The case could “blow up” Jack Smith’s January 6 indictment against former President Donald Trump, according to former federal prosecutor Andy McCarthy, who said on Monday that many people are failing to emphasize the significance of the Supreme Court’s review of the Biden DOJ’s application of felony “obstruction of an official proceeding” statutes.
The case Fischer v. United States, which focused on the obstruction count, was accepted for consideration by the Supreme Court in January. Hundreds of nonviolent demonstrators on January 6th are accused by federal prosecutors of breaking 18 USC Section 1512(c)(2), which prohibits disrupting or hindering official proceedings. This offense carries a possible 20-year prison sentence. Under the Act, hundreds of individuals who would have ordinarily been charged with minor offenses have instead received lengthy jail sentences.
Attorneys for January 6 defendant Joseph Fischer wrote in a legal brief submitted to the Supreme Court, “The D.C. Circuit’s expansion of Section 1512(c)(2) beyond evidence impairment to protests at the seat of government thus conflicts with the interpretations of other courts of appeal limiting the scope of the same statute.”
McCarthy emphasized during an appearance on Fox News Monday that the outcome of the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the order will determine the outcome of two of the four counts in Jack Smith’s January 6 indictment. McCarthy said to Bill Hemmer of Fox News, ““The case to keep your eye on is the obstruction case,” McCarthy told Fox News host Bill Hemmer. ““We miss it because Trump is not a party to that case. They are looking at the same statute that is key to Smith’s prosecution of Trump in Washington, and if they — as I expect they may, if they — if they say the Justice Department has not been correctly applying that statute, that’s going to have a catastrophic impact for Smith on his indictment.”
In the January 6 case, the Supreme Court is also expected to rule on Trump’s claim that he is immune from prosecution due to presidential immunity.
