Federal prosecutors overreached when they used an obstruction law to charge hundreds of Jan. 6 rioters, the Supreme Court ruled in an opinion that could also affect a case against Donald Trump.
The judges ruled that obstruction charges must include evidence that the defendants attempted to tamper with or destroy documents.
More than 350 people have been charged with obstructing the work of Congress: the certification of the 2020 presidential election.
The law used by prosecutors was passed in 2002, after the Enron scandal, to put an end to corporate misconduct.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act outlines criminal penalties for anyone who “alters, destroys, mutilates, or conceals any record, document, or other thing,” and another clause includes anyone who “obstructs, influences, or otherwise impedes any official proceeding.”
Justice Department prosecutors have argued for a broad interpretation of the law to include those who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, in an effort to keep Trump in the White House.
However, in a 6-3 opinion that went against the Supreme Court’s usual ideological leanings, the court ruled that the law should be interpreted relatively narrowly and used only against defendants who have tampered with documents.
How will the decision impact the Trump case?
The verdict brought cheer to Donald Trump supporters.
While the court has introduced another issue into the special case against the former president — and the Supreme Court may rule in a separate case, scheduled for next week, on immunity for his actions — it is unclear whether the decision will halt any of the charges against him.
“For Trump, I think there will be litigation,” said Aziz Huq, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School.
“But the charges against him are for falsification or alteration of ‘records, documents or things.’ So I think it probably doesn’t weaken those charges.”
Additionally, Special Prosecutor Jack Smith charged Trump with other crimes in connection with his attempts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election: conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to violate citizens’ rights.
Those charges will be extended regardless of the outcome of the obstruction case.
The special counsel faces an obvious deadline. If Trump wins the November election, he could remove Mr. Smith from office and end the federal lawsuit.
And what about the other defendants of January 6th?
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act is one of several laws used against those who stormed the Capitol in January 2021.
About 25% of defendants in the Capitol riots were prosecuted under the law, and all faced additional charges, according to Attorney General Merrick Garland.
“The vast majority of the more than 1,400 defendants charged for their illegal actions on January 6 will not be affected by this decision,” Garland said in a statement released after the decision, in which he also stressed that he was disappointed by the ruling.
The case was brought to the Supreme Court by Joseph Fischer, a former Pennsylvania police officer who attended Trump’s rally in Washington on January 6, 2021, then briefly entered the Capitol.
He was seen arguing with police on video before leaving the building.
Lower courts will now decide whether the obstruction charge against him can continue. However, Mr Fischer will also face trial on a number of other charges, including civil disorder, disorderly conduct and assaulting, resisting or obstructing a police officer.
More than 1,400 people have been charged with crimes related to the riot.
According to Justice Department data, more than 500 defendants have been charged with assaulting, resisting, or obstructing officers, including more than 130 charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to a police officer .
And more than 1,300 people have been charged with entering or remaining in a restricted federal building or property. More than 100 of those have been charged with entering a restricted area with a dangerous or deadly weapon. [BBC]
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