The Supreme Court will hear arguments on Tuesday in a case that could eliminate some of the federal charges against former President Donald J. Trump in the case accusing him of plotting to subvert the 2020 election and could disrupt the prosecutions of hundreds of rioters involved in the Capitol attack.
The law figures in two of the federal charges against Mr. Trump in his election subversion case, and more than 350 people who stormed the Capitol have been prosecuted under it.
If the Supreme Court sides with Mr. Fischer and says the statute does not cover what he is accused of having done, Mr. Trump is almost certain to contend that it does not apply to his conduct, either.
The law, signed in 2002, was prompted by accounting fraud and the destruction of documents, but the provision is written in broad terms.
Still, in an earlier case involving a different provision of the law, the Supreme Court said it should be tethered to its original purpose.
Persons:
Donald J, Trump, Joseph W, Fischer
Organizations:
Sarbanes, Oxley, Enron, Capitol, Mr