The SCOTUS Reports: The Case Challenging January 6 Obstruction Charge

Complete Coverage of the Oral Arguments

C-SPAN: The Supreme Court heard oral argument in Fischer v. United States, a case that could impact hundreds of January 6 defendants’ cases as well as Special Counsel Jack Smith’s election interference case against former President Donald Trump. Joseph Fischer, the petitioner and a January 6 defendant is challenging a criminal statute used by the federal government to charge him with obstructing an official proceeding, which was the Congressional certification of the electoral votes in the 2020 presidential election on January 6, 2021. His legal team argued the statute only applied when there was tampering with evidence, and they contended Mr. Fischer did nothing of the sort and wanted the obstruction charge thrown out. The federal government disagreed with that legal interpretation. The Supreme Court had through June 2024 to issue a ruling.