Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes requested to fire his defense team and delay his trial on charges related to the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, but the judge was not amused.
In a nearly 15-minute rant, Mehta denounced Rhodes over "incorrect and, frankly, bewildered" claims the far-right group's former leader made a day earlier in a request to replace his defense lawyers. Following a rebuke of Rhodes' suggestion that he could not get a fair trial, Mehta rejected those requests.
There is an allegation that Mr. Rhodes is not getting a fair trial.
Rhodes asked to replace his Dallas-based defense team with a new lawyer in a court filing. The Oath Keepers are accused of scheming to storm the Capitol and disrupt the certification of the 2020 election results.
The attorneys who have represented him since his January incident on a seditious conspiracy charge and other allegations tied to the Capitol attack broke down in communication. Most of the discovery from the Justice Department has yet to be received by Rhodes.
Mehta didn't hear a peep from Rhodes until Tuesday's filing. James Lee Bright and Phillip Linder, Rhodes' defense lawyers for the past nine months, have displayed not only competence but also leadership in helping other Oath Keepers and their lawyers prepare for the trial, which is expected to last several weeks.
He's never complained about his lawyers.
He said that Mr. Bright and Mr. Linder would be at the table with Mr. Rhodes. End of the month. It's full stop. It's over.
Mehta suggested that Rhodes would have been better served by hiring lawyers based in the Washington, DC, area, where he has been held since January.
Mehta said that it was his decision.
Rhodes had claimed that he lacked access to crucial evidence. He said that Rhodes has received every exception, including biweekly sessions in which he is allowed to review evidence for hours.
No other defendants are getting that type of accommodations. Mehta said that federal prosecutors have "bent over backwards" to provide Rhodes with discovery to which he's entitled.
After Rhodes and Tarpley publicly criticized their work in a court filing, Mehta thrust Linder and Bright into the awkward position of continuing to represent him. Bright said the Tuesday filing suggested a lack of trust in the engagement.
Bright said it might be a broken relationship.
He said he wished him the best. I have given seven months of my life to him. I haven't attended sporting events. I haven't been able to see my family for a man I don't know. I will be going to DC for six weeks to be with my kids.
Bright did not want to work with Tarpley. Tarpley will be allowed to take part in the case if Rhodes and the other lawyers agree.
Mehta said they could make room. There are enough tables.
As he and other judges in Washington, DC, confront a flood of prosecutions stemming from the Capitol attack, Mehta said he wouldn't allow Rhodes to wreak havoc. Mehta said his schedule wouldn't open until next summer if he was granted a delay.
There was a huge traffic jam on January 6. It's just the reality.
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