- A Washington, DC, man pleaded guilty in federal court to recording grand jury proceedings.
- Alexander Hamilton, 28, broadcasted live witness testimony to his Instagram.
A Washington, DC, man pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges of obstruction of justice and contempt after he secretly recorded and posted footage of federal grand jury proceedings onto social media.
According to a recent press release from the Department of Justice, Alexander Hamilton, 28, made video recordings of witness testimony from at least 18 people in connection to at least 14 separate grand jury investigations.
Court filings show that Hamilton broadcasted some of the testimony live to his more than 10,000 followers on Instagram while also sending recordings directly to friends and associates over text or messenger apps. He later admitted to using one of his two cell phones to commit the crime, conceding he improperly held onto them despite being required to place them into a secure locker before the grand jury proceedings.
In his statement of offense, Hamilton acknowledged that he was well aware that he was violating grand jury rules by both recording and transmitting the videos — in one of his videos discovered by investigators, he looked at his phone and said, "I'm about to lie," when taking an explicit oath of secrecy.
While the videos and screenshots from the grand jury proceedings are not included in any of the public filings, court filings provide a glimpse of some of the information Hamilton shared:
- At least on one occasion, the face of a grand jury witness who Hamilton audibly called a "vicious rat"
- A witness' testimony where they were asked about a recorded call made in jail — Hamilton used this video to tell his Instagram followers to avoid speaking on jail calls
- Several instances of himself calling witnesses "rats" and "snitches"
US Attorney Matthew M. Graves pledged in a statement on Tuesday to continue prosecuting "those, like Hamilton, who compromise the integrity of the criminal justice system" by violating their oath of secrecy.
Hamilton's sentencing is scheduled for November 29 in Washington, DC, before Judge Amy Berman-Jackson.