A Santa Clara City Council member, accused of leaking a confidential report to a San Francisco 49ers lobbyist and then lying about it under oath, went to court Monday but didn’t enter a plea.

Anthony Becker, 35, whose failed bid for mayor of Santa Clara last year received $2.5 million in donations from 49ers CEO Jed York, needs more time to find a lawyer, said Deputy Public Defender Chris Montoya.

Becker was indicted last week for his role in a scheme to help the 49ers blunt the impact of a scathing grand jury report that accused the team of improper political meddling in Santa Clara. According to the indictment, Becker gave a confidential copy of the report to 49ers lobbyist Rahul Chandhok, who began attacking the report and accusing its authors of “corruption” even before the document was released.

After Monday’s brief hearing in Santa Clara County Superior Court, Judge Daniel Nishigaya told Becker to report to the sheriff’s department for booking and return to court May 3 to enter a plea.

Becker, wearing a blue suit and clutching a plastic water bottle, didn’t speak during the hearing and declined to comment afterward. If convicted of felony perjury, he faces a maximum of four years in prison.

Outside court, Santa Clara District Attorney Jeff Rosen described Becker as “a politician favoring deep-pocketed special interests instead of his own constituents.”

His crimes — “leaking and lying” — violated the trust of his entire community, Rosen said.

Rosen also had harsh words for the 49ers, saying the team used the leaked report to wrongly attack volunteer members of the civil grand jury, a watchdog panel set up to probe local government.

“The 49ers’ smearing of individual grand jurors was wrong and shameful,” Rosen said. “The 49ers should apologize.”

According to the indictment, Becker’s leak allegedly had two aims: boosting his campaign against incumbent Mayor Lisa Gillmor, a longtime 49ers critic, and helping the 49ers undercut the report’s criticism of the team’s alleged political meddling.

The report, called “Unsportsmanlike Conduct,” rebuked the 49ers and Becker and four other council members with a history of aligning with the NFL team, saying they “put the 49ers’ interests ahead of the city’s interest.”

The report also praised the mayor, who for years has contended the 49ers have illegally diverted millions in stadium revenues that should have been shared with taxpayers. The report was due to come out Oct. 10, a month before the election. Days earlier, subjects of the investigation were provided draft copies of the report so they could respond, but by law they were forbidden from distributing the document.

Nevertheless, according to the indictment, Becker gave the document to Chandhok, a 49ers executive who held frequent private meetings with Becker and the other council members who often support the team.

Becker also gave the document to the Silicon Valley Voice, a website that often features coverage favorable to the 49ers. On Oct. 7, the website published the first story about the report, and within hours Chandhok distributed a fiery statement denouncing the report as a “hatchet job,” accusing the civil grand jury of “corruption” and indicating the 49ers had investigated the personal lives of some members of the panel.

Nevertheless, the report appeared to get traction with voters; Gillmor, although outspent by nearly 8 to 1, narrowly defeated Becker.

After the election, a new grand jury convened to investigate the leak. More than 20 witnesses, including Chandhok and 49ers president Al Guido, testified. In his testimony Becker swore under oath that he had no part in leaking the report.

Becker is a former film student and social media content moderator who owes his political career to the 49ers. In 2020 he was elected to the City Council as part of a slate favored by the team and backed by $2.8 million in donations from York.

By city law, Becker can remain in office unless convicted.

Team spokesman Brian Brokaw has said the 49ers are cooperating in the investigation. Chandhok left the team recently to take a position at U.S. Soccer in Chicago, according to his LinkedIn profile. The 49ers did not announce his departure.