Thread by @kpolantz

Breaking tonight: DOJ has now given the greenlight for plea deals in at least some of the lower-profile Capitol riot cases.

Expect some of the 350+ cases to start moving now in court cnn.com/2021/04/08/pol…

Next week marks 100 days since the insurrection, and it's now one of the most sprawling and intensive criminal investigations in American history.
Yet the crush of defendants and evidence in such an unusual set of cases created a logjam in court.

Flipping defendants was already in the works this week, per a court filing and my reporting yesterday.

But leadership at DOJ hadn't signed off on making deals w defendants to plead guilty. (Likelihood is that lots will go that route) cnn.com/2021/04/07/pol…

"There's no formula in place to say, 'OK, this is what they're going to offer'" for defendants from the Capitol riot, one attorney told me. These cases aren't like other crimes where there's a well-worn matrix for prosecutors and defense attys to look to for cutting deals

Next steps:
Indictments and criminal complaints will turn into "information" filings, where charges could be rewritten/softened.
Judges will hold plea hearings.
Sentencing dates will get on the calendar.
And we'll learn if DOJ is signing up cooperators.

Here's a eye-opener from the Federal Judiciary:
More than 90 percent of criminal defendants plead guilty; don't go to trial.

It may be awhile until we know if the Capitol riot cases ultimately track w the national statistics.