Clancy Witness Backs Insanity Defense, Fauci Adviser Pleads Guilty, Election Upsets: AM Update 8/20

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0:41A psychologist for the defense offering a notable opinion in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial. Police returning to a home connected to Hayden Penetier's on-again, off-again boyfriend just days after the actress's sudden death. A longtime Dr. Fauci advisor pleading guilty to hiding government communications about COVID research, now facing up to five years in prison. Let's make something very clear to David Jolly. We are not going to apologize for Florida. And Florida voters setting up a fiery governor's race, while a far-left Democrat pulls off a stunning Senate upset. All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update.

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3:16Clancy not disputing that she killed the children before attempting to take her own life. Her lawyers arguing she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and was not criminally responsible. Prosecutors contending, she planned the killings and understood that what she was doing was wrong. Defense psychologist Dr. Paul Zeisel returning to the stand, telling jurors Clancy's medical records reflected paranoia, an inability to experience pleasure, and intrusive thoughts about suicide. Zizel saying Clancy feared that if other people could hear her thoughts, she worried state authorities would take her children away.

3:48The psychologist also testifying that someone experiencing psychosis can still complete ordinary tasks and appear to interact normally with other people. Zizel then offering his opinion on the central question jurors will ultimately decide. Can you tell this jury, sir, in your opinion, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty based upon all of what you have reviewed, all of what we have talked about, all of what you have considered as to whether or not at the time of this incident resulting in the killing of these three little kids that she was suffering from a mental disease or defect, such as that she lost substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of her act or, in the disjunctive, was unable to conform her conduct to the requirements of the law.

4:42Yes. Tell the jury what your opinion is, please. My opinion is that she did have indeed a mental disease or a defect. That's a legal construct, not a DSM-5 one, but she had bipolar disorder with postpartum psychoses. In addition, she was unable to conform her behaviors to the rule of law, and she had no appreciation for the wrongfulness of her act. Prosecutors challenging both Zizel's objectivity and basis for that conclusion. Assistant District Attorney Shannon Buckingham questioning him about his frequent work for defense attorneys in the state's public defender agency, along with his longstanding professional relationship with Clancy's attorney, Kevin Reddington.

5:24Zizel acknowledging that Clancy has not reported hearing voices since the killings and agreeing the only time she specifically described a male voice was while recounting what happened that night. Clancy reportedly telling a hospital chaplain after the killings that a male voice had ordered her to kill the children and then herself. Buckingham also noting that Clancy declined an opportunity for inpatient treatment in December 2022, challenging Zizel's characterization that she had gone to an emergency room but received no help. The prosecution then turning to hospital observations recorded on emotionally significant dates following the children's deaths.

6:01Were you aware that on May 26, 2023, that the defendant was observed by staff in a note stating that she was visible along the unit hallways, self-propelling her wheelchair. She had a visit with her mother. They ate and played games during the visit. Are you aware of that? That would have been approximately four months after the incident and on the date of Callan's first birthday, right? Yes. How about on January 24th, 24, where she's observed in a note from Tewkes-Farre State Hospital, patient was visible in the milieu, engageable with both staff and select peers, that she was pleasant during interactions, self-propelling in wheelchair in the halls, spending much of the morning and early afternoon in her room and hall on her electronics.

6:53Do you recall reading that record? Not specifically. And January 24th, 2024 would have been the year anniversary of the incident, correct? Yes. Reddington returning to those same records on Redirect. How about in reviewing the records, I didn't hear that she's laughing and partying and having a good time while she's in the Tewkesbury Hospital. Did you see anything like that? No. Lindsay Clancy has bad days and worse days. And when you speak with her and meet with her, doctor, has she ever mentioned her children? Because apparently, according to the question that you underwent, she never talks about her kids.

7:34She does speak about her children. What does she say? She really loves them and misses them and thinks of them every single day, almost every moment of the day. The jury later leaving the courtroom while the judge considered proposed testimony from Emily Thorndike, a former McLean Hospital social worker who posted a TikTok challenging the prosecution's portrayal of staffing at the psychiatric hospital. Clancy spending several days at McLean around New Year's in 2023, although Thorndike had stopped working there roughly a year earlier and had no direct involvement in her treatment. Judge William Sullivan ultimately refusing to allow Thorndike to testify before the jury, finding her proposed testimony had limited relevance because of that gap.

8:22Sullivan then sending jurors home early because of what he called an unforeseen circumstance, telling them not to speculate about the reason or hold the interruption against either side. Testimony expected to resume later this morning. We spoke with the MK True Crime Show co-host Phil Holloway, who tells us Zizel's testimony represents a pivotal moment for the defense. The testimony by the defense expert is really sort of the whole money shot. This is what the defense case is all about. We've picked around the edges of her mental status at various times through the various prosecution witnesses when the defense had them on cross-examination, but the defense case was always meant to center on her lack of mental capacity.

9:11In other words, they, the defense, they're saying that she does not have or did not have at the time the mental capacity to form criminal intent. So we knew it was gonna come down to the defense case. This is where the experts are really going to zero in on the legal distinction between a guilty act versus a guilty mind. Holloway saying the periods when Clancy appeared to be functioning normally do not necessarily undermine the defense's case. The prosecutor, there's been testimony in the case that at various times, Lindsay appeared normal, she appeared sociable, she appeared, you know, caring for the children, things of that nature.

9:53But as we've discussed on the MK True Crime Show this week, we had an expert come on and explain to us that someone's basically their postpartum psychosis or postpartum depression, it can wax and it can wane. And it's not one of these things where you're either in it or you're not in it. You can go into psychosis and then out of psychosis. And you can also exist in these mixed mental states. So the prosecution can try to cherry pick instances of where she was acting relatively normal, but these defense witnesses should have no problem explaining to the jury that someone with this type of disorder does not necessarily exhibit signs 24-7.

10:39As for whether jurors will hear directly from Clancy, Holloway saying that decision will likely depend on how her lawyers believe the defense case has gone. A lot of times the defense can very well have a case essentially won until a defendant takes the stand and ruins it. So if they believe that things are going well enough, and by that I mean does the defense team believe that there's reasonable doubt in the minds of at least one of the jurors, then the best strategy is probably for her not to take the stand. So I think the default setting is that she's going to remain silent, but anything could change and something could happen between now and then where her lawyer and she feels that it's necessary.

11:25Police conducting a welfare check Wednesday morning at a home belonging to the family of Hayden Penetier's on-again, off-again boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, just days after the 36-year-old actress was found dead in South Carolina. Panettiere found unresponsive Sunday afternoon at an Airbnb in Greenville, with first responders arriving shortly before 2 p.m. and finding her in cardiac arrest. Paramedics attempting to revive her before she was pronounced dead at 2.32 p.m., according to the Greenville County Coroner's Office. An autopsy finding no signs of trauma that contributed to her death, with the cause and manner still pending as investigators await additional testing.

12:02Police also saying they have found no signs of foul play. An overdose is suspected. According to a police report released Tuesday, Hickerson and his brother Zach were both at the residence when officers arrived. Zach reportedly telling police he found Panettiere unresponsive, while Brian Hickerson directed officers to a bag containing medications she had reportedly been taking. The exact status of Panettiere and Hickerson's relationship at the time remains unclear, though Zach reportedly described her to police as his brother's girlfriend. The two first linked in 2018, beginning a turbulent relationship that included multiple domestic violence cases against Hickerson.

12:39Police returning to a property connected to Hickerson's family yesterday morning, Page Six reporting officers arrived at the Greenville home around 8.20 a.m. for a welfare check, knocking on several doors before leaving a few minutes later. Police telling people the call was unrelated to the investigation into Penetierre's death and did not require an incident report. Police have not publicly said who the welfare check concerned. Coming up, a former top Fauci advisor admitting he helped keep COVID-related government communications out of public view, now pleading guilty to a federal conspiracy charge.

13:13And President Trump's endorsed candidate cruising to victory in Florida as another Trump-backed contender falls short in Wyoming.

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14:57The Justice Department, announcing Morin's pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to commit offenses and defraud the United States. According to his guilty plea, the scheme developing after the National Institutes of Health terminated a grant studying the emergence of bat coronaviruses. That grant had been awarded to a non-profit that sent some of the money to the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China. Prosecutors saying Morinz and others then worked behind the scenes to help restore the grant and counter the theory that COVID-19 had leaked from a laboratory. At the same time, they were reportedly anticipating that their communications could become the subject of Freedom of Information Act requests.

15:35Morinz admitting he and his co-conspirators agreed to move those conversations onto his personal Gmail account rather than his official government email, intentionally keeping them out of public view. The DOJ saying that private account was then used to exchange non-public NIH information, discuss efforts to influence NIH funding, edit letters being sent to NIH leadership, and pass information through unofficial channels to a senior NIAID official. The plea documents do not publicly name the other people involved. However, the Washington Post reporting previously released congressional records indicate one was Peter Daszak, the former president of EcoHealth Alliance, which received the NIH grant and worked with the Wuhan lab.

16:16He has not been charged in the case. Morin's also admitting as part of his plea that he and the co-conspirator believed to be Daszak conspired over illegal gratuities. The Justice Department finding Morin's received wine as thanks for what was described at the time as his, quote, behind-the-scenes shenanigans, with additional offers reportedly including meals at Michelin-starred restaurants. Morin's now facing up to five years in federal prison, though the Justice Department notes federal sentences are typically below the statutory maximum and will ultimately be determined by the judge under federal sentencing guidelines.

16:50Morin's scheduled to be sentenced November 12th by U.S. District Judge Paula Zinnis in Maryland. His attorney, Timothy Belavetz, releasing a statement after the plea, quote, By pleading guilty today, Dr. Morans has taken responsibility for what he did and will continue to do so. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, who had also asked the DOJ back in 2024 to investigate Morans over the private emails, reacting to Tuesday's guilty plea, writing, quote, One of Fauci's fall guys, denied the privilege of an auto pen pardon, has pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit fraud. I want to know who his co-conspirators were and what they knew.

17:26What does Dr. Fauci have to say about this? Was he involved? President Trump-backed Congressman Byron Donalds, easily winning Florida's Republican primary for governor, taking roughly 48 % of the vote in a crowded field. Donalds finishing more than 22 points ahead of Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins, roughly 37 points ahead of investor James Fishback, and now facing former Republican Congressman David Jolly, who won the Democrat nomination with roughly 61 % of the vote. Donalds using his victory speech to target Jolly of the Democrats' promise to apologize to the world on Florida's behalf. David Jolly is out of his mind.

18:05And to top it all off, he has vowed that on election night that he wants to apologize for Florida to the rest of the world. Well, let's make something very clear to David Jolly. We are not going to apologize for Florida. We will not apologize for keeping our state open. We will not apologize for keeping our taxes low. We will not apologize for backing our police. And we will not apologize for protecting girls' sports. And we will never apologize for protecting parental rights. Also in Florida, Republican Senator Ashley Moody and Democrat State Representative Angie Nixon winning their respective primaries for U.S.

18:53Senate. Moody taking nearly 80 % of the Republican vote, as she campaigns to keep the seat she was appointed to fill in January of last year. Nixon pulling off the bigger surprise, defeating former National Security Council official Alex Vindman by roughly 56-44%, despite Vindman reportedly raising more than 16 times as much money. Vindman best known for testifying during President Trump's first impeachment proceedings, Nixon meanwhile aligning with the Democratic Socialists of America and campaigning on Medicare for All, free child care, a national rent freeze, and abolishing ICE. Axios senior politics reporter Mark Caputo offering another explanation for the upset during CNN's election coverage Tuesday night, arguing Vindman simply ran an abysmal campaign.

19:37He was a terrible candidate. It's difficult for me to put that in words. I was almost offended by his inability to campaign properly. I don't really know where that money was spent. because you didn't really see him on television. You didn't really see him in the community. You didn't see him in mailers. You didn't see him in text messages. There was no presence. One notable defeat for a Trump-backed candidate coming in Wyoming, with state senator and rancher Eric Barlow winning the Republican primary for governor. Barlow taking roughly 45 % of the vote, defeating Trump-induced state superintendent Megan Dagenfelder by about 15 points.

20:17Barlow now heavily favored against Democratic nominee Ken Kasner in November, Republicans currently hold every statewide office in Wyoming. That'll do it for your AM update. I'm Emily Droszynski, host of After Party. Go and check out more at afterpartyemily.com. Catch the Megyn Kelly show later today, live on SiriusXM's The Megyn Kelly Channel, 111 at noon east on youtube.com slash megynkelly and all podcast platforms.

20:48Today's episode was brought to you by SuperSure.