Legal expert Jeffrey Rosen claims that special counsel Jack Smith’s most major case against Trump might be significantly affected by a Supreme Court decision that does not include Trump. Among the four criminal indictments against Trump, Smith and the DOJ supervise two at the federal level. Of these instances, the one involving Trump’s purported attempts to void the 2020 election—which triggered the riot in the Capitol on January 6, 2021—stands out the most. All four accusations against the ex-president—conspiracy to defraud the US, conspiracy to impede an official process, attempt to hinder an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights—are included in the indictment, to which Trump has pled not guilty.
A group of Trump supporters/rioters allegedly tried to prevent Congress from confirming then-President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College win by forcefully protesting the 2020 election results at the U.S. Capitol building on January 6. Some say the rioters were inspired by Trump’s baseless accusations of massive voting fraud, while others who are on their side say the event’s violent aspects have been exaggerated.
The trial in the Capitol riot case was supposed to begin in early March, but that has been postponed as Trump’s legal team has sought to assert that he has broad immunity from prosecution for acts committed while in office, according to Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is presiding over the case.
It is also possible that another pending Supreme Court decision may derail Smith’s lawsuit with Trump. In the case known as Joseph W. Fischer v. United States, it is claimed that prosecutors have been incorrectly using a statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1512, to accuse defendants from January 6, such as Joseph W. Fischer, of obstructing an official procedure. The defendant in issue was involved in the Capitol riot.
Rosen says that the prosecutions of several defendants in the Capitol riots and Trump’s federal election meddling case would be severely disrupted if the Court agreed with the defendant.
