Jan. 6 Attorney Alleges FBI Criminally Altered Evidence, Requests Special Master Review of Leaked Messages

Jan. 6 Attorney Alleges FBI Criminally Altered Evidence, Requests Special Master Review of Leaked Messages
Protesters loyal to President Donald Trump rally at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. AP Photo/ Jose Luis Magana
Gary Bai
Updated:
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Rogers Roots, an attorney representing Dominic Pezzola, a Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach defendant, alleged on Sunday that the FBI had committed crimes by altering evidence and requested that the court appoint a special master to review the evidence.

Roots’s move came days after the testimony of FBI Special Agent Nicole Miller, who was involved in the agency’s investigations of the Jan. 6 defendants. When cross-examining Miller, Nick Smith, an attorney representing Proud Boys member Ethan Nordean (listed as co-defendant on Pezzola’s case), revealed classified FBI emails that were hidden in a tab in an Excel spreadsheet, which included a directive to Miller to “destroy” 338 pieces of evidence and “edit out” an FBI agent from an informant report.