A judge has denied prosecutors’ request to keep secret the footage of the hammer attack on former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi.
The footage, along with the 911 call made after the assault, could be released to the public as early as Thursday.
San Francisco Superior Court Judge Stephen M. Murphy ruled that there was no reason to keep the footage hidden, especially after it was played in open court during a preliminary hearing last month.
Judge Murphy sided with a group of media outlets, including ABC, NBC, KQED, Politico, The New York Times, and The San Francisco Chronicle, in granting access to the footage, though the timing on when the actual files will be released is not yet certain, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The District Attorney’s Office has now handed over all courtroom evidence to Murphy, who has instructed the court clerk’s office to distribute it to the media.
The alleged attacker, David DePape (42), has been charged with attempted murder and pleaded not guilty last month. He faces life in prison if convicted.
DePape’s defense attorney, Adam Lipson, argued that the release of the recordings risked spreading more “conspiracy theories” and false media reporting about the high-profile case, per The Chronicle, and said he feared potential manipulations of the digital recordings could damage his client’s ability to “get a fair trial.”
