Associated Press
The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will hear an appeal that could upend hundreds of charges stemming from the Capitol riot, including against former President Donald Trump.
The justices will review a charge of obstruction of an official proceeding that has been brought against more than 300 people. The charge refers to the disruption of Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election victory over Trump.
That’s among four counts brought against Trump in special counsel Jack Smith’s case that accuses the 2024 Republican presidential primary front-runner of conspiring to overturn the results of his election loss. Trump is also charged with conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.
The court’s decision to weigh in on the obstruction charge could threaten the start of Trump’s trial, currently scheduled for March 4. The justices separately are considering whether to rule quickly on Trump’s claim that he can’t be prosecuted for actions taken within his role as president. A federal judge already has rejected that argument.
A lawyer for Trump didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment on the Supreme Court’s decision to review the charge.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments in March or April, with a decision expected by early summer.
The obstruction charge, which carries up to 20 years behind bars, is among the most widely used felony charges brought in the massive federal prosecution following the deadly insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a bid to keep Biden, a Democrat, from taking the White House.
At least 152 people have been convicted at trial or pleaded guilty to obstructing an official proceeding, and at least 108 of them have been sentenced, according to an Associated Press review of court records.
A lower court judge had dismissed the charge against Joseph Fischer, a former Pennsylvania police officer, and two other defendants, ruling it didn’t cover their conduct. The justices agreed to hear the appeal filed by lawyers for Fischer, who is facing a seven-count indictment for his actions on Jan. 6, including the obstruction charge.
The other defendants are Edward Jacob Lang, of New York’s Hudson Valley, and Garret Miller, who has since pleaded guilty to other charges and was sentenced to 38 months in prison. Miller, who’s from the Dallas area, could still face prosecution on the obstruction charge.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols found that prosecutors stretched the law beyond its scope to inappropriately apply it in these cases. Nichols ruled that a defendant must have taken “some action with respect to a document, record or other object” to obstruct an official proceeding under the law.
The Justice Department challenged that ruling, and the appeals court in Washington agreed with prosecutors in April that Nichols’ interpretation of the law was too limited.
Other defendants, including Trump, are separately challenging the use of the charge.
Defense attorney Kira Anne West, who has represented several Jan. 6 defendants charged with obstruction of an official proceeding, said the courts will have to “undo a whole bunch of cases” and adjust many sentences if the Supreme Court rules in their favor.
“This is a watershed day,” she said. “In our world — defense lawyer world — this is huge.”
West represents a man scheduled to be tried in early January on charges including the obstruction count. She doesn’t yet know if she will seek a delay until the Supreme Court resolves the challenge.
More than 1,200 people have been charged with federal crimes stemming from the riot, and more than 700 defendants have pleaded guilty.
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Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
9 comments
Richard Russell
December 13, 2023 at 4:58 pm
The truth, as with the JFK assassination (CIA) will come out, hopefully sooner than later. The corrupt Democrap FBI and DOJ played the Dems game to set the stage for an Insurrection that was NOT, except for the plants the FBI and DOJ used to create the scene. Trump only encouraged the crowd to go “peacefully” to the capital.
Senator Schumer stood on the steps of the Supreme Court and yelled that Brett M. Kavanaugh you have unleashed the animals and you will pay – what happened a maniac attempted to assonate Kavanaugh – did Schumer get charged with inciting an assasination attempt on a Supreme Court Justice – “NO” – Where is the Justice???????????
Marvin M.
December 13, 2023 at 5:24 pm
Oh please, we saw the Capitol building violently assaulted live on TV, by hundreds of people. People who showed up in fatigues, in body armor, brought weapons (most of which were stashed and not retrieved on the day thank God or confiscated – remember, Trump himself even said to turn off the “mags”, the metal detectors, to let armed people into his speech). There is tons of testimony and email and text evidence of people either belonging to right wing Trump-supporting groups such as Proud Boys and 3%ers, or in contact with them, that shows what they did was planned for weeks in advance. And if Trump didn’t want what happened that day to have happened, why did he wait for over three hours to put out a statement to ask the rioters to go home?
Stop with the nonsense conspiracy theories – the Jan. 6 riot was purely driven by right wing supporters of Donald Trump. And with his blessing if not his actual direction (that last part is what will need to be proven but I believe can be).
Jack Meoff
December 13, 2023 at 8:16 pm
LOL, I’ve seen more violent kegger parties than what was on the videos of January 6th. And as it turns out, the only violent people were federal agents and informants trying to stir up the crowd. Brought weapons? If so, how did the Capitol Police fail to confiscate any weapons? Why has nobody been prosecuted for a weapons charge? Body armor is illegal in DC. Why hasn’t anyone been prosecuted for that, if so many demonstrators were wearing body armor? Trump told them to “Go peacefully” and later, to “go home.” That’s not an insurrection.
Rick Whitaker
December 16, 2023 at 9:54 pm
JACK MEOFF, I’VE HEARD ABOUT PEOPLE LIKE YOU. SCARY IS ALL I CAN SAY.
Rick Whitaker
December 16, 2023 at 10:08 pm
richard russell, you are so dumb and eat up with conspiracy theories that i have decided not to ever again respond to your posts. you are beneath me i have superior intellect and don’t have time to waste on scum like you.
Julia
December 13, 2023 at 4:59 pm
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Dont Say FLA
December 13, 2023 at 5:00 pm
If this SCROTUS dismisses convictions for “obstructing an official proceeding,” charge every MAGA rioter with malice murder for everybody who died because of the insurrection. Lock ’em all up for multiple murders instead.
Jack Meoff
December 13, 2023 at 9:11 pm
Well, according to the New York Times, only 4 people died on January 6th. Ashli Babbitt was shot by a cop while unarmed;
Rosanne Boyland was beaten to death by the police; Kevin Greeson died of a heart attack; Benjamin Philips died of a stroke. It appears the only two “murders” were committed by our government. You want to charge protestors for that?
My Take
December 13, 2023 at 5:29 pm
We know how Dirty Clarence will vote.
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