U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Back Against J6 Legal Atrocity

On Friday, June 28^th, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned charges against Joseph Fischer and two others in a dramatic reversal of the Department of Justice’s “shock” and “awe” legal jihad against protesters who entered the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.  At issue is a tortured and abusive construction of the Sarbanes/Oxley obstruction of justice statute, 18 USC 1512(c)(2). That statute was enacted by Congress after the Enron/Arthur Anderson scandals, to cover destruction of documents or other objects in the course of a judicial proceeding. It imposes a potential 20-year prison sentence for its violation.

Attorney General Merrick Garland, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, and Washington, D.C. U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves have charged it against more than 350 J6 defendants. It is the primary tool in imposing draconian prison sentences or long-term pretrial detention for defendants otherwise charged with misdemeanors or felony assault on a police officer. They argued that an interruption of an “official proceeding” in this case, Congress’ certification of the electoral college, justified invocation of the statute. They also charged it in two counts of President Trump’s Washington D.C., January 6^th based indictment.

Joseph Fischer pushed his way into the Capitol an hour after the House recessed based on the riot then occurring between police and protesters. He was there for 4 minutes, and, according to the Complaint against him, assaulting a police officer on his way in. He was also charged with 1512(c)(2). His attorneys sought to dismiss the 1512(c) count as inapplicable to political protests and Judge Carl Nichols agreed with his argument. Judge Nichols was the only Judge of the 18 District Court or appellate judges on the D.C. Circuit who considered the application of this obstruction statute to the events of J6 to rule in accordance with today’s 6-3 majority opinion by the Supreme Court. He found the language in the post-Enron/Arthur Anderson statute covered tampering with records or documents not interrupting a meeting of Congress. His decision was reversed by the District of Columbia Circuit Court when the Justice Department appealed it.

Supreme Court Overturns DOJ’s Use of Key J6 Felony Court

Today’s decision means Attorney General Merrick Garland and federal judges in Washington wrongfully prosecuted roughly 350 J6ers with the post-Enron felony,

Declassified with Julie KellyJulie Kelly

Julie Kelly estimates that approximately 110 J6 defendants are serving prison sentences based on the now unlawful obstruction count and will now have to be resentenced, and, in some cases, retried.  President Trump will now move to dismiss these counts of his indictment. Kelly recounts just one of the devastating consequences of this monstrous abuse of the law, the suicide of Matthew Perna. Perna’s aunt told Kelly that Matthew’s life fell apart when he found out that he, as a first-time offender, would spend many years in prison based on the 1512(c)(2) charges against him. He entered the Capitol for 20 minutes, shouting “USA,” and touched a window with a flagpole. Based on his conduct, his attorney originally told him he could expect a sentence of 6 to 12 months.