Andy McCarthy is a former federal prosecutor, a current contributing editor at National Review and a Fox News contributor.
Most good lawyers are not fond of novel legal theories, meaning trying to use a law in a way it’s never been used before or was not intended to be used to try to get a conviction. Such is arguably the situation with the federal government charging multiple participants in the January 6th, 2021 riots with violations of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, famous for being a major piece of corporate and financial regulation, for obstructing an official proceeding. The law appears to be referencing evidence tampering in corporate law. If the accused rioter wins his case which was heard at the Supreme Court yesterday, many others may have their felony convictions overturned, leaving only misdemeanors or no convictions at all for the rioters. That may or may not be justice, but I don’t like novel legal theories either.
Justices divided over Jan. 6 participant’s call to throw out obstruction charge - SCOTUSblog
Written before the arguments on Monday: Fischer v. U.S.: Supremes to Hear Argument Today on Obstruction Statute Key to J6 Cases | National Review