'NBC Nightly News' omits juror controversy while reporting on Chauvin defense lawyer's motion for new trial

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Photo emerges of Chauvin juror in 'BLM' T-shirt

Former Prosecutor Mark Eiglarsh weighs in on a photo of Derek Chauvin juror Brandon Mitchell wearing a BLM T-shirt.

"NBC Nightly News" omitted a key detail on Tuesday evening in the latest developments of the Derek Chauvin trial. 

Defense attorney Eric Nelson, who represented the ex-Minneapolis police officer in the murder trial following the death of George Floyd, filed a motion seeking a new trial. 

"The cumulative effect of the multiple errors in these proceedings deprived Mr. Chauvin of a fair trial, in violation of his constitutional rights," the filing reads. 

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Among the "errors" Nelson cited was the revelation of one of the jurors, Brandon Mitchell, who was photographed last summer at a Washington, D.C., BLM rally wearing a T-shirt that said "Get your knee off our neck" – a reference to Floyd's death after Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes on video.

The questionnaire asked directly whether potential jurors had attended protests over the death of Floyd or over police brutality. Mitchell answered "no" to both questions.

However, the growing controversy over the juror was not mentioned in the brief mention of the motion for a new trial on "NBC Nightly News." 

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"And just in this evening, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has filed an appeal for a new trial two weeks after he was convicted of murder and manslaughter charges in the death of George Floyd. His lawyer says Chauvin’s ability to have a fair trial was affected by pretrial publicity," anchor Lester Holt said before moving on. 

As NewsBusters news analyst Nicholas Fondacaro pointed out, unlike "NBC Nightly News," ABC's "World News Tonight" and "CBS Evening News" did address the controversy surrounding Mitchell. 

Last month, "NBC Nightly News" was under fire for similarly omitting key details from a report on the police-involved shooting of Ma'Khia Bryant in Columbus, Ohio. 

The report skipped over the portion of the 911 call that made a "stab" reference and did not show the knife that Bryant was holding before she was shot as seen in the released bodycam footage.

The following evening, NBC appeared to correct its ways and featured both after facing intense backlash. 

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Lester Holt recently accepted a journalism award and gave remarks in which he claimed that "it’s become clear that fairness is overrated," and added that "the idea that we should always give two sides equal weight and merit does not reflect the world we find ourselves in."

"That the sun sets in the west is a fact. Any contrary view does not deserve our time or attention," Holt said. "Decisions to not give unsupported arguments equal time are not a dereliction of journalistic responsibility or some kind of agenda. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Providing an open platform for misinformation, for anyone to come say whatever they want, especially when issues of public health and safety are at stake, can be quite dangerous. Our duty is to be fair to the truth."

Fox News' Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.