2023-12-13 21:12:00
The Court will deal with an appeal linked to the assault on the Capitol that would affect Trump
The The Supreme Court of the United States announced that it will debate an appeal filed by a defendant in the assault on the Capitol that could overturn hundreds of prosecutionsamong them, that of former President Donald Trump.
The appeal was filed by the lawyers of one of those accused of participating in the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol by hundreds of the magnate’s followers who tried to prevent the certification of President Joe Biden, who had won the 2020 elections.
Although the former president was not present at the riots, he was charged with incitement of insurrection, a crime punishable by the US Constitution.
This decision could affect the start of the trial against Trump presented in Washington by special prosecutor Jack Smith, scheduled for January 4, reported the NBC news network.
American media reported that the former Republican president’s lawyers have not yet given statements on the matter.
The three defendants who filed the appeal are Joseph Fischer, a former Pennsylvania police officer; Edward Jacob Lang; of New York, and Garret Miller, of Dallas.
Miller pleaded guilty to other charges and was sentenced to 38 months in prison.and could still face prosecution on the obstruction charge.
The Justice Department said in court papers that even if the Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, took up the appeals on Jan. 6, it would be too early to intervene because none of the defendants have yet gone to trial for the obstruction charge.
The 77-year-old tycoon is the favorite within the Republican Party for next year’s presidential elections, and any delay in this trial would benefit him.
If Trump won the election in November, he would be eligible to have the charges dropped, but if the case continued in March and Trump was convicted, he could be sentenced before the election.
The assault on the Capitol ended with at least five dead due to clashes between Trump activists and the Police.
About 700 protesters were charged for the assault. Of them, only 165 pleaded guilty and 71 were sentenced to up to five years in prison.
The 77-year-old former president has accumulated four criminal accusations and three civil lawsuits.
In another case being heard in Miami, the southern state of Florida, a federal court accused him in June of “withholding classified documents” and “obstruction of a federal investigation” for having taken official documents from the White House when leaving the Presidency. .
In March, a New York state grand jury indicted Trump on tax fraud charges in connection with paying money to a porn actress to keep quiet about an extramarital affair so as not to harm his 2016 presidential bid.
The trial dates in New York and Florida were set for March and May 2024, respectively.
In Georgia, the former president was accused along with 18 other close associates of trying to modify the result of the 2020 elections, in which he was defeated by Biden.
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