The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on today in a case that could affect the prosecution of many Jan. 6 defendants—including former President Donald Trump.
Ex-police officer Joseph Fischer has been charged with, among other things, obstruction of an official proceeding in connection with the Capitol breach.
A sculpture known as the 'Guardian or Executor of Law' sits in front of the U.S. Supreme Court building in this undated photograph. Perry Spring/iStock/Getty Images Plus
That charge was initially dismissed by a district court judge, but the ruling was later reversed by a panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court will weigh whether the appeals court erred in that reversal.
The case hinges on a 2002 law concerning “tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant” that was passed in response to the Enron accounting scandal.
The statute, 18 U.S. Code § 1512 (c)(2), is a follow-up to a clause that bars tampering with documents, records, or objects to prevent their use in an official proceeding. The provision Fischer was charged with extends that prohibition to anyone who “otherwise obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so.”
Fischer’s attorneys—and District Judge Carl Nichols—say the law is connected to its preceding provision and only applies to obstruction involving documents and records. But the government and appellate court say the word “otherwise” incorporates all other forms of obstruction.
“The district court held that the statute does not apply to assaultive conduct, committed in furtherance of an attempt to stop Congress from performing a constitutionally required duty. We disagree and reverse,” the appellate court held.
Committee for Justice President Curt Levey said that the Supreme Court’s ruling will likely help various Jan. 6 defendants. He’s not sure the same can be said of Trump, who will still face other charges and the court of public opinion heading into Election Day.
“At the end of the day, Jack Smith is still going to get his show trial, and perhaps even a conviction,” Levey said.
Other legal experts have predicted that the court will rule in Fischer’s favor because of the broad implications of siding with the government.
Among them is Jim Burling, vice president of legal affairs for Pacific Legal Foundation, who said the Justice Department likes having the law as “a free-floating provision where anybody who otherwise obstructs any official proceeding or attempts to do so can be subject to 20 years [in prison].”
But the law’s application here, Burling said, is “utterly absurd.”
The hearing comes roughly one week before the High Court is set to hear the former president’s immunity appeal on April 25.
—Samantha Flom, Sam Dorman, and Matthew Vadum
Former President Donald Trump attends the first day of his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments linked to extramarital affairs, at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on April 15, 2024. Jefferson Siegel/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
TRUMP ON TRIAL
Former President Donald Trump told reporters on April15 that the criminal indictment he’s fending off in New York was not just an attack on him but “an assault on America.”
“And that’s why I’m very proud to be here,” he said heading into the courtroom. “This is really an attack on a political opponent.”
The former president added that “every legal scholar said this case is nonsense, it should never have been brought.”
As hundreds chanted outside, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan brought the court into session.
The judge kicked things off by rejecting the defense’s motion that he recuse himself from the case. The motion had called the judge’s impartiality into question given his daughter’s political ties to Democrats.
But Merchan was not prepared to rule on the defense’s requests that the trial not be held on May 17 or June 3 due to the graduation ceremonies of Trump’s son, Barron, and the son of one of the former president’s lawyers.
“It really depends on how we’re doing on time and where we are in the trial,” he said.
The judge also rejected the defense’s requests to add juror questions and that ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal, who had alleged an affair with Trump, testify.
On the other hand, Merchan decided not to allow prosecutors to play the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape of Trump’s controversial comments about women for jurors. He did, however, say prosecutors could present internal Trump campaign emails regarding the tape.
Prosecutors also asked the judge to fine Trump $3,000 for social media posts they said violated his gag order. Merchan slated a hearing for that request for April 23.
The rest of the day was devoted to jury selection, for which 500 jurors will be screened. Eighteen will be chosen—12 jurors and six alternates—to try the case.
More than 50 of the first batch were excused based on their answers to whether they believed they could be impartial. Around nine more were excused for not being able to serve for other reasons.
“I just couldn’t do it,” one juror said while exiting the courtroom.
After the proceedings, Trump told reporters that “amazing things” had happened that day.
“As you know, my son is graduating from high school and it looks like the judge will not let me go to the graduation of my son. My son has worked very, very hard. And he’s a great student,” he said.
The judge still has not issued a decision on that matter. He did, however, deny the former president’s request to attend an April 25 Supreme Court hearing for another case involving his claim to presidential immunity.
Trump criticized that ruling but did not sound surprised by it.
“An urgent hearing on immunity and this is something that we’ve been waiting for a long time, and the judge, of course, is not going to allow us,” he said. “He won’t allow me to leave here for a half a day go to D.C. and go before the United States Supreme Court, because he thinks he’s superior.”
—Catherine Yang, Michael Washburn, and Samantha Flom
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) speaks to the press following a House Conference meeting to discuss Iran's attack on Israel, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on April 15, 2024. Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images
JOHNSON’S PLAN
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) yesterday unveiled a four-pronged plan to furnish financial aid to Israel and Ukraine and to address other geopolitical issues.
The four-part plan will include three separate financial assistance packages: one for Ukraine, one for Israel, and one for Taiwan. An additional bill would reportedly wrap in a TikTok ban and the REPO (Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity) for Ukrainians Act, which would allow the United States to seize some assets of Russian oligarchs to help finance the costs of fighting the war there.
However, no additional details are available on either the top-line costs that Mr. Johnson will pursue, or the details of the proposed TikTok legislation.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), an outspoken opponent of additional funding for Ukraine, spoke to reporters after the closed-door Republican conference meeting during which the plan was revealed.
“I am firmly against the plan as it stands right now,” Greene told reporters after a GOP conference.
“This is such a scam and people are so done with it,” she added.
Greene did not say whether she would pursue an activation of her standing motion to vacate against Johnson in response to the announcement.
Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), meanwhile, had a different take on the plan.
“I support him 100 percent,” Hern told reporters as he left the conference meeting. “This is about the Indo-Pacific, it’s about Taiwan ... Ukraine, and Israel and some other national security issues.”
He said he’s going to wait until he sees the actual text of the proposals before he commits his support.
Likewise, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.)—another opponent of funding for Ukraine—applauded Johnson for splitting the bills into separate packages rather than attempting to merge them into a single package.
“I like that it’s separate bills,” he said.
Biggs also said that he doesn’t expect to see border security attached to the funding packages, an issue which has been a key concern for many Republican lawmakers.
Johnson’s proposal comes in the wake of an unprecedented direct attack on Israel by the Iranian regime. Iran has claimed that the attack was retaliatory for a suspected Israeli strike on a building hosting Iranian military generals in Syria.
The attack prompted a new sense of urgency among many lawmakers to pursue another attempt at foreign aid, particularly for Israel.
Congress has struggled for months to find a path forward on foreign aid, as many Republicans in both chambers support Israel funding but oppose additional assistance for Ukraine.
Three earlier packages to fund Israel, including one originating in the Senate and two originating in the House, have failed to advance to the president’s desk due to partisan and intra-party disputes.
President Joe Biden, meanwhile, has threatened to veto a standalone Israel bill, as he wants the House to send him a more comprehensive foreign aid and national security package.
It’s unclear how he or Senate Democrats will react to Johnson’s latest gambit at foreign aid.
—Joseph Lord
BOOKMARKS
The House will deliver its impeachment articles of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate on today, The Epoch Times’ Jackson Richman reports. The delay in delivery comes amid Republicans’ push for a full trial, which the Democrat-controlled Senate is expected to table.
The massive pressure campaign by China-owned app TikTok to thwart a House bill that would force China to divest is explored by The Epoch Times’ Andrew Thornebrooke in this in-depth.
The Pennsylvania Republican Party is urging voters to embrace no-excuse mail-in voting, The Epoch Times’ Beth Brelje reports. The push comes amid the Republican National Committee’s new “ballot-chasing” initiative.
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will not run as a Libertarian, despite speculation otherwise, The Epoch Times’ Jeff Louderback reports. The candidate is working to gain ballot access in all 50 states and recently met the requirement for Iowa’s ballot.
Arizona’s Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake raised more than $4 million for her campaign in the first quarter of 2024, The Epoch Times’ Naveen Athrappully reports. The haul is double what she raked in the previous quarter.
The Biden administration is distributing $300 million to sanctuary cities that provide food, shelter, and other services to illegal immigrants, The Epoch Times’ Naveen Athrappully reports. The announcement comes amid a massive increase in illegal crossings at the southern border.
