Shortly before a grand jury in New Orleans voted on July 2 to on 16 felony charges, special prosecutor Laurie White expressed reservations, Murrill’s attorneys say in court filings.
UPDATE:
White called John Sinquefield, the attorney general’s executive counsel, on July 1, after the existence of the secret probe. White told him grand jurors were “making patriotic statements” and that an indictment would not be “good for my career,” Sinquefield said in an affidavit.
White also called veteran attorney Pat Fanning, a TV legal analyst, to quibble about his on-air views of the possible indictment. According to Murrill’s attorneys, White told Fanning she had tried to dissuade the grand jury.
The next day in the courthouse garage, White remarked to a prosecutor from Murrill’s office, Daniel Smart, that she was trying to keep the grand jury from voting, Smart says in a statement. After the indictment, White thanked Fanning in a text message “for your advice on the malfeasance. I tried to talk them out of this and couldn’t. Hope I’m more persuasive with a jury!!”
In a legal filing Tuesday, Murrill’s lawyers alleged that each of those contacts as they gear up to ask a judge to quash the indictment accusing Murrill of public intimidation and malfeasance in office.
The Republican attorney general came out firing in asking an ad hoc judge, Robert Chaisson, to enforce subpoenas seeking records and communications from White and Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams about the origins of the grand jury’s inquiry.
Hours later, Williams issued a public letter to White in which he urged caution over a prosecution that has sparked heavy blowback from Gov. Jeff Landry and other Republican state leaders. Mayor Helena Moreno and five City Council members issued their own letter to White soon after, requesting the charges against Murrill be dismissed.
Williams touted a collaboration with Murrill that has coincided with steep crime reductions in New Orleans. He declared her indictment a risky distraction that “jeopardizes that continued partnership which has been a hallmark of my administration.”
White had no immediate comment.
She and Williams insisted in separate motions Friday that Murrill is embarking on an epic fishing expedition with subpoenas that exceed what the Louisiana Supreme Court contemplated when it froze the case.
White accused the attorney general and her legal team of a “retaliatory campaign to harass and intimidate” her and Williams.
Murrill’s attorneys, Blake Arcuri and Laura Cannizzaro Rodrigue, argued Tuesday that they need a host of records from White and Williams to prove misconduct in the lead-up to the indictment.
They cite the Louisiana Supreme Court’s , which pointed to “apparent procedural irregularities” and “likely conflicts of interest” that could disqualify White.
The Supreme Court allowed Murrill to “assert any and all necessary defensive pleadings, including a motion to quash” the indictment. To file that motion, Murrill’s attorneys argue they need more evidence.
The subpoenas suggest a politically motivated fix involving White and Williams, and possibly others.
Murrill’s team seeks any correspondence from Williams and White involving the grand jury or the judge who oversaw its proceedings, Criminal District Judge Leon Roche.
They have also sought Williams’ communications with Moreno, City Council President JP Morrell, former Congressman Cedric Richmond, state Sen. Gary Carter or news media related to the grand jury inquiry. From White, Murrill’s attorneys seek correspondence with Roche, Moreno, or members of the news media.
“Defendant has a reasonable, good faith basis to believe that Mrs. White’s presentation of this matter to the grand jury was informed or assisted by personnel or resources of the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office, notwithstanding that office’s public position that it played no role in this prosecution,” Murrill’s attorneys wrote.
The filing is the latest volley in a conflagration that began May 13, when Murrill sent letters to Williams, Moreno and five City Council members, for bucking the Legislature to back an election for citywide court clerk.
Williams’ recusal notice says Murrill “invoked (and appeared to intentionally misconstrue) an obscure set of laws regarding ‘usurpation’ to threaten D.A. Williams with immediate removal if he did not change his position.”
First Assistant District Attorney Ned McGowan wrote in the recusal notice that the jury foreperson notified him on May 22, nine days after the letters, “that the grand jury had independently decided to investigate Attorney General Liz Murrill for possible violations of state law.”
Rather than kick the case to the attorney general — the target — McGowan recommended that Roche appoint a special prosecutor. Roche signed the recusal on June 1 and two days later appointed White, who resigned in 2023, to guide the grand jury.
Williams argues that the subpoena targeting his communications is “facially defective and contrary to law.” Murrill’s attorneys dismissed Williams’ arguments as a dodge.
“If OPDA truly had no role in this investigation or prosecution, the honest answer to this subpoena is a certification that a diligent search turned up nothing, not seven overlapping legal theories of why the search need never happen,” Murrill’s legal team responded.
McGowan wrote that Murrill’s subpoena was far too broad, seeking “almost every communication in any form with everyone ‘who was not an empaneled member of the grand jury.’”
He wrote that the subpoena to Williams impugns victim rights law as well as restrictions on compelling testimony from lawyers.
It was uncertain Tuesday when Chaisson might rule over the motions to quash the subpoenas or if he will first schedule a hearing.