It's "very unlikely" the federal election interference case against Donald Trump will be dismissed because of a Supreme Court ruling that narrowed the interpretation of the federal obstruction charge used in hundreds of January 6 riot prosecutions, a former White House counsel has said.
The case was brought by Joseph Fischer, a former police officer from Pennsylvania indicted over his role in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot—which involved hundreds of Trump's supporters storming Congress in a bid to stop the certification of Joe Biden's 2020 presidential election victory, sparking violence that saw one protester shot dead and dozens of police officers injured. On June 28, Fischer's case was decided in his favor in a 6-3 ruling that did not fall strictly along ideological lines.
In August, Trump was indicted on four counts related to claims he broke the law while attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.
In Friday's judgment, the Supreme Court concluded that the obstructing an official procedure charge related to document tampering specifically and did not incorporate more general violent disorder.
Speaking to CNN's Brianna Keilar, John Dean, a Nixon-era White House counsel, said he doubted the ruling would end the case against Trump.
"I think it's very unlikely he's going to get it dismissed," Dean said, adding: "It's a very limited ruling. It's been overread and overplayed in the media so far. People haven't really gone into the granular level of looking at the impact of this, and it's going to be very nominal, even on those who have pled guilty. For example, many of them had in their plea that if this ruling went against the existing law, it would not change their status so they could be charged again."
Referring to the special counsel who oversaw Trump's federal election interference case, Dean added, "Jack Smith was certainly aware of it when he filed his indictment, and I think his indictment is going to withstand any test."
When contacted for comment, a spokesperson for Trump's 2024 presidential campaign sent Newsweek a Truth Social post in which the Republican referred to Friday's Supreme Court ruling as a "BIG WIN."
Speaking to Newsweek, former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said she also doubted that the ruling would affect Trump's prosecution.
She said: "This decision could overturn the conviction of some of the January 6 defendants, [but] it is not likely to affect Donald Trump's case because it involves fraudulent documents in the form of fake slates of electors.
"In fact, the court seems to go out of its way to note that the statute covers fraudulently created documents."
On July 1, the Supreme Court is expected to rule on whether Trump has presidential immunity for "official acts" undertaken while in the White House.
The former president has already been convicted of falsifying business records to conceal a hush-money payment ahead of the 2016 election, though he has rejected the verdict and is widely expected to appeal.
He has also pleaded not guilty to charges related to allegations that he mishandled classified documents and broke the law while attempting to reverse the 2020 presidential election outcome in the state of Georgia.
fairness meter
To Rate This Article
About the writer
James Bickerton is a Newsweek U.S. News reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is covering U.S. politics and world ... Read more
