Supreme Court Rejects Enron Law in Trump, Jan 6 Cases

(LibertySociety.com) – The US Supreme Court recently ruled that the federal government could not use a specific statute to prosecute defendants with charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Riots, if they did not interfere with objects or documents related to an “official proceeding.”

The decision, which could overturn hundreds of Jan 6 cases, involves the so-called “Enron statute,” 1512(c)(2). The statute was passed following the 2001 Enron account scandal after the discovery of a loophole in federal law that made it illegal to instruct employees to destroy evidence but legal to do so oneself. The law made it illegal to tamper with evidence or witnesses intended for use in official proceedings.

The law was used to prosecute hundreds of participants in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, arguing that the plaintiffs “obstructed” and interrupted an official government proceeding by trying to stop the certification of Electoral College votes declaring President Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 presidential election. Critics of this legal basis argue that the statute was never meant to apply to First Amendment-related activities such as protests. Ultimately, the ruling determined that the Department of Justice (DOJ) was using the statute too broadly.

The court said that a violation of the statute must prove that the “availability or integrity” of records, documents, objects, and other things intended for use in an official government proceeding were impaired by the defendant, or that the defendant “attempted to do so.” They concluded that trespassing did not qualify as such a violation.

The ruling means that although some of the rioters who tampered with items related to the proceedings will remain prosecuted, those who simply trespassed on the Capitol grounds or went inside the building were not in violation.

The decision could also result in some of the charges against former President Donald Trump being dropped, in his election interference case brought against him by Special Counsel Jack Smith in Washington, D.C.