Defense wants to subpoena mayor of Santa Clara in perjury trial

The perjury trial of a Santa Clara officer has not yet begun as defense attorneys seek more information on other city officials.

Chris Montoya, public defender for Santa Clara City Councilman Anthony Becker, filed a brief on Aug. 9 seeking evidence that allegedly shows Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor may have received an advance copy of a draft of the Santa Clara County civil jury report released in June. The defense wants to show that Becker, who was charged with perjury in April 2023 after allegedly lying about sharing a draft of the 2022 civil jury report, is not the only city leader who allegedly leaked documents.

Becker, who will appear in court Friday morning, pleaded not guilty to several counts in May 2023. Based on another brief filed on July 24, Montoya suspects Gillmor may have leaked the 2022 report as well.

The 2022 grand jury report, “Unsportsmanlike Conduct,” focused on the 49ers' political presence and power in Santa Clara city politics. At the time, 49ers officials called the case a “scam,” and the five council members investigated in the report, including Becker, said the report was full of misinformation.

It is unclear whether Gillmor shared the report. Political opponents suspect she shared it with the Santa Clara Police Officers Association, which cited the report on a website and sharply criticized the same five council members before the report was made public.

Montoya is seeking more information on a more recent grand jury report – “Irreconcilable Differences,” released by the civil grand jury on June 12. Following the release, Santa Clara City Councilman Suds Jain filed a request to disclose all messages sent by or to Gillmor on city or personal devices during council meetings on May 28 and June 4 of this year. In response to the request, Gillmor provided a handful of text messages and two photos of the report on her computer.

The report's photos are allegedly from June 4, before the rest of the City Council received it on June 5, and before it was released on June 12. Montoya said in his July 24 brief that the photos were taken before the rest of the City Council received the report meant someone on the civil jury had passed them on to Gillmor and that she had a “mole.” Gillmor's lawyers refuted that, saying the photos were taken after the report was released and after June 4, according to Montoya's August 9 brief. This was also supported by the images' metadata.

Montoya argued in his brief that this shows that Gillmor “lacks credibility and that any metadata information she presents to this court regarding the screenshots cannot be relied upon.”

The letter concludes that Gillmor should be subpoenaed to review her documents. Gillmor did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office and other parties suggest that the defense is using sweeping subpoenas to try to obtain information, including information unrelated to the case at hand. Assistant District Attorney Jason Malinsky has filed a motion to quash one of Montoya's subpoenas, which was directed at the district attorney's office and related to a separate 2020 grand jury investigation.
In his brief filed on July 24, Montoya argued that the possibility of further leaks was relevant to Becker's case because it would mean that the contents of the report were already public knowledge. That brief was filed in response to several objections to subpoenas.

“The defense is unsure of the truth – whether Mayor Gillmor improperly obtained a copy of the grand jury report on irreconcilable differences on June 4 (2024) or whether she was dishonest and abused the PRA process,” the brief states.

A summons hearing will be held tomorrow at 9 a.m., and the next hearing is scheduled for September 9 at 8:31 a.m.

Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at [email protected] or @SakuCannestra on X, formerly known as Twitter.