Could Patrick Clancy's "60 Minutes" interview impact a second trial for Lindsay Clancy?
In his first television interview, Patrick Clancy is sitting down with "60 Minutes." In the same interview, airing Sunday, viewers will also hear from his wife, Dr. Rachel Danis, for the first time.
Clancy's marriage to Danis became a subject of fascination on social media as Lindsay Clancy stood trial for the 2023 killings of her children, 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan. Patrick Clancy was also the target of widespread social media conspiracy theories alleging that he was somehow involved in the deaths of his children.
"I have to believe that he wants to go on record officially in a very public way, and say, 'I did not do this,'" said WBZ-TV legal analyst Jennifer Roman.
Roman explained that prosecutors and defense attorneys involved in Lindsay Clancy's case will certainly have interest in the interview.
"They're definitely going to watch it," Roman said. "I don't think it's going to factor into their decision around a retrial, largely because I don't think his interview is going to diverge that much from his actual testimony."
The decision of whether to retry Lindsay Clancy is in the hands of Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz. He has not announced whether he will retry Clancy and, if so, on what charges.
"Certainly, there is some risk, and both sides are probably holding their breath a little bit, knowing that this has happened, until they hear what's actually been said," Roman said.
The reason lawyers would care about the interview is because Patrick was a key fact witness in the case, and anything he says in the interview with "60 Minutes" could be used as evidence in Clancy's trial.
"If he says something that's inconsistent with what he said before, that becomes impeachment material," she said. "Anything that he's put out there in the public is going to be fair game for questioning at trial."
Roman doesn't anticipate that any of Patrick Clancy's statements will veer far from his testimony — in other words, she believes his recounting of events will be consistent.
Either way, he will likely be forced to testify again if there is a second trial.
"He definitely gave a sense that he did not want to be [at the first trial]," Roman said. "I also thought that his testimony came across as credible. … He can absolutely be forced to testify. He will be subpoenaed again. That's a court order that requires you to appear to testify. If he does not appear in response to a subpoena, an arrest warrant could be issued for his arrest."
Watch the interview on 60 Minutes on Sunday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. ET/PT on CBS and Paramount+.
