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Nearly a year after the first trial against Texans defense attorney Deshawn Watson began, a grand jury is ready to hear evidence in a criminal investigation sparked by 22 civil complaints that were eventually filed.
Jenny Vrentas and Juliet Makur of the New York Times report that several women who filed criminal complaints against Watson for misconduct during massage therapy sessions received subpoenas to testify Friday, according to their attorney, Tony Bazby.
Watson’s lawyer, Rusty Hardin, told the Times he was “delighted” that the grand jury would hear the case on Friday and that he hoped a decision would be made the same day.
“Free agent time is just around the corner and we wanted that decision to be made by then and it looks like they’re going to do it and I applaud it,” Hardin told the Times. “There has never been any crime here, no matter how you call it indecent assault or whatever. These are civil cases that belong to civil courts.”
Watson is also due to testify Friday in civil cases filed by plaintiffs who have not filed criminal complaints against Watson. Hardin told the Times that Watson would invoke the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when testifying at a deposition called by Buzby.
A source familiar with the situation told PFT that Buzby refused to delay his testimony until Monday, given the likelihood that the criminal cases would be completed on Friday. The source also said that Hardin has no plans to seek the intervention of the presiding judge to delay testimony. Previously, a judge had given Hardin a controversial ruling that he could testify in non-criminal cases and that he would testify later in cases that were prosecuted.
Obviously, Hardin doesn’t want Watson to testify at all in civil cases as long as the possibility of a criminal prosecution exists, since everything Watson says in civil cases can then be used by the prosecutor in criminal charges.
It is not known whether the prosecutor will insist on filing one or more charges against Watson. As they say, the prosecutor can charge a ham sandwich. This is a product of the one-sided nature of the presentation of evidence. Conversely, the prosecutor cannot indict a ham sandwich if, during a secret trial, the prosecutor decides not to aggressively push for charges.
As the quarterback carousel suddenly begins to turn, the possibility of Watson walking out of the current week without criminal charges could set the stage for a long-awaited trade. Aaron Rodgers’ decision to stay put and trade Russell Wilson to the Broncos make Watson the best available quarterback for anyone looking for a veteran upgrade.