Capitol riot suspect’s court hearing turns to potential criminal charge for TrumpThe judge and lawyers discuss whether the then-president’s pressure on Vice President Mike Pence could have amounted to obstruction.Poliico, Nov 22, 2021
Could former President Donald Trump be charged with a crime for urging then-Vice President Mike Pence not to certify the electoral vote tally?
That appeared to be the thrust of a question U.S. District Court Judge Carl Nichols posed on Monday at a court hearing for one of the hundreds of Americans charged in the Capitol riot.
The judge and both sides in the case found themselves debating the scope of a law being wielded against many Jan. 6 defendants that makes it a felony to “corruptly” interfere with an official federal government proceeding and carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
The statute is typically applied to court-related conduct, like threatening judges, jurors or witnesses. However, prosecutors have leveled the obstruction charge against about a third of the roughly 700 Jan. 6 defendants over their alleged efforts to disrupt the electoral vote tally that Congress was undertaking when a crowd loyal to Trump broke through police lines and forced their way into the Capitol.
More:
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/11/22/capitol-riot-trump-523211
