Congressman Eric Swalwell has weighed in on the ongoing trial of Alex Murdaugh, a high-profile South Carolina attorney now accused of a shocking list of crimes including the murder of his wife and son.
Mr Murdaugh, now disbarred and facing murder charges as well as dozens of charges related to financial crimes he is accused of committing, is currently on trial for the killings of his family. A judge ruled on Monday that evidence of his financial crimes can be used as prosecutors present their case; the state reportedly believes that Mr Murdaugh killed his wife and son to distract attention from the shocking scope of crimes he was about to be accused of committing.
On Sunday, Mr Swalwell reacted to an analysis of the prosecution’s strategy by the Associated Press; namely, a critical-sounding tweet which noted that the prosecution had yet to present any evidence directly placing Mr Murdaugh at the crime scene when the murders occurred.
“Two weeks into the double murder trial of South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh, prosecutors haven't presented any direct evidence that he killed his wife and son at their home in June 2021,” read the AP’s tweet.
Mr Swalwell responded: “A very lazy take by the @AP.”
“Every juror in America is instructed: You are to consider both direct and circumstantial evidence,” he continued. “Either can be used to prove any fact. The law makes no distinction between the weight to be given to either direct or circumstantial evidence.”
In addition to the murders, Mr Murdaugh stands accused of embezzling from his law firm and stealing money from clients over the years – as much as $8.5m in total. His defence team has accused prosecutors of trying to prove unrelated crimes to sour the jury’s opinion of the defendant due to a supposed inability to prove the murder counts.
"They've got a whole lot more evidence about financial misconduct than they do about evidence of guilt in a murder case. And that's what this is all about," an attorney for Mr Murdaugh’s team said on Monday.
Mr Swalwell is fresh off being stripped of his position on the House Intelligence Committee by Republicans who accuse him of being a national security liability following his alleged relationship with a woman who FBI officials later said was a suspected spy for the Chinese government; his removal came despite Mr Swalwell severing ties with the woman more than seven years ago, and the FBI stating that there was no evidence to suggest that the woman gained access to any sensitive information.
