Senior editor, Lawfare. Journalist. Ex-Fortune staff. Published in ProPublica, NYT, New York, New Yorker, Yahoo Finance, Air Mail, etc. rparloff on Threads.
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... NBC argues that American public has "extraordinary interest" in seeing hearings involving allegations that Trump, "a current nominee for reelection to the Presidency, sought to destroy our nation's democracy for personal benefit." ...
... DOJ knows that criminal defs are constantly trying to judge-shop. Recusal standards are & need to be high. Trump himself has tried to recuse USDJs Chutkan (DC) & Kaplan (SDNY, in E Jean Carroll cases), as well as Engoron, Merchan, & Willis in state courts. ... 
In a nutshell, Trump et al are wrong. The rule focuses on “overt investigative actions” or filing of charges. Trump’s DC indictment was filed on Aug 1, 2023, which was 462 days before the election. ... 
Remember that Fischer v US narrowed the definition of 1512c2. It now only reaches defendants who obstruct by try to impair the “integrity” or “availability” of docs or objects being used at a proceeding. Full explanation below: ... 
... Schaffer (front man of heavy metal band Iced Earth) was a “founding lifetime member” of the Oath Keepers. In Apr 2021, he pled guilty—maybe first OK to do so. He cooperated & will finally be sentenced on 10/25. One of the 2 charges he pled to was 1512c2. ... 
... The day after Judge Chutkan’s order, Trump attys defied it. In a brief ostensibly about Fischer v US, they argued that Nancy Pelosi caused Jan 6, exonerating Trump; bemoaned “lawfare overreach”; & referred to DOJ twice as the “Biden-Harris DOJ.” ...
Let’s put the (major) 1st Am obstacles aside & just focus first on what this OH procedure does & doesn’t do.
... Trump’s motion to reconsider is based heavily on political considerations, which Chutkan has repeatedly said she will not entertain. Trump candidly seeks to escape an “invasive factual probe ... as the election rapidly approaches.” ...
... And yes, though it’s not my point, there were lots of false statements here. People on “the other side” *were* killed. Ofc Brian Sicknick, 42, had a stroke on Jan. 6, eight hours after being sprayed in the face with chemicals, & died Jan. 7. And ... 
... The brief’s lead atty, @Matt_Seligman, zeroes in on just one of the 4 statutes whose plain text, per govt, authorizes appt of special counsel Jack Smith. He vividly conveys the seemingly willful evasions Cannon executed to arrive at her anomalous result. ... 
Trump's attys & Special Counsel will be arguing over the timing & nature of the path forward after SCOTUS’s immunity ruling. This afternoon, at 4pm, @lawfare editor-in-chief Ben Wittes will interview @AnnaBower and me about today’s events. ... 
The brief was filed by @CREWcrew , ret. USDJ Nancy Gertner, & ethics profs Stephen Gillers & James S. Sample. What’s shrewd about it is what it doesn’t do. E.g., it never mentions who appointed Cannon. (Legal nonstarter & nobody needs to be told.) ... 
... DOJ is now pursuing at least 4 J6 defendants under 1512c2. All are rioters who riffled thru docs on Senators’ desks. Fischer requires proof that defs "impaired the availability or integrity for use in [a] proceeding of ... docs ... used in the proceeding,” or tried to. ... 
… Govt argues to USDJ Colleen Kollar-Kotelly that it can use the existing indictment but she must give this new jury instruction, requiring proof that defendants impaired the availability or integrity for use in a proceeding of records, documents, or objects. ...