When Josh Duggar’s lawyers had his trial pushed back from July to November, the plan was to use that time to map out a strategy that might prevent from the disgraced 33-year-old from spending the next 20 years behind bars.
And now, it’s looks like instead of choosing just one, they’ve decided to go with every strategy.
Yes, it appears that Josh’s lawyers are planning to just throw everything they can think of against the wall in the hope that something will stick.
It’s a bold plan, and critics of the Duggars are terrified that it’ll pay off.
First, Josh tried blaming his co-worker for the nauseating material that was found on his computer.
Now, there are reports that he’ll try blaming his crimes on his sex and pornography addictions.
Of course, Josh’s lawyers wouldn’t want to go into court with just two ridiculous arguments.
Thankfully, it seems that they’re not adopting Anna Duggar’s belief that Josh is being framed by Joe Biden.
But unfortunately, their latest strategy is only slightly less ridiculous.
They now claim that government officials mishandled the investigation from the very start in a way that demonstrates a clear bias against Josh.
One of the most absurd allegations these lawyers hurling at prosecutors is the claim that “photographs law enforcement took of Duggar’s hands and feet while requiring him to pose for the photographs in custody.”
Josh’s attourneys claim the government “did not have a warrant which authorized the taking of the photographs” and they allege that the pics and their subsequent release constitute “intrusion on [his] personal rights.”
Yes, they’re really arguing hat Josh should be acquitted because someone took photos of his hands and feet.
Call us crazy, but we can’t help thinking the photos Josh downloaded were a but more problematic.
The defense claims the investigation was botched in a number of other ways, such as when “federal agents physically stopped him from communicating with his attorney.
“Duggar expressly asserted his constitutional right to consult with his attorney, attempted to exercise that right, and law enforcement stunningly reacted by physically preventing him from exercising that right," they allege, according to papers obtained by The Sun.
They also claim that an ex-con employee of Josh’s has admitted to viewing pornography while at work, but his testimony was ignored.
"Witness #1 admitted to investigators he worked at the Car Lot at various times and that, on several occasions, he even stayed at the Car Lot overnight without Duggar’s knowledge or permission," reads a recently-file document.
“Witness #1 admitted to viewing adult pornography through websites he accessed through the internet on his cellular phone and, when asked by these federal agents, denied viewing child pornography.”
Josh’s attorneys further allege that the government “preserved no evidence whatsoever from the search of Witness #1’s phone including its contents and metadata,” adding:
“Where the evidence the Government failed to preserve is potentially exculpatory, dismissal is mandated if the Government acted in bad faith in destroying or failing to preserve the potentially exculpatory evidence.”
Regardless of whether or not there’s any real reason to believe that this employee might have used Josh’s computer to access pornography, it seems the goal here is to muddy the waters enough to create a shadow of a doubt that will lead to Josh’s acquittal.
They argue that evidence was mishandled by investigators and should have been handed over to people with ‘expert skill’ in ‘a properly controlled environment,’”
They say that critical evidence that might have led to a not-guilty verditct has already been lost as a result of the feds’ mishandling of the investigation.
"Witness #1 even admitted to using his device to access adult pornography via the internet, but the Government failed to preserve the evidence of precisely how he accessed the pornography," the papers read, once again attempting to shift the focus back to Josh’s employee.
There was a time when it was impossible to imagine Josh beating these charges.
But a thorough examination of his lawyers’ case serves as a scary reminder that he just might go free.
To be clear — Josh almost certainly did exactly what he’s been accused of, but it only takes a seed of doubt in the mind of one juror to lead to an acquittal.