The Supreme Court on Friday limited how prosecutors can use an obstruction statute against former President Donald Trump as well as hundreds of cases tied to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
The 6-3 decision overturned the interpretation of the law allowed in the case against one defendant, Joseph Fischer, which could pave the way to similar challenges from defendants in other cases stemming from the attack. The statute, originally passed in 2002 as part of a broader law dealing with financial crimes, threatens a 20-year prison sentence for anyone who “corruptly” obstructs, influences or “otherwise” impedes a proceeding before Congress.
The opinion, written by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., found that the law can only apply to records, documents or objects for use in an official proceeding, not a defendant’s conduct. Roberts wrote that allowing the statute’s “otherwise” phrase to cover conduct aside from documents would “largely obviate the need for that broad array of other obstruction statutes” in federal law.
