Another day and another delay in the perjury trial of Santa Clara City Council Member Anthony Becker. On Monday, Aug. 12, Becker appeared in Department 24 at the Santa Clara County Hall of Justice, prepared to have his case assigned to a judge.
It went as planned, and both sides were told that the jury trial would be assigned to the Honorable Panteha E. Saban in Department 40 on Aug. 14 at 9 a.m.
This morning, the judge met with both sides in chambers and discussed the current situation. She told the attorneys she was also assigned a trial on a “time not waived” issue, meaning that case took precedence.
As a result, Judge Saban kicked the trial back to Department 24 on Sept. 9 at 8:31 a.m., where it will be reassigned to another judge.
Both parties contested the delay on the record. Deputy District Attorney Jason Malinsky said he had pushed to get the item placed on an earlier court assignment calendar, considering that both sides were “ready to proceed today” and that there was “no reason to delay.”
Deputy Public Defender Chris Montoya said that if he were not in trial, his office would place him on another trial set to start on Aug. 19. Because the second case involved a potential life in prison sentence, Montoya would be unavailable to appear in court to argue matters in the Becker case.
Judge Saban took both things into consideration. She told Montoya that Becker also had co-counsel who could appear in his stead if need be. She also told Montoya that the judge in the other case might be willing to give him leave to attend other hearings if necessary.
Following her comments, she stuck to her Sept. 9 date.
She said she hoped that both sides would use the extra time to work toward a “resolution,” ostensibly pushing for a settlement agreement. Judge Saban hoped that “those discussions are had between the parties.”
Related Posts:
Judge Denies Series Of Defense Motions As Start Of Becker Perjury Trial Nears
Becker Trial Delayed For The Final Time
Civil Grand Jury Communications Remain Off Limits In Becker Trial
Another Court Hearing In Becker Case Ends With Little Resolution
View Comments (16)
I believe the Court agrees political shenanigans are the basis for much of this and that other actors (Gillmor, SCPOA, etc) were likely involved to some extent.
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Not that one group lying justifies another doing the same, but cops lie all the time to include Santa Clara Police Officers which has been well documented internally by police supervisors and managers. SCPD and the City of Santa Clara are notorious for not fully investigating accusations of misconduct and overtly destroying evidence. We should ask the question, "what led them to charge so hard at Becker?" but we already know the answer.
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Relying on what's been reported in the media, it doesn't appear Becker believed he was the only one prematurely distributing the Civil Grand Jury Report which might have led to an implied understanding and tit-for-tat conduct. Remember that Gillmor is widely known to communicate with select outlets to push her agendas before those items have been weighed by the full Council and a novice community representative may have simply been taking a page from the book a more experienced politician wrote.
It is clear that SOMEONE leaked the Grand Jury report to the Police Officers’ Association BEFORE Becker shared it with anyone else. Can someone “leak” a document that had already been shared? Why haven’t Gillmor and Watanabe received the same level of investigation?
DA Rosen’s actions are HIGHLY suspect in this case. And now he has endorsed one of Gillmor’s chosen candidates for City Council.
Such an endorsement seems HIGHLY unethical and raises serious questions about his impartiality on Santa Clara city issues.
I’m hoping we can find a good challenger for Rosen. He’s up for re-election in 2026.
CSC,
The reason why Anthony Becker was charged for this is because he appears to have lied while testifying under oath by denying that he leaked the Grand Jury Report to the Forty Niners and to Carolyn Schuk or someone else in this publication. And probably Ramona Giwargis of the San Jose Spotlight.
It matters because the Forty Niners is a huge corporate special interest in Santa Clara and there are many millions of dollars at stake for the Forty Niners and the city and these millions of dollars hinge on how city councilpeople vote. And Becker has consistently voted in the Forty Niners interest. And the Forty Niners have spent millions of dollars supporting his political ambitions. This all appears to be a quid pro quo public corruption case with Anthony Becker using his council vote to help the Forty Niners profit more and the city less. With his reward being millions of dollars of campaign support to get on city council and then to try to become the mayor of the city.
So of course if it can be proven that he committed perjury then charges and a conviction would be pursued.
Reportedly former Forty Niners executive Rahul Chandhok testified that Anthony Becker leaked the report to him. And Suds Jain also reportedly testified that Becker admitted this to him and also disclosed that he leaked the report to the Silicon Valley Voice. There may also be physical evidence to corroborate this sworn testimony.
I am not aware of anyone making any credible allegations that Lisa Gillmor leaked the report to anyone. There has only been conjecture and speculation. I do not think the speculation is totally lacking in rationale but it is still speculation.
The speculation is being printed in this publication and the San Jose Spotlight. Both of these publications appear to have been recipients of Becker's illegal leak. They also appear to have been working with the Forty Niners as Associate Editor Carolyn Schuk was reportedly coordinating with the Forty Niners directly. As was Editor in Chief Angie Tolliver according to Robert Haugh.
And therefore the speculation about Lisa Gillmor leaking the report has so far been totally unsubstantiated speculation from parties who have an obvious axe to grind with her politically. But the allegation that Becker leaked the report and then lied about it in sworn testimony appears to be cold hard fact as established by credible sworn testimony and maybe also physical evidence.
Buchser, I believe I've commented in a previous discussion that if Becker intentionally lied I support a prosecution of that accusation as I do against anyone else in a similar circumstance. However, if - in Becker's mind - he thought others had already distributed the report outside the Council, a "I didn't think it was a leak" could be his defense. I've also previously stated that Becker might need more professional maturity. Has this all been because a professional and political rookie made a presumptive mistake? I don't know. But it does appear Gillmor, Nikolai, and Malinsky have charged harder at Becker than any other Council Member else accused of perjury.
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"It matters because the Forty Niners is a huge corporate special interest in Santa Clara and there are many millions of dollars at stake." The same can be said of the Santa Clara Police Officers Association (SCPOA). They are excessively compensated for the work they do compared so other neighboring jurisdictions and year after year their payroll goes up millions of dollars. The SCPOA will endorse at least three candidates for City Council in the coming months plus candidates for Police Chief and City Clerk with the intent on leveraging those roles for purposes of political assassination, continued exorbitant benefits, and leverage against competing priorities for residents. You think the 49ers make money off this city, take a good look at the pensions of retired police and fire employees.
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I believe the distribution of the report, especially using an encrypted Signal App, is a huge hurdle for Becker and his defense team but I wouldn't say guilt is 100% proven at this point. I don't doubt statements attributed to Chadhok and Jain, however it goes back to the question if Becker actually believes the report had already been leaked by others. And another perspective is typically all parties subject of a Civil Grand Jury investigation are interviewed and provided correspondence, did Becker believe the parties he communicated with already had the information and he was simply showing that he had also received a copy? These are just questions a good counsel would likely pose, I'm not supporting Becker's actions in any way but again, was it criminal malfeasance or professional ineptitude?
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Robert Haugh appears to be a paid blogger that allows comments that only support his, the SCPOA's, and Gillmor's narrative. I don't find him credible.
"However, if – in Becker’s mind – he thought others had already distributed the report outside the Council, a “I didn’t think it was a leak” could be his defense."
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I am not a lawyer and do not know a lot about criminal law but I do not believe this is a defense either in terms of the technicalities of the law or the morality of the situation. First of all ignorance of the law is not a defense for breaking the law. Secondly someone else breaking the same law is not a defense for breaking the law oneself. And thirdly Anthony Becker appears to have lied under oath about leaking the report to the Forty Niners and the Silicon Valley Voice. He even reportedly speculated that the leak he was accused of was actually perpetrated by Lisa Gillmor.
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If he lied then he obviously knew it was wrong and tried to cover it up. Trying to frame his actions as innocent oversight feels to me like political wishful thinking.
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"The same can be said of the Santa Clara Police Officers Association (SCPOA)."
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I think there is reason to be concerned if there is belief that there has been a quid pro quo situation here but I do not agree that these two situations are the same. A multibillion dollar corporation with financial interests that compete with the city's is not the same as a public safety worker union that has members who are employees of the city. Paying Santa Clara police well in order to maintain a tiptop police force is in the public interest of the people of Santa Clara. But whatever the Forty Niners make as a corporate profit does not benefit anyone but the owners of the Forty Niners or anyone on their payroll.
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I share your concern over how high the pay is for Santa Clara's police force. Having one of the highest average or median salaries for any force in the state does not seem appropriate. However we do have one of the highest costs of living in the state or country and so it would make sense for the police force to be paid very highly. However whether or not Santa Clara police is paid too highly or is paid appropriately this has nothing to do with Anthony Becker abusing his elected position to help a corporate special interest that has spent millions of dollars to support his political ambitions.
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"I don’t doubt statements attributed to Chadhok and Jain, however it goes back to the question if Becker actually believes the report had already been leaked by others."
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As I wrote above I do not think that this matters. But even if it would matter nobody has shown any reason to believe that Gillmor leaked the report to anyone. I have only seen speculation and that speculation has come from parties that have always attacked Gillmor for any and all possible reasons out of political motivations. This does not mean they are wrong but they have shown no reason to believe they are doing anything but making a politically motivated attack with baseless speculation.
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"Robert Haugh appears to be a paid blogger that allows comments that only support his, the SCPOA’s, and Gillmor’s narrative. I don’t find him credible."
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Haugh is obviously politically biased just like Carolyn Schuk and Miles Barber and Angie Tolliver and others are obviously politically biased. I take all of their opinions with a grain of salt. I also do not automatically believe any factual assertion that they make.
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I was simply noting that he has made the claim that Angie Tolliver the editor in chief of this publication acted as a go between with Rahul Chandhok of the Forty Niners and Anthony Becker.
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This is believable as it has been credibly reported that Carolyn Schuk also has coordinated with the Forty Niners and Anthony Becker with regard to Becker's illegal leak. Carolyn Schuk supposedly was a recipient of Becker's leak and so she seems to know for a fact that he did make an illegal leak and committed perjury if he denied this under oath.
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It stands to reason that Angie Tolliver and Miles Barber know this as well and maybe everyone working for the Silicon Valley Voice. One would not know any of this from reading this publication's coverage of this matter. For this and other reasons I find them lacking in credibility. I do not automatically assume any factual claim they make to be false just as I do not automatically assume any factual claim that Haugh makes to be false.
Once again, thank you for your timely and detailed reporting on this uniquely important case involving, as it does, both the elected and judicial branches of our government. Could one say that the Santa Clara County Superior Court has broken its word to both the prosecutor and the accused in this case? The Court ordered the parties to start trying that case on August 12, 2024, thereby essentially warranting to the parties that that court, itself, would be available to preside over that trial. Then, after two more days of delays, the Court does a Gilda Radner, "Never mind." This is not right. It is one of the oldest maxims of jurisprudence that "Justice Delayed is Justice Denied."
If either the prosecutor or the public defender had come in on August 12, 2024, and said to the judge, "I'm not ready," the Court would have, at a minimum, sharply rebuked them, if not, sanctioned them, Now, it looks increasingly likely that the voters will have a (non-final, yet-to-be-appealed) verdict dumped on them on the eve of the 2024 election just as the original County Grand Jury Report (which started this whole political/legal mess) was dumped on them on the eve of the 2022 election (mid-October) which unfairly pressured our entire Council and all of the candidates for office to react in a very short period of time.
Then, Judge Saban adds insult to injury by essentially pressuring the parties to basically settle the DA's accusations in the hallway as it were. As you have reported, the parties have not even been able to agree on trial dates or trial discovery but now the court wants them to settle the entire case. What kind of court are they running down there? MEANWHILE, this very same month, this very same county court and DA Rosen are reducing the death penalty sentences of all of Santa Clara County's death row inmates at a breakneck pace in strange, brief, NON-adversarial, non-jury proceedings (per a new one-sided pro-criminal statute recently enacted by the politicians in Sacramento). If, in all of this strange pell-mell, the court is too busy (or rightly hesitant) to timely try DA Rosen's novel accusations against Council Member Becker (who is now in an election asking the voters to reelect him), then it should dismiss those accusations in the interests of justice. Heinous murderers are receiving more consideration from DA Rosen and this court than one of our duly elected representatives,
Dear BA> I hate to say it but anything that comes out of R Haugh's blog / mouth / directives from LG need to be considered with a grain of salt. that blog is a gossip column nothing more. Cindy Adams would blush at some of the made up stories in that column. Plz let's not even suggest this person knows anything. Lisa, Theresa and the Dough thrower give directive to that blog.
John excellent comments, what an injustice to Becker. and deplorable attitude of a judge. Next: we will all be in court being sent to the "cells" for 24 months like the Brits are doing to people who make remarks on social media. BUT I just can't help this is being played out exactly how LG wants it. Tried in the eyes of the residents.
Jay,
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I take all opinions of Robert Haugh with a grain of salt. For reasons that make me take all opinions of Miles Barber and Carolyn Schuk and Angie Tolliver and David Alexander and even Erika Towne with a grain of salt. And I do not automatically believe that any factual claim by any of these people is true but believe that they all mostly are correct in factual claims that they make. Haugh and Barber less so than the others.
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In this case he is claiming or reporting that Rahul Chandhok of the Forty Niners testified that he got a phone call from Angie Tolliver and that Tolliver called him to tell him that he would be getting another phone call from Anthony Becker. If Chandhok did testify to this and if there are phone records to back this up then this will soon be a matter that will be proven to be true or false regardless of how many grains of salt we take it with.
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If I were a betting man I would bet in this instance that Haugh would not write about this detail if he did not have good reason to believe it is true.
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The bigger question for all readers of this publication is to wonder why the editor in chief of the Silicon Valley Voice would be acting as a go between with a Forty Niners executive and a city councilperson charged and being tried for illegally leaking a confidential grand jury draft report that he is also accused of leaking to the Silicon Valley Voice. The same publication that employs Carolyn Schuk as an associate editor and who has been accused of having her own direct communications behind the scenes with the Forty Niners and Anthony Becker.
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Reports indicate that she expressed pleasure at the thought of the Forty Niners getting leaked the report early would enable them to mount the preemptive campaign to discredit the grand jury and its report that they mounted. Reports also indicate she was the person at the Silicon Valley Voice who received Becker's illegal leak of the report.
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I do not think I have ever read any admission of this in any Silicon Valley Voice pieces on this matter. There seems to have been directive that has lead to this glaring omission in their coverage.
I also take all opinions and comments voiced and written by you with a grain of salt
John,
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"Could one say that the Santa Clara County Superior Court has broken its word to both the prosecutor and the accused in this case?"
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No I do not believe that one could say that. Anthony Becker waived his right to a speedy trial. And the trial has repeatedly been delayed due to his own requests for delay.
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If you want to blame someone for the trial having been delayed so long then you need to first start with Becker himself.
The fact that the Mercury News and the San Francisco Chronicle released the Grand Jury's findings before the date it could be released shows there was monkey business on Lisa Gilmor and the POA's side. There were emails... and other materials for leaks. Anthony Becker had a target on his back by those newspapers. Don't blame the Silicon Valley Voice alone, Mr. Bushcher.
Wesley,
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The Mercury News and the San Francisco Chronicle did not release the Grand Jury's report before it was officially released. They never released the report at all. At least not before it was officially released.
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It was the Silicon Valley Voice and San Jose Spotlight that scooped both of the major papers with detailed articles and the San Jose Spotlight published the report in full. Many public reports indicate that Anthony Becker leaked the report to Carolyn Schuk of the Silicon Valley Voice. And I believe I have seen reports of communications behind the scenes between Ramona Giwargis of the San Jose Spotlight and Becker and also the Forty Niners. This is only to be expected by anyone paying attention as both of these smaller publications carry water for Becker and the Forty Niners.
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Any target on Becker's back is due to the fact that he painted it himself. He did so by consistently voting for Forty Niner interests while they also spent millions of dollars supporting his political ambitions. And apparently used his elected position of trust to give them a grand jury report that was not to be made public at the time and did so in order to help them mount a publicity campaign against the grand jury and its report before the report was publicly released. And then he lied about this while testifying under oath and even speculated under oath that it was Gillmor who made the leak.
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That is why there is a target on his back.
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I am glad that we now have district elections and I opposed the efforts by Gillmor and others in trying to stick with citywide council elections and also their alternate proposal for larger and fewer districts. I respect and appreciate your role in pushing for the six districts and district election of council seats. But it is very clear that Anthony Becker does not deserve any one of these six council seats.
Buchser Alum,
You are welcome to your opinion, but please do not spread misinformation. According to the testimony by the District Attorney's investigator, Ben Holt, The Chronicle had the article up at 8:58 a.m. on Oct. 7, 2022 as found on the "Way Back Machine." When Holt went and pulled up the actual image, the first screen shot showed that the item posted on Oct. 7, 2022 at 12:58 a.m. Holt testified that The Chronicle was the second news agency to post the article. You can read the details at http://www.svvoice.com/grand-jury-transcript-lays-foundation-for-perjury-case-against-becker/
Thank you for your continued readership.
Erika,
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Thank you for the link. I do not remember reading that article or seeing the timeline you report in it.
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My understanding of the timing of news reports on the grand jury report is based on my memory of the time. At the point when I could read your article and Giwargis's I could not find an article on the grand jury report on the Chronicle or the Mercury. It appears that I was simply bad at finding it even though I used search on both of their sites and also browsed the pertinent sections.
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I do not understand what you report Ben Holt as stating he had screenshot of the Chronicle with an article on the report dating from the previous night as the Wayback Machine's first snapshot of that article is dated around four o'clock in the afternoon with the snapshotted article to be found there showing the specification that the article was updated at 9:58 am.
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In your article you state that the San Jose Spotlight "published on Oct. 7, 022 at 10:39 a.m." I have a memory of their article having had a time stamp of publication around 9 am but the article itself no longer has a time stamp. However the article does have timestamps for comments and the first comment is timestamped with 10:32 am. But it is highly improbable that this commenter just happened to check their site within seconds of the story being published.
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I have yet to see anything that shows that the Chronicle published earlier than the Spotlight. I have yet to see anything that disproves the possibility that the Chronicle was able to review a copy of the report because they downloaded it from the San Jose Spotlight. However I do not know if the Spotlight published early enough that it is likely that the Chronicle was able to read the report through them in time to update their article at 9:58 am. I hope that this will all be clarified in testimony in Anthony Becker's trial.
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If it is and you are the reporter assigned to report on the proceedings I am sure that things will be made more clear as you are detailed in your reporting.
Please allow the trail to proceed normally. Please stop assuming the roles of prosecutor, judge, and jury.