COST OF HIGH-PROFILE TRIAL: Disputes proliferate - and not just among prosecution and defense

Aug. 30—BELLAIRE — State prosecutors continue to present evidence in a trial of three men facing charges related to a plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, while, behind the scenes, local officials grapple with the cost of a high-profile trial.

"We sent out 400 jury questionnaires," Antrim County Clerk Sheryl Guy said Tuesday. "Jury trials aren't something you can really budget for, we don't know how many there will be per year, but that number of questionnaires is a lot more than what's typical."

Guy said postage alone cost about $1,900. Prospective jurors receive a postage-paid envelope to return the questionnaires to the clerk's office. The questionnaires were printed in-house, she said, using ink, paper, envelopes and staff time.

"We didn't just print them here, we stuffed them here, too," Guy said of preparing the envelopes for mailing. "And my court reporter is there all day, every day, Monday through Friday."

Then about a quarter of those prospective jurors on Aug. 21 were called to Bellaire High School, where state prosecutors and defense attorneys spent the day asking questions about their beliefs and their backgrounds before a jury of 18 county residents was seated just before 5 p.m.

Six will be excused prior to deliberations. But all 18 jurors have been listening to testimony in the trial of Eric Molitor, Michael Null and William Null, who have been charged with providing material support for an act of terrorism and being in possession of a firearm while committing a felony.

Those who appeared in the high school auditorium last Monday, whether they were selected for the jury or not, were invited to submit their lunch receipts — up to $15 — for reimbursement by the county.

Officers with the county's sheriff's office staffed two security lines at the high school during jury selection, and have provided additional security, some plainclothes, some in uniform, both in and outside the courthouse.

"We're in overtime hours," Sheriff Dan Bean said Tuesday. "It's our job. It's what you do to keep people safe."

No specific threats have been reported by court staff or law enforcement and all activity in court has been civil and professional.

Nevertheless, Bean said, his office arranged periodic patrols of the parking lot behind the courthouse, in addition to standard staffing of a bailiff in the courtroom and an officer at a metal detector near the courtroom's only public entrance.

Bean said the cost for overtime and patrols likely wouldn't be calculated until after the trial, which is expected to last well past Labor Day.

The financials aren't the only atypical aspects of the trial so far, however.

On Monday evening, the video-sharing platform, YouTube, removed several videos from a livestream of the trial that had been posted by a freelance journalist and commentator with YouTube channel Christina (Radix Verum).

"This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Sinclair, Inc.," notifications posted on YouTube stated.

Sinclair Inc. is the parent company of NBC affiliate, 7 & 4, and ABC affiliate 29 & 8, also known as UpNorthLive.

UpNorthLive is among several media outlets which filed media coverage request forms with the court in advance of the trial. Others include CBS affiliate 9 & 10, freelance videographer Eric VanDussen, Interlochen Public Radio, the Associated Press, CourtTV, USA Today Network and the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

The court's register of actions shows no media coverage request from Radix Verum.

UpNorthLive News Director Patrick Livingston declined to comment on the copyright claim and Sinclair Broadcasting did not respond to a note sent through their corporate website.

Daniel Zivian, a reporter for UpNorthLive, has been present throughout the trial, recording proceedings and operating the news outlet's livestream, which also has been broadcasting on YouTube.

On Monday morning, Zivian, on social media, posted a photograph of a laptop computer, resting on a table adjacent to the security station near the courthouse's public entrance, the screen showing UpNorthLive's "court is in recess" screen.

"It's Monday, and the Antrim County Sheriff's stream of choice will be starting up in 20 min!" Zivian posted, an apparent dig at those who would use the television channel's livestream without permission.

Radix Verum shared Zivian's post on X, the social media site previously known as Twitter, adding, "'Journalist' bragging about close relationship to 'law enforcement' that happen to be interested party in this case. Well the stream of choice for victims of this FBI hoax is mine but your company had it removed."

Zivian confirmed the post was his.

"I can't speak for anything related to your stream, but I might respectfully suggest that you are reading too much into my tweet," he said in response to Radix Verum. "I don't get many light moments on this job!"

On Tuesday afternoon, the prosecution sought to enter into evidence four brief video clips from a two-plus hour interview VanDussen conducted with Molitor in January.

The deadline set by 13th Circuit Court Judge Charles Hamlyn for prosecutors and defense attorneys to submit material as a part of the discovery process was Aug. 7, court records show, and prosecutors argued they only became aware of the existence of the interview Aug. 20.

VanDussen had emailed a link to the interview, which he had posted online, to all of the defense attorneys, the prosecutors and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.

VanDussen shared the link, he said, in response to a suggestion, in a previous court hearing, by an assistant attorney general that VanDussen was working with Molitor — a charge the videographer has said is patently false.

William Barnett, who represents Molitor, objected to allowing brief clips, rather than the full interview, into evidence.

"It's just a way to smear him again," Barnett said of his client. "Put him in a dark light. It has zero to do with material support, zero to do with resources provided. I would say whole tape or no tape. This is garbage."

Michigan Assistant Attorney General William Rollstin argued the clips had relevance, showed intent and that Barnett could "bookend" the clips with longer views if he wanted to show additional context.

The judge allowed the clips to be shown to the jury, who saw Molitor in the video, wearing a plaid, short-sleeved button-down shirt, sitting at his kitchen table, a child's drawing taped to the wall, answering questions about his political views.

Molitor tells VanDussen he knew exactly what he was doing when he made the slow-motion video of Whitmer's vacation home near Elk Rapids during a drive-by daytime surveillance Aug. 29, 2020.

At one point, VanDussen says Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, after learning of the kidnap plot, publicly expressed fear for herself and her family, then he asks whether Molitor has thoughts about this.

"Are you kidding me? I'd be scared s----s too," Molitor says, then proceeds to criticize Whitmer.

VanDussen, during an interview after court was adjourned for the day, expressed frustration over the way his work was used by the prosecution.

"It's real, and it's Mr. Molitor's truth," VanDussen said. "And the way they reduced that entire interview down to a few minutes, if that, I think is a miscarriage of justice."

Late Tuesday afternoon, Rollstin said he'd completed questioning FBI Special Agent Henrik Impola. The trial is expected to resume Wednesday morning, when defense attorneys will have the opportunity to cross-examine Impola.