Douglas Jensen, charged with chasing Officer Eugene Goodman inside the Capitol on 1/6 and possessing a knife, is arguing to be released from pretrial detention: assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2079…
Jensen's lawyer argues:
- notwithstanding weapons charges + accusation of chasing after Goodman, he's not accused of actually touching anyone
- he didn't intend to go to the Capitol and try to stop Congress, but was caught up in QAnon and deceived by Trump
Jensen had been involved in plea talks with the government, per previous updates in his case. Today's motion suggests a deal is still possible ("in the event the parties arrive at a disposition...") but it's up in the air
There's a very noteworthy footnote: Jensen's lawyer writes that if he accepts responsibility (aka a plea deal), his "worse case" estimated sentencing guidelines range is 41-51 months in prison
If a sentencing guidelines range of 41-51 months sounds familiar, it's because that's the estimated range for Jon Schaffer, the 1st Jan. 6 defendant to plead guilty: buzzfeednews.com/article/kenben…
Deep dive: On what we know so far about how much (or how little) prison time alleged Capitol rioters are facing buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…
Predicting outcomes is tricky early on, but there are few general truths:
- The vast majority of defendants plead guilty
- Maximum penalties provide context, but rarely reflect actual sentences, and that's already shaping up to be true in the Jan. 6 cases buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…
What do we know:
- 200+ misdemeanor-only cases so far, max sentences between 6 mos-1 yr. Expect defendants who plead guilty and have minimal criminal history to get far less than the max, good chance some will argue for no prison time, unclear how judges will respond to that
New, with more to come: DOJ under Biden is keeping up the previous admin's effort to take over Trump's defense against a defamation lawsuit filed by writer E. Jean Carroll — an effort Biden criticized during the campaign.
Story: DOJ is keeping up an effort to try to take over Donald Trump's defense against a defamation case filed by writer E. Jean Carroll — an effort Biden criticized as a candidate last fall.
This is the latest case that tests DOJ's traditional role of defending the power and prerogatives of the executive branch — any executive branch, regardless of president. What's unusual is that Biden had weighed in on this case specifically. buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…
Hello again from virtual court, this time before Mag. Judge Harvey in the case of J6 defendant Anthime Gionet, who prosecutors have also accused of running afoul of his pretrial release conditions. See:
Gionet's atty filed a response disputing he'd violated any release condition, saying he needs to make videos for the web to earn a living, and calling probation's request for stricter conditions "asinine" assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2079…
(Disclosure again that Gionet is a former BuzzFeed employee, also known by the nickname "Baked Alaska")
Hello from Judge McFadden's virtual courtroom, where a hearing is set to begin soon on J6 defendant Brandon Fellows, who is accused, for a second time, of violating some of his pretrial release conditions. More here:
Meanwhile, DOJ has sent out a fact sheet in advance of tomorrow, which marks 150 days since the Jan. 6 riots. Highlights:
~465 people arrested from nearly every state + DC
~130 people charged with assaulting/interfering with police
~200 charged w/ obstructing official proceeding
Back to the Brandon Fellows hearing: Judge is asking about his mental health, and whether there are issues there that are behind his compliance problems. Probation officer is recc'ing at least an eval; AUSA argues he continues to disregard the "privilege" the court has given him
New: Sen. Ted Cruz has won his lawsuit challenging a campaign finance law that caps the amount of post-election contributions that can be used to repay personal loans to a campaign at $250K assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2079…
A special three-judge panel was appointed, since it involves campaign finance law. Unanimous decision for Cruz from an ideologically diverse group: DC Circuit Judge Neomi Rao (Trump appointee) + US District Judges Amit Mehta (Obama appointee) and Timothy Kelly (Trump appointee)
The panel concluded the govt failed to show the cap was narrowly tailored to prevent quid pro quo corruption.
Rao wrote the opinion: "We find that the loan-repayment limit burdens political speech and thus implicates the protection of the First Amendment."
Today in non-J6 legal news: There was a hearing re: John Hinckley, the man who tried to assassinate Ronald Reagan (and was found not guilty by reason of insanity.)
Hinckley has been out of the hospital since 2016, and his lawyer will soon be arguing for unconditional release
Hinckley's lawyer Barry Levine suggested an evidentiary hearing isn't even necessary, since the mental health professionals working with Hinckley have recc'd full release, but the govt wants a full hearing.