DC Grand Juror Pleads Guilty to Secretly Recording Witnesses
WASHINGTON — A man who admitted to secretly recording grand jury proceedings in District of Columbia Superior Court pleaded guilty Tuesday to criminal contempt and obstruction of justice charges.
He posted the recordings from his cellphone on social media and sent them out in text messages. He sometimes added his own comments, in which he referred to witnesses as “snitches” or “rats.”
Despite court orders for jury members to leave all electronic devices at home or in lockers, the defendant, Alexander Hamilton, secretly recorded nine grand jury sessions. They covered 14 criminal investigations, including murders.
The recordings consisted mostly of the voices of other jurors. One showed video of a juror; another, of a witness.
Hamilton is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 29 in U.S. District Court. Under his plea bargain, he faces between six and 36 months in prison.
Hamilton was arrested after Metropolitan Police Department officers found the recordings on his Instagram account, which had more than 10,000 followers. They identified him as a member of a Sept. 2, 2022, grand jury panel.
When he was sworn in a week later, Hamilton recorded video of himself with his right hand raised, then saying into his phone, “I’m about to lie,” before repeating the oath.
“Additionally, Hamilton demonstrated an awareness in numerous messages that he is not permitted to have his cellphone in the room during presentations before the grand jury,” a Justice Department statement says.
One video showed a witness testifying about a recorded jail phone call. Hamilton included a text when he posted it on social media warning his followers to avoid making jail phone calls.
“Hamilton also knew that calling witnesses derogatory names and revealing their identities on his public Instagram could pose a security risk to witnesses, could discourage others from testifying as witnesses, or could otherwise impede the grand jury investigations,” says the Statement of Offense signed by U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves.
The case is USA v. Hamilton in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
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