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1 1 (March 20, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/goveore0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional R a esearch Service Fischer v. United States: Supreme Court to Consider Federal Obstruction Provision in Capitol Breach Prosecution March 20, 2024 On December 13, 2023, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Fischer v. United States, a case concerning whether a federal obstruction of justice statute covers a defendant's alleged participation in the breach of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Federal prosecutors allege that Joseph Fischer violated 18 U.S.C. @ 1512(c)(2), which authorizes felony penalties for a person who corruptly ... otherwise obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so. The federal district court held that the statute did not apply to Fischer's conduct. A divided D.C. Circuit panel reversed, holding that @ 1512(c)(2) encompasses all forms of obstructive conduct, including violent efforts to stop Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election. At the Supreme Court, the Justices in Fischer will consider whether obstruction for @ 1512(c)(2) purposes includes acts unrelated to investigations and evidence. The conclusion could have wide-ranging implications given that the Department of Justice has charged numerous individuals involved in the Capitol breach with violating this same provision. The holding may also be relevant to the federal prosecution of former President Trump, who was indicted for conspiring to violate @ 1512(c)(2), among other statutes (as discussed in another CRS product). This Sidebar provides legal background on @ 1512(c)(2) and the D.C. Circuit's opinion in Fischer, as well as arguments before the Supreme Court. Overview of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2) Several of 18 U.S.C. @ 1512's subsections are directed at evidence or witness tampering involving, among other things, actual or threatened force, deception, or harassment to prevent evidence production. Congress added @ 1512(c) to the statute-including @ 1512(c)(2)'s provision regarding otherwise obstructing official proceedings-as part of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. That law was prompted by the exposure of Enron's massive accounting fraud and revelations that the company's outside auditor, Arthur Andersen LLP, had systematically destroyed potentially incriminating documents. Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB11126 CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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