Following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Fischer vs. United States, CREW President Noah Bookbinder, a former federal corruption prosecutor, released the following statement:

“With today’s decision, the Supreme Court majority helped many insurrectionists dodge accountability once again. If attempting to block the certification of the 2020 election isn’t obstructing an official proceeding in the Court’s eyes, then what is? This decision not only gives those who physically attacked the Capitol a free pass as to one serious and very applicable charge, but also erroneously conflates insurrectionists with “activists and lobbyist[s]” who do and should enjoy the full protections of the First Amendment. While this case will not prevent Donald Trump from facing accountability for his own role in obstructing the peaceful transfer of power, it significantly weakens one tool in that toolkit. This is another example of the Court failing to stand up for our democracy and enforce the plain text of the law. As in Trump v. Anderson, the Court is sidestepping the letter of the law, and sending the message that common sense and the rule of law come second to thinly supported legal technicalities.

To make matters worse, Justices Alito and Thomas failed to recuse themselves from this case despite their apparent conflicts of interest and association with insurrection-related efforts and activities. Their refusal to abide by ethics rules is outrageous and demands both a serious investigation into their behavior and binding ethics reforms for the Court.”