24 March 2021
The Department of Justice has asked its Office of Professional Responsibility to review federal prosecutor Michael Sherwin's comments that sedition charges are likely in the criminal investigation into the Capitol riots, per the Washington Post.
Why it matters: His comments to CBS' "60 Minutes" were the subject of an emergency meeting called by District Judge Amit Mehta on Tuesday, who said "these kinds of statements in the media have the potential of affecting the jury pool … I intend to enforce that rule vigorously," Politico notes.
- The DOJ watchdog will review whether Sherwin, who was leading the investigation into the insurrection until last Friday violated department policy during his CBS interview, broadcast Sunday.
For the record: Prosecutors are generally prevented by DOJ rules from speaking publicly on investigations that are ongoing.
Of note: In the emergency meeting, Mehta said "defendants are entitled to a fair trial, not one that is conducted in the media" and that he may impose a gag order if further comments are made on the biggest criminal investigation in U.S. history, according to Politico.
- The DOJ did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.