it from Ornato, who supposedly heard it from someone else, presumably Engel.\u00a0Such rank hearsay never would be admitted in a judicial proceeding precisely because of its lack of reliability.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Think of the rule against hearsay as basically excluding gossip, i.e., when one person merely repeats what someone else told them, in an effort to prove the truth of whatever the first person said.\u00a0Cheney and the committee clearly were attempting to publicize the allegations about a fracas in the Beast to give the entire country the impression the statements were true, that those things happened, and that they depict an unhinged, out-of-control president. Unless one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rulesofevidence.org\/article-viii\/rule-803\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">enumerated<\/a> exceptions to the hearsay rule applies (and no one that I have seen has made a serious argument that they do), the statements may not be considered for their alleged truth.<\/p>\n<h2>No Cross-Examination of Eyewitnesses<\/h2>\n<p>The absence of the opportunity for cross-examination of those with first-hand knowledge of the events in question \u2013 Ornato, Engel, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/tony-ornato-did-not-brief-cassidy-hutchinson-trump-tried-lunge-secret-service-agent-sources\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">thus-far<\/a> unidentified SUV driver \u2013 probably is the most important reason for excluding hearsay testimony, such as that offered by Hutchinson. The right to cross-examination is a bedrock principle of fairness in the American legal system. <\/p>\n<p>Many courts have accurately described cross-examination as \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/supreme.justia.com\/cases\/federal\/us\/527\/116\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the greatest legal engine ever invented for the discovery of truth.<\/a>\u201d\u00a0It is so fundamental to fairness that the constitutional right to due process may require it even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov\/opinions.pdf\/18a0200p-06.pdf\">outside of court proceedings<\/a>. Yet, this committee that professes to be searching for the truth beamed Hutchinson\u2019s testimony into TVs across the country and plastered it on newspapers and websites without having tested her third-hand testimony by the slightest cross-examination.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Cheney was the only person who questioned Hutchinson. She did not even pretend to pose any probing questions that would have tested Hutchinson\u2019s veracity.\u00a0Nor did she disclose that they had already deposed both Ornato and Engel or what those witnesses with first-hand knowledge of the events had said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Not only did Cheney and the committee publicly rely on hearsay testimony in their continuing show trial, they compounded the illegitimacy of the proceedings by failing to call the agents who do have first-hand knowledge of what was said, and who apparently dispute Hutchinson\u2019s account.\u00a0That failure destroys any remaining shred of credibility that she and the committee might have.<\/p>\n<h2>J6 Committee Is More Show Trial than Investigation<\/h2>\n<p>Some commentators, such as Andrew McCarthy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/corner\/a-closer-look-at-the-hearsay-claims-surrounding-hutchinsons-trump-testimony\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">writing at the ersatz conservative National Review<\/a>, argue that it does not matter that the statements were hearsay because the committee is not bound by the federal rules of evidence.\u00a0They argue that the committee is merely conducting an \u201cinvestigation,\u201d and investigators frequently rely upon hearsay testimony to develop leads.\u00a0 Of course the rules of evidence do not control congressional hearings. If the committee wanted to have disputes settled by flipping a coin or trial by combat, one supposes they could do that. But it would be regarded (at least by most) as unfair and contrary to traditional norms that Americans follow in settling disputes and seeking the truth.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As for the \u201cinvestigation\u201d analogy, it is highly misleading.\u00a0Investigators routinely consider hearsay information from informants, not to use it publicly, but because it may lead them to direct evidence from someone who is competent to testify because they actually witnessed the events in question. However, such statements taken during an investigation typically are (or should be) kept confidential.\u00a0Thus, prosecutors are forbidden from releasing transcripts of ongoing grand jury proceedings, and FBI agents are not supposed to disclose witness statements gathered during investigations.\u00a0One of the reasons for this caution is because such statements may not have been verified and carry the risk of unfairly tarring others\u2019 reputations.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This phony \u201cinvestigation,\u201d however, was conducted on live TV and choreographed by a former TV producer. It was promoted with great fanfare with the express intention of publicizing Hutchinson\u2019s unreliable testimony as the gospel truth, in order to smear President Trump, cast doubt on his stability, and intimidate others who might be tempted to defend him.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This was a show trial, not an investigation.\u00a0By ignoring any testimony from the agents present in the SUV and instead promoting this \u201cbombshell\u201d hearsay for illegitimate ends, Cheney and the other members of her committee have flouted fundamental norms of fairness and truth-seeking. In doing so, they have blown up what little might have remained of their credibility.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<p>\n  John Lucas is a practicing attorney who has tried and argued a variety of cases, including before the U. S. Supreme Court. Before entering law school at the University of Texas, he served in the Army Special Forces as an enlisted man and then graduated from the U. S. Military Academy at West Point in 1969. He is an Army Ranger and fought in Vietnam as an infantry platoon leader. He is married with five children.  He and his wife now live in Virginia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In case you needed further proof that the Soviet-style show trial being conducted by Rep. Liz Cheney and the rest of Nancy Pelosi\u2019s Jan. 6 Committee is a sham that<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1542762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1542762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1542762"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1542762\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1542762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1542762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1542762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}