Santa Clara City Councilmember Anthony Becker’s trial for charges of leaking a confidential report and lying about it has been pushed back after his attorney requested more time to prepare.
Becker, who was indicted in April 2023 for allegedly leaking a civil grand jury report about the San Francisco 49ers’ involvement in Santa Clara politics to the NFL team and subsequently lied about it, was set to go to trial on March 4.
But last week, his public defender, Christopher Montoya, asked a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge to delay the next hearing until July 29. In his motion, he said he needs more time to review the more than 13,000 pages of discovery and other audio and media files. Montoya also said he had a conflict with the March 4 trial start date.
“This is a highly publicized media case involving the prosecution of City Councilman Anthony Becker,” Montoya wrote in his motion. “To date, there are over 60 potential witnesses. The status of this case in the media adds to and complicates litigation.”
Judge Elizabeth Peterson ultimately ruled to move Becker’s trial, though not as far out as his attorney requested. Now, he is slated to go to court on April 22.
Deputy District Attorney Jason Malinsky believes Becker’s attorney has had enough time to prepare as it’s been nearly a year since the councilmember was indicted.
“I think that’s ample time for a defendant to do whatever investigation they need and prepare themselves for trial,” Malinsky told The Mercury News. “I think the community deserves a resolution to the matter. It’s a public official who misused his power and committed a crime and lied about it. I think that should be resolved one way or another in as efficient and quick means as possible.”
Malinsky also said he feels that Becker’s defense hasn’t had a sense of urgency as they waited more than a month to pick up recent discovery materials.
“It’s not a particularly complicated case,” he said.
Montoya did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.
Friday’s hearing was the latest development in a more than year-long saga that could land Becker in county jail for up to four years.
It all started in early October 2022 when details of a scathing Santa Clara County civil grand jury report, titled “Unsportsmanlike Conduct,” appeared in several media outlets — including this one — days before it was set to be publicly released. The report focused on the 49ers’ influence on the city, and criticized several councilmembers for holding frequent closed-door meetings with the team’s lobbyists. The NFL team manages the city-owned Levi’s Stadium.
Becker was indicted six months later and pleaded not guilty to the charges — a misdemeanor and a felony perjury. Transcripts of testimony given to the grand jury that indicted the councilmember and obtained by The Mercury News showed that Becker told fellow Santa Clara Councilmember Suds Jain that he was the source of the leak. It was also revealed that former 49ers spokesperson Rahul Chandhok testified that Becker sent him a copy of the report via the encrypted messaging app, Signal, before it became public.
Santa Clara officials and the 49ers have been at odds for a large part of their now more than decade-long relationship. Team owner Jed York has spent millions of dollars on city elections and dished out more than $1.4 million in Becker’s recent unsuccessful mayoral bid.
