Appearing in court for the first time on a felony perjury charge, Santa Clara Councilmember Anthony Becker deferred his plea Monday on a criminal indictment accusing him of leaking a confidential grand jury report to the San Francisco 49ers last year and lying about it.
Becker was indicted by a Santa Clara County criminal grand jury last week on the perjury charge and a misdemeanor charge for leaking the document to former 49ers spokesperson Rahul Chandhok and to reporters or editors at the Silicon Valley Voice.
Becker, who was represented by a public defender Monday in Santa Clara County Superior Court, requested the plea delay to allow him time to seek outside counsel. He faces four years in county jail if convicted on the perjury charge.
The councilmember's $25,000 bench warrant was set aside by a judge and he will remain out of custody. His next court date is set for May 3.
Becker, who wore a dark blue suit and was accompanied by one other individual, bowed his head and waved his hand at reporters as he left the courthouse, declining comment.
Last year's Santa Clara County civil grand jury report, "Unsportsmanlike Conduct," accused several Santa Clara councilmembers — Becker included — of having too cozy of a relationship with the 49ers. The report was critical of the five councilmembers — who have frequently voted in favor of the NFL team's interests compared to previous councils and held closed-door meetings with 49ers lobbyists — and questioned whether they violated state open-meeting laws.
Following Becker's court appearance, Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen — who was present at the hearing — accused the councilmember of lying to and taking sides against county residents.
"By violating the law and disclosing the report to the 49ers and reporters aligned with the 49ers no doubt with the confidence that his conduct would not be discovered, Councilmember Becker acted in precisely the way that the civil grand jurors warned against," Rosen told reporters. "Here was a politician favoring deep-pocketed special interests above his constituents."
The 49ers and its owner, Jed York, have been large political players in Santa Clara since moving to Levi's Stadium in 2014. The team has spent millions of dollars trying to influence city elections and spent more than $1.4 million to back Becker's unsuccessful mayoral bid last year.
The report was supposed to be released on Oct. 10, but a draft of the report appeared in several media outlets, including this one, on Oct. 7. The city and the council were provided with a preliminary copy of the report on Oct. 5 so they could respond to any potential inaccuracies in it.
Becker told the criminal grand jury that indicted him that he did not have contact with anyone from the 49ers between Oct. 5 and Oct. 10.
Rosen said it was "extremely clear" to Becker that the report was supposed to be confidential until it was made public.
The district attorney said the civil grand jury is made up of "civic-minded people" who serve the community for a year. When the report was leaked early, Chandhok called it a "shocking political hatchet job." Rosen fears the 49ers actions will discourage residents from serving on future civil grand jurors. He also called on the 49ers to apologize.
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