Robert Kraft's Lawyer Claims Damning Videos Violate 4th Amendment - Report
The legal battle between Robert Kraft’s team and the prosecution continues as his Thursday arraignment approaches.
Kraft’s legal team, headed by attorney William Burck, filed a motion asking that videos of the New England Patriots owner at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Florida, not be released to the public.
However, the West Palm Beach State Attorney refused to grant that request, Burck told the New York Post.
That paves the way for the videos, described as “sexual and graphic,” to be made public.
“We put in a motion for a protective order of the evidence in this case, a standard request in any case to keep evidence protected until trial — especially since the video evidence supposedly contains private moments between (two or more) people,” Burck told the Post.
“We’ve been surprised and disappointed that the state attorney did not sign on to the protective order, because it is a standard procedure in a criminal case,” he said. “They declined to agree to the protective order.”
Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said he believes the videos eventually will be released.
“There has to be a specific reason not to release a public record,” Snyder said in an appearance Thursday on CNBC. “And the fact that there is sexual activity is not an exemption.”
Kraft’s attorneys haven’t denied that he received sexual services at the spa, but they say he did nothing illegal.
Burck, a former federal prosecutor, said the video evidence is illegal under privacy laws, citing the Fourth Amendment.
“We’ve looked at … the law around the warrant for the video surveillance inside the spa, and we think it is a violation of the Fourth Amendment,” he said. “We also believe the traffic stop (made by police as the men left the spa) was illegal and a violation of the Constitution.”
“The state attorney should take a look how the evidence in this case was obtained by the police and explain how this evidence passes constitutional muster, because we don’t see it,” he said.
Earlier this week, Kraft and the other suspects in the sting were offered a plea deal. To have the charges dropped, Kraft would have to complete a course about prostitution, do 100 hours of community service and submit to an STD test.
He also would have had to admit that he would have been found guilty if the case went to trial. That was the deal breaker, according to reports, and Kraft has not accepted the plea deal.
Meanwhile, Kraft’s team is set to visit the White House next month as Super Bowl champions, and President Donald Trump wants the beleaguered owner, a longtime friend, to be there, Politico reported.
Kraft and Trump have spoken since the charges were filed against Kraft in February.
“Public memory is so short that inviting Robert Kraft last month would have been not cool,” a White House official told Politico. “But if (the Patriots) are not going to come until late spring, we’ll have to see what’s going on at that time.”
Another source said, “In my opinion it’s up to Kraft if he’s willing to come — not on us here to block him.”
The White House Office of the Public Liasion is handling preparations for the Patriots’ visit, but it declined to comment on the report Trump wanting Kraft to attend.
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