Josh
Duggar, the reality star accused of receiving and possessing child pornography
in April, had first pleaded not guilty to the charges, and has now sought to
get the case dismissed. Duggar’s legal team filed motions in the US District
Court for the western district of Arkansas on Friday, arguing that the case be
dismissed on account of technicalities about who was running the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) when they investigated Duggar, according to a report by
Global Times. Josh Duggar’s lawyers said that investigators have failed to
preserve evidence that could have helped his defence.

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The
33-year-old Josh Duggar featured on the TLC reality show “19 Kids and Counting”
from 2008 to 2015. In April, Duggar was formally charged with receiving and possessing
child sexual abuse material in Arkansas. Some of the material he is alleged to
have possessed depicted sexual abuse of children younger that 12, according to
federal officials.

Duggar’s
attorneys said that investigators have failed to preserve potentially “exculpatory
evidence” and that the two acting secretaries of the Department of Homeland
Security at the time of investigation were not appointed properly. The lawyers
say that the charges against Josh Duggar stem from allegations involving a
desktop computer from a business that Josh Duggar owned and operated.

The
concerned business reportedly was that of a car lot in Springdale, Arkansas, as
per court records filed before the US District Court on Friday.

It was in
November, 2019 when the Homeland Security investigations division of the Department
of Homeland Security secured a federal search warrant for the car lot. Upon
investigation, officials searched cell phones of three witnesses, one of whom
was described as a “person of interest”, according to court records.

“The
problem is that HSI may not have identified evidence of child pornography
during the field examination of these devices — but failed to preserve other
potentially exculpatory evidence,” the court filling said.

Josh Duggar’s
lawyers further say that Kevin McAleenan and Chad Wolf were incorrectly
installed as acting secretary of homeland security while their client was under
investigation. The attorneys say that the “unlawful appointments merit dismissal”.
For now, Josh Duggar is confined to the hope of family friends who have agreed
to his custodians during his release. If convicted, Duggar could be looking at prison
for 20 years and a fine of $250,000.