Disappearing Cases

The DOJ isn't that interested in going after Jan. 6th defendants after all:

the DOJ has now dropped the obstruction charge in nearly half of the pending J6 cases, and declined to oppose motions to dismiss or vacate the charge in almost a third of the cases that were already adjudicated.

Since the ruling in Fischer v. United States, about 60 out of 126 defendants had their pending obstruction charges dismissed, according to DOJ data released last week, which significantly diminishes the threat of decades of jail time for the defendants. Of the 133 defendants whose cases were already resolved before the Fischer decision, the DOJ indicated it “does not oppose dismissal or vacatur of the charge in approximately 40 cases” while it continues to assess the rest. The DOJ’s recent data dump reflects the findings of a Washington Examiner investigation last month that uncovered a majority of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2) violations were being dropped before defendants head to trial. For many defendants, the charge amounted to the most severe violation they faced, as their cases otherwise featured lesser violations such as misdemeanor charges for trespassing or unlawful picketing.

Moreover, the DOJ continues to evaluate many of the remaining cases, so there may well be additional instances where the charges are dropped.

The long road to dismissal...