Legal Teams Push for Transparency in Don Lemon’s Grand Jury Proceedings
In an intriguing development involving the former CNN host and current independent journalist Don Lemon, his legal team has filed a motion requesting the release of grand jury transcripts. The request stems from allegations of misconduct in similar cases handled by the U.S. Department of Justice across the country.
Earlier this year, Lemon entered a not guilty plea to federal civil rights charges tied to a protest at a Minnesota church, where he insists he was documenting the event rather than participating. The protest was centered around an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official who also serves as the pastor of Cities Church in St. Paul. Lemon is among 39 individuals charged in connection with the January incident.
Joining forces with fellow independent journalist Georgia Fort, Lemon filed a motion in February requesting the grand jury transcripts that led to their indictments. The latest filing made in Minneapolis’ U.S. District Court highlights a growing skepticism regarding the Justice Department’s use of the grand jury process over the past 15 months.
“In the past two weeks alone, several courts have chastised Justice Department prosecutors for irregularities in the grand jury process and gone so far as to dismiss indictments for grand jury misconduct,” claimed Lemon’s attorneys in their recent court filing.
A spokesperson for the Justice Department has yet to comment on the filing.
Lemon’s attorneys draw attention to various recent cases to bolster their argument. One such instance is the dismissal of charges against four activists involved in a Chicago protest during an immigration crackdown. This May 21 dismissal followed a judge’s review of grand jury misconduct claims against the prosecutor’s office. Read more
Additionally, on May 15, three federal judges in Wyoming dismissed nine felony indictments, citing misconduct from the interim U.S. attorney, whose comments potentially influenced jurors. Read more
In another case from Rhode Island on May 13, a judge blocked the Trump administration’s request for confidential patient information from a hospital providing gender-affirming care, criticizing the prosecutors’ approach. Read more
Lemon’s defense also mentions a February incident where search warrants related to his YouTube channel were denied due to insufficient probable cause, as per a magistrate judge’s ruling. The court record was unsealed this Tuesday.
Several judges, including Minnesota’s chief federal judge, have previously found no probable cause for the complaints initially filed against Lemon and Fort, leading the government to pursue grand jury indictments instead.
Lemon’s attorneys assert that access to the grand jury records is justified, given the “checkered history of this case” and the numerous instances of grand jury misconduct by the DOJ nationwide. They argue that Lemon is “entitled to see whether the government allowed the grand jury to serve its role or whether, as elsewhere, the government interfered with the proper function of the grand jury.”
