Will the Supreme Court legalize the insurrection?

The Jan. 6 insurrectionists didn't stop Joe Biden from becoming president, but they've done a pretty good job of clogging the court system since then. Hundreds of Donald Trump supporters who invaded the Capitol that day have been charged with the crime of "obstruction of an official proceeding." That's also among the counts faced by Trump himself, in the federal case brought by Jack Smith, the special counsel.

But the Supreme Court might make those charges go away.

The court on Wednesday agreed to hear a case "that could derail hundreds of Jan. 6 felony prosecutions," Politico reported. Jan. 6 defendant Joseph Fischer contends the obstruction charge "was only meant to punish physical tampering with documents, such as paper shredding" — and never intended to fit the kind of all-out physical assault that Congress faced while trying to certify the 2020 election. Fischer said there is no evidence "he'd intended to impede the handling of any records."

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Is the case a "lifeline" for accused insurrectionists? At least one of Trump's lawyers believes so. Business Insider reported that former federal prosecutor Will Scharf called the Supreme Court's decision to hear the case a "huge deal." The court's decision will have "potentially major ramifications for many Jan. 6 defendants as well as for President Trump."

What the commentators said

The Supreme Court case "could change everything" for Jan. 6 defendants, David Strom argued at Hot Air, a conservative site. One defendant in particular might benefit: "Trump can and should use the status of this appeal as an argument for delaying his trials." And it could help out hundreds of Trump's followers: The law was created during the Enron era to prevent financial wrongdoing. Now it has been "stretched so far out of recognition that ordinary folks are getting destroyed."

Right-wing media have been quick to portray the Supreme Court hearing as "a major victory for the Jan. 6 defendants," Steve Vladeck acknowledged at Lawfare, but "I'm a bit more circumspect about this case." Why? For one reason, Trump actually is accused of interfering with the paperwork involved with the certification of the election — particularly when it comes to the slates of fake electors his campaign used to try to change the results. Even if the court narrows the scope of the law, the former president might not benefit. "Trump can be tied to evidence-related obstruction of Jan. 6 far more easily than just about anyone who was actually at the Capitol that day." 

But "the obstruction statute was never a natural fit for Jan. 6 cases," Hugo Lowell noted at The Guardian, and the Supreme Court "has previously chafed at the use of broad conspiracy arguments by federal prosecutors." In the meantime, the court's decision to hear the case gives Trump an opening to delay his trial on Jan. 6 charges until after a ruling is issued. But this is an important moment: The obstruction law has been the federal government's "primary weapon to hold accountable those involved in the violence of that day."

What next?

Even if the obstruction charges are ruled invalid, The New York Times reported, two other charges stemming from Jan. 6 would remain against Trump. One accuses him of conspiring to defraud the United States; the other of plotting "to deprive millions of Americans of the right to have their votes counted." But an adverse ruling by the Supreme Court could "cripple plans by Mr. Smith to pin the violence on Mr. Trump." Trump's trial is currently scheduled to start on March 4.

The Supreme Court is on a different timeline. It will hear the challenge to the obstruction law "in March or April," The Associated Press reported, "with a decision expected by early summer." And it's clear the case has given Jan. 6 defendants fresh hope. "This is a watershed day," said one defense lawyer. "In our world — defense lawyer world — this is huge."