OK, we're getting started in Judge Mehta's virtual courtroom with a status hearing for 16 Oath Keepers. Four of their co-defendants have already taken pleas. Mehta is still considering a motion to dismiss the obstruction charge they all face. #CapitolRiot @wusa9 @EricFlackTV 
Here's my story from last month about the Oath Keepers' arguments as to why their obstruction charge, the most serious felony they face, should be tossed. wusa9.com/article/news/n…
Judge Mehta is pushing the DOJ on where they're at in discovery: "5%? 10%? 50%?" DOJ attorney says she can't say.
DOJ says last week it provided the Oath Keepers' attorneys 14 Signal chats showing "some of the most significant planning and coordination chat." We have received snippets of it in filings, including messages about the planned "quick reaction force." wusa9.com/article/news/n…
Sounding like the late-January trial date for the first batch of Oath Keepers is going to get pushed back. Defense attorneys say they aren't confident they can prepare for it based on all the discovery that still hasn't been disclosed.
Kenneth Harrelson's attorney says the detention conditions he's under make it impossible to prepare for his defense. Notes that the warden of the D.C. Jail was just held in contempt yesterday (read about that below). wusa9.com/article/news/n…
Harrelson's attorney Brad Guyer angrily says there are #CapitolRiot defendants, including his client, who are veterans and are being held in abysmal conditions in the D.C. Jail. Says they're getting "two boiled eggs" as meals and can barely get access to phone calls.
Judge Mehta points out that, whatever the conditions in the D.C. Jail, all of the inmates there are subject to them – not just the #CapitolRiot defendants. Also says he's not here to litigate those issues today.
NEW: Judge Amit P. Mehta *vacates* the late-January trial date set for the first round of #CapitolRiot Oath Keepers defendants as all defense attorneys agree there's still too much discovery that hasn't been disclosed to them. @wusa9 @EricFlackTV
"You've got to get to a point, and you've got to get to a point soon, where defense counsel has access" to discovery materials, Judge Mehta tells the DOJ. "It's simply not acceptable." Wants a status report within a week telling him exactly where they're at. #CapitolRiot @wusa9
"It's not good enough for me anymore to continue to hear 'we're working on it,'" Judge Mehta says. Says he realizes the case is unprecedented, but there are defendants charged with serious offenses and they have rights to speedy trials.
Judge Mehta: "That April trial date is not going to move because of preparation. You're on notice of that."
Defense attorney says she's concerned there's "no outer limit" of the number of persons the DOJ could add to the case or the amount of discovery they could find.
"There's nothing I can do," Judge Mehta says. "I can't order the government to stop its investigation."
"There's nothing I can do," Judge Mehta says. "I can't order the government to stop its investigation."
The defense attorney there was Carmen Hernandez, who is representing Donovan Crowl. She's been one of the most willing to push the DOJ (and Judge Mehta) on the pace of these cases.
The Oath Keepers will be back before Judge Mehta for a status hearing on December 6 at 11 a.m.
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