Washington

Opinion | Ketanji Brown Jackson saves J6 and Trump prosecutions — for now

Published

2 years ago

July 1, 2024

Opinion | Ketanji Brown Jackson saves J6 and Trump prosecutions — for now

The Supreme Court, in eviscerating decades of administrative law, running roughshod over women’s privacy rights and impeding the federal government’s power to regulate securities law, has aggrandized more power to itself than any court in history. However, in one tiny ray of sunshine, we saw on Friday in the Fischer case, that with the handiwork of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the court’s avarice can be contained.

As a result of her vote, the court’s majority left prosecutions of felon and former president Donald Trump unchanged (for now) and severely limited any impact on hundreds of other Jan. 6 insurrection cases. A tiny fraction of the Jan. 6 defendants will actually be affected.

The obstruction statute 18 U.S.C. Section 1512 (c)(1), at issue in many Jan. 6 cases, prohibits “altering, destroying, mutilating, or concealing a record, document, or other object with the intent to impair the object’s integrity or availability for use in an official proceeding.” The court had to decide what actions are covered by the subsequent Section 1512(c)(2), which penalizes conduct that “otherwise obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so.”

What does “otherwise” mean? The court declined to either take the broadest or most narrow definition available. Instead, it held:

As we have explained, subsection (c)(1) refers to a defined set of offense conduct — four types of actions that, by their nature, impair the integrity or availability of records, documents, or objects for use in an official proceeding. When the phrase “otherwise obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding” is read as having been given more precise content by that narrower list of conduct, subsection (c)(2) makes it a crime to impair the availability or integrity of records, documents, or objects used in an official proceeding in ways other than those specified in (c)(1). For example, it is possible to violate (c)(2) by creating false evidence — rather than altering incriminating evidence.

The crimes, such as creating false documents (say, phony electoral ballots), are covered, but general obstruction activities are not. The crime must be tethered to the objects and/or documents at issue in the proceeding.

The key to understanding the decision is Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s concurrence. She explained exactly what the court did:

Joseph Fischer was charged with violating §1512(c)(2) by corruptly obstructing “a proceeding before Congress, specifically, Congress’s certification of the Electoral college vote.” That official proceeding plainly used certain records, documents, or objects — including, among others, those relating to the electoral votes themselves. And it might well be that Fischer’s conduct, as alleged here, involved the impairment (or the attempted impairment) of the availability or integrity of things used during the January 6 proceeding “in ways other than those specified in (c)(1).” If so, then Fischer’s prosecution under §1512(c)(2) can, and should, proceed.

In other words, even this defendant might still be convicted of conduct related to records, documents or objects in the congressional proceeding if he was seeking to destroy the electoral ballots. (Fischer was also charged with other conduct under other statutes.)

“As Justice Jackson’s concurring opinion makes clear, the Court’s interpretation of Section 1512(c) is still broad enough to cover Fischer’s alleged conduct,” constitutional scholar Matthew Seligman, who authored an amicus brief for the case told me. “By violently storming the Capitol, the violent Jan. 6 rioters impaired the availability of the electoral certificates that Congress convened to count — Senate staffers had to flee the building with the certificates so they weren’t destroyed.” In short, Seligman concludes that “while the Court narrowed the government’s expansive interpretation, it did so in a way that will affect few — if any — actual Jan. 6 cases.”

In other words, creating electoral vote slates (as Trump allegedly did) would still be prosecutable. This decision therefore has essentially no impact on Trump, who was charged with four criminal counts including 1512(c)(2) and conspiracy to violate 1512(c)(2). His alleged involvement in concocting false electoral slates falls four-square within the court’s ruling. (Depending on the fine print, the court’s immunity case could still restrict his prosecution.)

As for the rest of the Jan. 6 insurrection defendants, the Justice Department in a statement released after the decision made clear: “The vast majority of the more than 1,400 defendants charged for their illegal actions on January 6 will not be affected by this decision. There are no cases in which the Department charged a January 6 defendant only with the offense at issue in Fischer.”

Just Security co-founder Ryan Goodman explains how the media exaggerated the impact of Fischer. “A quarter of [the defendants] pleaded guilty but NOT to obstruction,” he emphasized. “They pleaded to other charges. Those charges and those sentences are utterly unaffected by Supreme Court’s ruling.” It is really a sliver of a sliver who might be affected.

For example, all 128 people convicted at trial under 1512(c)(2) were also convicted of other crimes. At worst, they would need to be resentenced if their 1512(c)(2) conduct did not fall within the Supreme Court’s opinion. Beyond that, the legal gurus at Just Security found that for the “71 defendants who have been charged under Section 1512(c)(2) and are still awaiting trial, all of them are charged with crimes in addition to 1512(c)(2), and a majority are charged with one or more other felonies.” Depending on the facts, their 1512(c)(2) charge could either be dropped or their sentencing could proceed as charged.

Of the very small number of defendants (48) who pleaded to obstruction under 1512(c)(2), 22 were also charged with another felony. The other 26 pleaded just to a 1512(c)(2) count; all but 11 of those could be charged with another felony such as civil disorder and theft of government property.

A grand total of 11 defendants — who pleaded only to a 1512(c)(2) offense with no other felonies available — conceivably might have those reduced to misdemeanors. (There are also a group of 73 people either convicted at trial or waiting for trial on 1512(c)(2) plus one or more misdemeanors.) That is it. Fischer in no way opens the prison doors, and it certainly gives Trump absolutely no comfort.

This is not to tout the reasonableness of the right-wing majority. Having snatched immense powers from the executive branch and Congress this term, the court’s unbridled activism is undeniable. We certainly have seen an untrammeled imperial court dragging government back to the 1920s (on nonregulation of air, water, workplace safety, etc.) and individual rights to the 19th century. It has run roughshod over our democracy, which empowers the people’s elected representatives to make policy decisions. Rather, Fischer stands as a lonely exception, an example of judicial finesse.

Two points deserve further mention. Most vividly, this case serves as yet another glaring example of the mainstream media’s rush to hysterical conclusions. Overwrought headlines after the decision came down suggested hundreds of cases would be overturned. Those were inaccurate. Precision should take precedence over clickbait. Second, if Trump gets more appointees for the Supreme Court and the rest of the federal bench in a second term, there might be no brake on the damage this court can do. The prospect that the court could get worse should send chills up and down the spines of all Americans.

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Washington

PHOTOS: Long Beach State Dirtbags vs. Washington State, Baseball

Published

10 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

PHOTOS: Long Beach State Dirtbags vs. Washington State, Baseball

The562’s coverage of Dirtbags Baseball for the 2026 season is sponsored by P2S, Inc. Visit p2sinc.com to learn more.

Long Beach State dropped a 9-7 decision against Washington State on Sunday afternoon, closing out a busy weekend on Bohl Diamond at Blair Field.

The visiting Cougars took the lead for good in the eighth inning when Long Beach Poly grad Ryan Skjonsby delivered a game-winning two-run single with two outs and the bases loaded. Skjonsby was 2-for-4 with a walk, a run scored and three RBIs for Washington State in their road victory.

For the Dirtbags, catcher Damon Valdez scored twice and had a key two-run single in the sixth to help lead a Long Beach comeback. Trevor Goldenetz had a pair of hits at the top of the order, including an RBI triple. Camden Gasser walked twice and singled, improving his on-base percentage to .574 on the season.

Long Beach State (4-7) will be back in action at home on Tuesday with an exhibition match against Waseda University from Japan. The Dirtbags will then visit San Diego State on Wednesday and open Big West play at UC Santa Barbara this weekend.

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Washington

Week Ahead in Washington: March 1

Published

22 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) – Operation “Epic Fury” — the weekend military operations carried out by the U.S. and Israel against targets in Iran — tops the agenda for Congress as lawmakers return to Washington.

Sunday, President Donald Trump said the new leadership in Iran wants to talk to the Trump Administration.

Democrats in both chambers called for Congress to return as soon as possible for classified briefings on Iran, followed by a move to vote on the War Powers Act. The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war on another country.

Congress’ return to Washington was originally delayed due to the start of the 2026 midterm elections cycle.

Tuesday, voters in Arkansas, North Carolina and Texas head to the polls for primary elections.

North Carolina and Texas are drawing significant attention, as both states are facing congressional redistricting and competitive primary races for Senate seats.

In Texas, incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R) is facing primary challenges from state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt. On the Democratic side, Rep. Jasmine Crockett is facing state Rep. James Talarico.

In North Carolina, candidates are vying to replacing retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R) . They include former Governor Roy Cooper (D) and former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley.

Also this week, the Rev. Jesse Jackson is laid to rest. He will be honored Wednesday in Washington before a final memorial service Saturday. Jackson died Feb. 17.

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Washington

Caps Fall in Montreal, 6-2 | Washington Capitals

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Caps Fall in Montreal, 6-2 | Washington Capitals

Cole Caufield scored in the first minute of the first period and added another goal later in the frame, sparking the Montreal Canadiens to a 6-2 win over the Capitals on Saturday night at Bell Centre.

Washington entered the game with a modest three-game winning streak and six wins in its last seven games. Although they were able to briefly draw even with the Habs after Caufield’s opening salvo, Caufield and the Canadiens responded quickly and the Caps found themselves chasing the game for the remainder of the night.

“I didn’t mind some of the things that we did tonight,” says Caps coach Spencer Carbery. “I thought we created enough offensively, we just made way too many catastrophic mistakes to be able to sustain that.”

In the first minute of the game, Caufield blocked a Jakob Chychrun point shot, tore off on the resulting breakaway and beat Charlie Lindgren for a 1-0 lead for the Canadiens, half a minute into the contest. Lindgren was making his first start since Jan. 29, following a short stint on injured reserve for a lower body injury he sustained in that game.

After the two teams traded unsuccessful power plays, the Caps pulled even in the back half of the first. With traffic in front, Declan Chisholm let a shot fly from the left point. The puck hit Anthony Beauvillier and bounded right to Alex Ovechkin, who had an easy tap-in for career goal No. 920 at 13:16 of the first.

But Montreal came right back to regain the lead 63 seconds later, scoring a goal similar to the one Ovechkin just scored.

From the left point, Canadiens defenseman Jayden Struble put a shot toward the net. It came to Nick Suzuki on the goal line, and the Habs captain pushed it cross crease for Caufield to tap it home from the opposite post at 14:19.

Less than two minutes later, Lindgren made a dazzling glove save to thwart Caufield’s hat trick bid.

Midway through the middle period, Montreal went on the power play again. Although the Caps were able to kill the penalty, the Habs added to their lead seconds after the kill was completed; Mike Matheson skated down a gaping lane in the middle of the ice and beat Lindgren from the slot to make it a 3-1 game at 12:22.

Minutes later, Montreal netminder Jakub Dobes made a big stop on Aliaksei Protas from the right circle, and Suzuki grabbed the puck and took off in the opposite direction. From down low on the right side, he fed Kirby Dach in the slot, and Dach’s one-timer made it 4-1 for the Canadiens at 16:34 of the second.

In the waning seconds of the second, Dobes made one of his best stops of the night on Beauvillier, enabling the Canadiens to carry a three-goal lead into the third.

Those two quick goals in the back half of the second took some wind out of the Caps, who were playing their third game in four nights following the three-week Olympic break.

“We kill off a penalty, and then we end up going down 3-1right after the penalty,” says Caps center Nic Dowd. “Those are challenging to give up, right? You do a good job [on the kill], it’s a 2-1 game, and then all of a sudden, before you blink, it’s 4-1 and then the game gets away from you.

“And they defended well tonight; It’s tough to score goals in this League, and you go into the third period, and you’ve got to score three. You saw that [Friday] night when we played Vegas; they were able to score two, but it’s tough to get that third one. I think we have to manage situations a little bit better. It’s a 2-1 game on a back-to-back, we just kill a penalty off, or maybe we just have a power play – whatever it is – we have to manage that, especially in an arena like this, where the crowd gets into it on nothing plays. They can really sway momentum – and in a good way – for their home team.

“We just have to understand that if we don’t have our legs in certain situations, because of travel, it’s back-to-back or whatever, we really have to key into the details of the game and not let things get away from us quickly.

With 7:28 left in the third, Ovechkin netted his second of the game – and the fifth goal he has scored in this building this season – on a nice feed from Dylan Strome to pull the Caps within two goals of the Habs, who have coughed up some late leads this season.

But Montreal salted the game away with a pair of late empty-net goals from Suzuki and Jake Evans, respectively.

In winning six of their previous seven games, the Caps had been playing with a lead most of the time. But playing from behind virtually all night against a good team in a tough building is a tall task under any circumstances. And it was exactly that for the Caps on this night.

“They score on the first shift,” says Strome. “Obviously, Saturday night in Montreal is as good and as loud as it gets. They just got a fortunate bounce; puck was off Caulfield’s leg, and a perfect bounce for a breakaway. It’s just one of those things where we got down early and now they kind of fed off the momentum of the crowd.

“But I still think our game is in a good spot, and we’ve just got to keep stacking wins. Obviously, we’ve played more games than everyone so we’re going to need some help, but we’ve just got to keep stacking wins. It’s tough on the back-to-back in Montreal, but we’ll find a way to bounce back on Tuesday [vs. Utah at home] and then go from there.”

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