WASHINGTON — Congressman Cliff Bentz (Or-02) joined Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (Oh-04) and 20 fellow members of Congress in filing an amicus (Friend of the Court) brief in the Supreme Court. The brief was filed in the case of Joseph Fischer v. the United States, challenging the lower Courts’ decisions to apply what is a financial crimes statute against people linked to the events of January 6th, 2021.
The petitioner, Joseph Fischer, faces indictment for his alleged involvement in activities near the U.S. Capitol on the aforementioned date. The charges brought against him cite a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2), a statute initially crafted in response to the Enron scandal to combat witness tampering and destruction of evidence in financial crimes cases. The brief argues that the prosecutors and court have misapplied this statute so that the defendants could be exposed to the statute: imposing a potential maximum prison sentence of 20 years. “The Biden Administration’s use of this is a concerning overreach,” stated Congressman Bentz. “I am joining my colleagues in pushing back against what I see as politicization of what should be a strictly legal proceeding. This would set a dangerous precedent.”The amicus brief can be viewed here. Additional members of Congress endorsing the brief include:
- Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota)Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah)Rep. Lauren Boebert (Colorado-03)Rep. Jerry Carl (Alabama-01)Rep. Michael Cloud (Texas-27)Rep. Matt Gaetz (Florida-01)Rep. Lance Gooden (Texas-05)Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Georgia-14)Rep. Harriet M. Hageman (Wyoming)Rep. Diana Harshbarger (Tennessee-01)Rep. Lisa McClain (Michigan-09)Rep. Mary Miller (Illinois-15)Rep. Alex Mooney (West Virginia-02)Rep. Barry Moore (Alabama-02)Rep. Andy Ogles (Tennessee-05)Rep. Bill Posey (Florida-08)Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (Pennsylvania-14)Rep. Matt Rosendale (Montana-02)Rep. Tom Tiffany (Wisconsin-07)Rep. Michael Waltz (Florida-06)