Tim Pool breaks Democratic activist's brain with question about Derek Chauvin trial

Failed Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson recently found herself stopped by her own reasoning concerning the right to a fair trial after podcast host Tim Pool applied it to the case of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

On the Dec. 21 episode of the "Timcast IRL" podcast, Pool and Williamson discussed various sensitive topics, including the surge of illegal immigration under President Joe Biden's watch, critical race theory, late-term abortions, and Democratic efforts to prevent the electorate from casting votes for former President Donald Trump.

Late in the conversation, they broached the subject of fair trials and judicial bias, particularly as it concerns those Jan. 6 protesters given relatively extreme sentences.

Pool, who noted both a dearth of "far-left extremists" similarly rotting in jail and concerted efforts by the "corporate media" to pre-emptively convict rightists in the court of public opinion, focused in particular on the treatment of Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, who was not at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, but was nevertheless sentenced to 22 years in prison. The host suggested the lengthy sentence was not the result necessarily of something Tarrio had done but rather due to who he is.

"I think they are sending him to jail because he's a prominent Trump supporter and the chair of the Proud Boys," said Pool.

Williamson questioned whether there was indeed a "massive conspiracy" among the jury members in Tarrio's trial and in others like his, prompting the host to question whether Washington, D.C., where 93% of the electorate voted Democrat in the last presidential election, could ever produce a jury free of substantial partisan bias.

"I think we are, in essence, a purple nation in our hearts," replied Williamson. "And I think people are interrogated before they are allowed to sit on a jury, and if they say things that are clearly prejudicial, then they are not allowed to sit on that jury."

The Democratic activist added, "We can agree that people should be ... held fairly accountable and that the legal system should be fair to everyone."

Drawing upon an audience question, Pool asked Williamson, "Would you agree with black people people being sentenced to long prison sentences if the jury determines that's what should happen?"

Despite her stated faith in the jury system, Williamson acknowledged that it's not always perfect, as some jury decisions "are fair, some of them are obviously unfair, but it's the best that we have."

Pool pressed the issue further, asking, "Do you think like a jury of white people from a wealthy suburb are going to be fair ... to like a black man accused of selling drugs?"

"That's why often it is, you know, there's a movement for a case to be tried elsewhere for that reason," responded Williamson. "I mean, that's part of the system that one can argue that this person could not get a fair trial in this area."

Pool then asked whether it would be acceptable if a judge indicated that "a fair trial would not be possible, so we're going to do it here anyway."

"I don't think that would be right. And somebody would be petitioning somebody," said Williamson. "I mean, even in those cases, there is such a thing as judicial prejudice. Someone would be arguing for judicial prejudice. ... I would be the first to say, 'This is wrong.'"

The host then put it to Williamson: "So will you stand up in defense of Derek Chauvin?"

Williamson was visibly stunned by the question, muttering, "Uh, wow."

After repeating Chauvin's name, Williamson fell silent, held her head, and looked off blankly to the side with mouth agape.

Chauvin's defense attorney attempted to change the location of his murder trial in March 2021, arguing that a jury pool would be greatly influenced by the then-recent news of Minneapolis' settlement with George Floyd's family, reported NPR.

"You have elected officials — the governor, the mayor — making incredibly prejudicial statements about my client, this case," said defense attorney Eric Nelson, reported the MinnPost. "You have the city settling a civil lawsuit for a record amount of money. And the pretrial publicity is just so concerning."

"I do not think that that would give the defendant any kind of a fair trial beyond what we are doing here today," responded Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill. "I don't think there's any place in the state of Minnesota that has not been subjected to extreme amounts of publicity on this case."

Cahill previously admitted he was "a little shocked" when two jurors admitted the Floyd-Minneapolis settlement "did move them off being fair and impartial."

"I was surprised that it had such an effect," said the judge.

One of the jurors was seen in photos taken before the trial wearing a BLM baseball cap and a T-shirt that said, "Get your knee off our necks."

According to the U.S. and Minnesota constitutions, individuals facing criminal prosecution have right to trial by an impartial jury.

After puzzling over Pool's question for a moment, Williamson attempted to defend Judge Cahill's decision, suggesting it was an "overriding circumstance."

"Wasn't there some legitimacy to that given the fact that everybody saw the video?" said the Democrat. "So how could there be a lack of prejudice anywhere?"

"So the question is about the Constitution and what is fair in the court of law, not what we want to have happen because of our feelings," said Pool. "So if the issue is the issue is a judge says, 'There will be no fair trial for you,' my argument is that there's no trial at all and the man should be released because that's a limitation of our democratic system."

Williamson, who tried her hand at becoming the president of the U.S. in 2020, ultimately disagreed with the host's suggestion that a fair trial is necessary for a court to imprison an American citizen.

Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in spring 2021 and sentenced to 22.5 years in prison.

He was stabbed 22 times last month at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, Arizona, by a former FBI informant.

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