Supreme Court Overturns President Trump’s 1512(c)(2) Obstruction Charge

On Friday, the US Supreme Court dealt a major setback to the Justice Department under President Biden by overturning the obstruction charge that had led to the imprisonment of numerous January 6 defendants.

The Biden administration’s Department of Justice had brought charges against over 300 individuals related to January 6 under 18 USC §1512(c)(2).

Furthermore, two out of four charges against former President Trump in a case in Washington, D.C., were related to conspiracy to obstruct justice, so the Supreme Court’s decision on Friday also undermined the special counsel’s case against Trump.

The Supreme Court earlier this year heard oral arguments in Fischer v. United States and at issue was statute 18 USC §1512(c)(2):

Whoever corruptly—

(1) alters, destroys, mutilates, or conceals a record, document, or other object, or attempts to do so, with the intent to impair the object’s integrity or availability for use in an official proceeding; or

(2) otherwise obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.

On Friday, in a 6-3 vote, the court holds that to prove a violation of the law, the government must show that the defendant impaired the availability or integrity for use in an official proceeding of records, documents, objects, or other things used in an official proceeding, or attempted to do so.

“To prove a violation of Section 1512(c)(2), the Government must establish that the defendant impaired the availability or integrity for use in an official proceeding of rec-ords, documents, objects, or as we earlier explained, other things used in the proceeding, or attempted to do so. See supra, at 9. The judgment of the D. C. Circuit is therefore vacated, and the case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. On remand, the D. C. Circuit may assess the sufficiency of Count Three of Fischer’s indictment in light of our interpretation of Section 1512(c)(2),” the opinion reads.

…This is a big win for Trump as well. It knocks out a substantial part of the case of Jack Smith against the former president. It also knocks out hundreds of convictions…

— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) June 28, 2024

Jonathan Turley has expressed doubt about the sustainability of Jack Smith’s indictment against Trump in light of the Supreme Court’s overturning of the obstruction charge.

….For Trump, this rips the wings of the plane that Jack Smith has been trying to take off in D.C. In an ordinary case, there would be a superseding indictment. Smith may try to go forward on the remaining counts. However, it is hard to see how the indictment holds together…

— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) June 28, 2024

Jack Smith has indicated that he is prepared to find a solution in case the Supreme Court overturns two of the charges against Trump.

According to Smith, the ‘obstruction’ charges will still apply to Trump due to the fraudulent use of alternative electoral certificates in an official proceeding.

These certificates were not authorized by Trump. Additionally, US Attorney from DC Matthew Graves has also issued a warning to the US Supreme Court and individuals serving time for the ‘obstruction’ statute pending before SCOTUS.