The statute is also the basis for one of the four obstruction counts brought against former President Donald Trump in the criminal case currently pending against him in federal court in Washington.
Pro-Trump protesters gather in front of the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C. Trump supporters gathered in the nation's capital to protest the ratification of President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory over President Trump in the 2020 election.If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily morning newsletter, How To LA. Every weekday, you'll get fresh, community-driven stories that catch you up with our independent local news.The U.
At issue was a two-part statute. The first part makes it a crime to corruptly alter or destroy documents and records related to an official proceeding. The second part makes it a crime to otherwise obstruct or impede an official proceeding—in this case, the congressional counting of the electoral college ballots.
The Justice Department maintained that it limited the use of the statute at issue in the case by requiring proof that Fischer and other similarly charged defendants had specifically intended to disrupt the counting of the electoral college ballots and by focusing on elements like a defendant’s preparation for violence, and bringing tactical gear or paramilitary equipment to the Capitol.
A different cohort of 48 people pleaded guilty to the obstruction charge, which now goes away. But hovering over all of these pleas is the fact that the plea agreement uniformly included an important caveat: In the event that the conviction were to be “vacated for any reason,” the government reserved the right to prosecute for other alleged crimes that prosecutors had either agreed not to prosecute or agreed to dismiss at sentencing.
Of course, Donald Trump, if re-elected, could pardon all the Jan. 6 defendants. He has not committed to doing that yet, though he often refers to Jan. 6 offenders as “hostages” and “patriots.” In his first term he pardoned friends and political allies who were a lot more prominent, including former campaign chiefs Paul Manafort, convicted on corruption charges, and Stephen Bannon, indicted on fraud charges for a build-the-wall fundraising scheme in which he allegedly pocketed $1million.
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