Fate of 350 Jan 6 defendants, Donald Trump, in Supreme Court’s hands

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - The Department of Justice said more than 350 defendants have been charged with corruptly obstructing an official proceeding, with some already already convicted.

The charges carry a 20 year maximum penalty, but the Supreme Court could throw them all out the window.

Georgia State University law professor Clark Cunningham, who filed an amicus breif with the Supreme Court, said by the letter of the law, the defendants, including former President Donald Trump, appear guilty.

“The former president is being charged with conspiring to obstruct the vote certification, and attempting to obstruct the vote certification,” Georgia State University law professor Clark Cunnighham said. “There’s no doubt that’s what Donald Trump wanted to do.”

Several groups have filed with the Supreme Court, arguing the Justice Department is cherry-picking a law Congress passed in response to the 2001 Enron scandal in an effort to discourage tampering with documents in an investigation.

“This is nothing to do with documents and therefore should not be applied,” Liberty Council Founder Mat Staver said. “And the implications of it raise significant first amendment issues.”

Staver said the Department of Justice has not used the statute for other demonstrations that disrupted Congressional business, and he believes other penalties are more appropriate.

“Like trespass or assault or battery laws, but they chose not to for reasons unknown,” Staver said. “More likely, that they didn’t have the kind of huge penalty.”

Cunningham said the key to the case is whether justices favor the letter of the law or the spirit of the law.

“The argument is going that, by assuming we knew what was in the mind of Congress in 2002, Congress did not mean to criminalize this kind of conduct,” Cunningham said. “Ironically, that’s an argument which the conservative member of the court that have been appointed by President Trump, they don’t like that kind of argument.”

The court will hear arguments Tuesday with a ruling expected in June.

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