On Wednesday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Fischer v. United States, a lawsuit brought forth by three defendants of the January 6 protest who were charged with 1512(c)(2) violations by the Biden administration’s Department of Justice.
Jake Lang, Garret Miller and Joseph Fischer challenge the constitutionality of these charges as they await trial for their involvement in the demonstration.
A ruling on this case could significantly impact Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into former president Trump’s role in the events that took place on January 6.
“The Court will hear Fischer v. United States, a January 6 case challenging the scope of section 1512(c)(2), which criminalizes obstruction of an official proceeding. Two of the four charges President Trump faces in his DC case involve 1512(c)(2),” former federal prosecutor Will Scharf said.
“That section, first passed as part of Sarbanes-Oxley in 2004, has typically been used to prosecute destruction of evidence or similar conduct. Its applicability to alleged obstruction of the electoral count process has been hotly contested since the start of the January 6 prosecutions, and the DC Circuit split sharply on the issue,” he said.
“This is a huge deal, with potentially major ramifications for many January 6 defendants as well as for President Trump,” Scharf added.
MASSIVE news out of the Supreme Court this morning.
The Court will hear Fischer v. United States, a January 6 case challenging the scope of section 1512(c)(2), which criminalizes obstruction of an official proceeding. Two of the four charges President Trump faces in his DC case… pic.twitter.com/8R8GmudItA
— Will Scharf (@willscharf) December 13, 2023
In September, four counts were brought against President Donald Trump in the case of Jack Smith’s January 6 charges in Washington DC: Conspiracy to Defraud the United States, Conspiracy to Obstruct an Official Proceeding, Obstruction of and Attempt to Obstruct an Official Proceeding, and Conspiracy Against Rights.
According to the indictment, Counts 2 and 3 are related to the “Conspiracy to Obstruct an Official Proceeding” charges currently under review by the US Supreme Court.
As a result, two of Jack Smith’s charges against President Trump are now facing potential dismissal.
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