{"id":2290285,"date":"2024-07-08T01:48:02","date_gmt":"2024-07-08T05:48:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-plots-path-forward-after-supreme-court-setbacks-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-07-08T01:49:46","modified_gmt":"2024-07-08T05:49:46","slug":"doj-plots-path-forward-after-supreme-court-setbacks-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-plots-path-forward-after-supreme-court-setbacks-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"DOJ plots path forward after Supreme Court setbacks &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdoj-plots-path-forward-after-supreme-court-setbacks-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2290285&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>He former president.<\/p>\n<p>Attorneys Bird Branca and \u200cPippa Corbin, who \u2062are \u200cdefending Sandlin, wrote\u200b in a\u2062 filing that they \u2064believed\u2062 the Supreme Court\u2019s \u2063decisions in <em>Fischer<\/em> and <em>Trump<\/em> \u200c called into question the convictions of Watergate conspirators and\u200b led to\u2062 the\u2063 1970s-era federal obstruction \u200bstatutes\u2019 broadly being read back\u200d then.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith today\u2019s opinion, the court has now specifically narrowed the statute to what \u2064we \u200cargue it covered in \u2063the first place,\u201d\u200c Sandlin\u2019s attorneys said, adding, \u201cThat it took to\u200d [sic] [41]    years\u2064 to \u200dget here, and\u200b we need to put our \u2062clients back on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/virginia-female-swimmers-speak-out-about-demoralizing-battle-after-trans-identifying-man-joined-team\/\" title=\"Virginia female swimmers express frustration over &#039;demoralizing&#039; ordeal following inclusion of transgender man on their team.\">level \u2064playing field<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The DOJ said last week\u2062 that it \u200bwas going\u200d to ask the full bench \u200dof the U.S.\u200d Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia\u2064 Circuit to review Judge Carl Nichols\u2019 decision\u200d to overturn the conviction of Charles Donohoe, a Proud Boys leader involved in the Capitol breach. Nichols found that prosecutors did not have enough\u200d evidence\u2062 to convict Donohoe \u200cof conspiracy and seditious conspiracy.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, prosecutors working on cases related to the QAnon conspiracy \u200bgroup are deciding how they\u200d might proceed post-<em>Fischer<\/em> in cases of five of its members accused \u2062of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rioters-smash-police-cars-vandalize-police-station-in-minneapolis-while-looters-storm-businesses-following-police-shooting\/\" title=\"Rioters Smash Police Cars, Vandalize Police Station In Minneapolis While Looters Storm Businesses Following Police Shooting\">attacking police officers<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Experts\u200c expect that Fischer has the potential\u2063 to affect more \u2063than just the handful of Jan. 6 cases that the DOJ is currently seeking to overcome.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBased on\u200d the government\u2019s previous conduct, it is now entirely\u2064 unclear what prosecutors \u2063will \u2064argue are\u200c charges \u2064that are still permissible under Fischer\u2064 and which are on shifting sands,\u201d said attorney Jenna Clarke.<\/p>\n<p>Clarke noted that the Supreme Court not only limited the obstruction\u200b charge in Fischer but also rejected the Justice Department\u2019s \u201cinterpretation of the seditious\u2062 conspiracy charge in \u2062 <em>Trump<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProsecutors have essentially\u2064 the same\u2062 textbooks to turn in for their grades next semester because they\u2064 no longer\u2063 have the one that has all of \u200cthe charges they used,\u201d Clarke said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/body><\/html> <\/p>\n<p>You will find \u2063the summary on the external URL.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><a class=\"tdb-logo-a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" title=\"Washington Examiner\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-img-wrap\"><\/span><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-title\">Washington Examiner<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\">\n<div class=\"tdb-search-form-inner\"><input class=\"tdb-head-search-form-input\" placeholder=\" \" type=\"text\" value name=\"s\" autocomplete=\"off\"><button class=\"wpb_button wpb_btn-inverse btn tdb-head-search-form-btn\" title=\"Search\" type=\"submit\"><span>Search<\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><a class=\"tdb-logo-a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" title=\"Washington Examiner\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-img-wrap\"><\/span><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-title\">Washington Examiner<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">DOJ plots path forward after Supreme Court setbacks<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-author-name-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-author-by\">By<\/span> <a class=\"tdb-author-name\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/author\/ashley-oliver\/\">Ashley Oliver<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><time class=\"entry-date updated td-module-date\" datetime=\"2024-07-08T01:42:42-04:00\">July 8, 2024 1:42 am<\/time><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1690679\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/justice-department\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Department of Justice\">Department of Justice<\/a> is showing signs of how it might attempt to overcome the fresh set of challenges it is facing in the wake of a recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/supreme-court\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Supreme Court\">Supreme Court<\/a> decision that favored dozens of Jan. 6 defendants, including former President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Donald Trump\">Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Over the past week, the DOJ began asking judges in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/washington-dc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Washington, D.C.<\/a>, for one or two months of extra time to weigh the impact of <em>Fischer v. United States<\/em> on some of its cases related to the 2021 breach.<\/p>\n<p>In one case, Judge Dabney Friedrich ordered DOJ prosecutors and defense attorneys to make recommendations for \u201cfurther proceedings\u201d and a new sentencing date \u201cin light of <em>Fischer<\/em>\u201d for defendant Ronald Sandlin.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday, prosecutors told Friedrich they needed 30 extra days to come up with their response, according to a court filing.<\/p>\n<p>Sandlin pleaded guilty in 2022 to conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding, the charge at the center of <em>Fischer<\/em>. The Supreme Court narrowed the scope of the charge so that obstruction had to occur by destroying or tampering with, or attempting to destroy or tamper with, physical records.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe government is actively assessing the impacts of <em>Fischer<\/em> on Jan. 6 cases in a variety of procedural postures,\u201d prosecutors wrote in Sandlin\u2019s case.<\/p>\n<p>Sandlin also pleaded guilty to assaulting an officer, admitting that he shoved police while trying to enter the Senate Gallery. For his two charges, he was sentenced to more than five years behind bars and has been in prison since January 2021.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors said their next step would be to consider whether the obstruction charge they brought against Sandlin is still appropriate under the Supreme Court\u2019s newly narrowed view of the law.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe government will also analyze whether it would still be able to meet its burden under the narrower interpretation of 18 U.S.C. \u00a7 1512(c)(2) articulated in <em>Fischer,<\/em> and whether <em>Fischer<\/em> alters the government\u2019s position on the defendant\u2019s sentence,\u201d prosecutors wrote.<\/p>\n<p>In the case of Tara Stottlemyer, DOJ prosecutors asked for 60 days to respond to the defendant, who argued days after the <em>Fischer<\/em> ruling came down that her sentence of eight months in jail and two years probation should be vacated.<\/p>\n<p>Stottlemyer pleaded guilty in 2022 to one charge of obstructing an official proceeding, admitting that she illegally entered the Capitol, wandered into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi\u2019s (D-CA) suite and the Senate Chamber, and rifled through senators\u2019 papers.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tara Stottlemyer, who is circled in red, examines papers in the Senate chamber after breaching the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (Department of Justice)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Her attorney argued that under the Supreme Court\u2019s new requirement for bringing obstruction charges, Stottlemyer\u2019s guilty plea and sentence were \u201cconstitutionally infirm and must be vacated.\u201d She has already served her jail time and is currently in the probation phase of sentencing.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors responded that the high court \u201cdid not reject the application\u201d of the obstruction charge \u201cwhole cloth\u201d but that they needed until September to respond to Stottlemyer\u2019s request \u201cso that this process may take place efficiently and thoughtfully.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Judge Timothy Kelly, who is presiding over that case, denied the request and gave the prosecutors until July 30 to issue their response.<\/p>\n<p>Donovan Crowl was convicted of obstruction and civil disorder, and earlier this year, Judge Amit Mehta agreed to push his sentencing hearing until late July in anticipation of the Supreme Court\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n<p>On July 1, prosecutors again asked for extra time to \u201cassess the impact\u201d of the <em>Fischer<\/em> case on Crowl.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe United States of America respectfully requests that the court continue Defendant Donovan Crowl\u2019s sentencing hearing, which is currently scheduled for July 25, 2024, for a period of 30-60 days, in light of the decision issued by the Supreme Court last week in United States v. Fischer,\u201d the prosecutors wrote.<\/p>\n<p><em>Fischer<\/em> was one of two Supreme Court decisions that dealt blows to the DOJ\u2019s Jan. 6 prosecution efforts. In the case of <em>Trump v. United States<\/em>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-push-for-reform-in-voting-rights-act\/\" title=\"Democrats push for reform in Voting Rights Act\">high court determined<\/a> that presidents have some absolute immunity from criminal prosecution.<\/p>\n<p>The decision effectively guaranteed that special counsel Jack Smith would need to reconfigure his four election interference charges against Trump. Two of the charges are also tied to the <em>Fischer<\/em> ruling, adding a layer of work for Smith as he attempts to salvage his indictment of the former president.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong> <\/p>\n<p>Legal experts have predicted that Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is presiding over Trump\u2019s case, will soon schedule a hearing to begin the process of stripping any presidential activity that is now deemed protected under the Supreme Court\u2019s new guidance from the indictment.<\/p>\n<p>It remains unclear how Smith will respond, but based on the high court\u2019s framework, the special counsel has a steep <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3066757\/heres-what-could-get-tossed-trump-indictment-after-supreme-court-ruling\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>uphill climb<\/a> to argue Trump\u2019s activities while he was in office are fair game to be used against him in a criminal prosecution.<\/p>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1690679\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1690679\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><a class=\"tdb-logo-a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" title=\"Washington Examiner\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-img-wrap\"><\/span><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-title\">Washington Examiner<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<p><\/body><\/html><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Department of Justice is strategizing on how to address the challenges posed by a recent Supreme Court decision favoring Jan. 6 defendants, including former President Donald Trump. The DOJ is seeking extra time to assess the impact of the ruling on various cases related to the Capitol breach. Prosecutors are considering whether the obstruction charges brought against defendants are still valid under the Supreme Court&#8217;s narrowed interpretation of the law. Additionally, the DOJ is facing obstacles in prosecuting Trump due to the court&#8217;s ruling on presidential immunity. Special counsel Jack Smith will need to adjust his charges against Trump in light of the court&#8217;s decision. Legal experts anticipate that the indictment against Trump will need to be revised to comply with the new guidance from the Supreme Court<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":2290286,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/AP24017841550601-1024x619.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[7076,34181,27450,32275,32076],"class_list":["post-2290285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-doj","tag-path-forward","tag-setbacks","tag-supreme-court","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/AP24017841550601-1024x619.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2290285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2290285"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2290285\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2290286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2290285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2290285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2290285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}