SUMMARY

The Supreme Court heard arguments on Tuesday in a case looking at an obstruction law used to prosecute hundreds of Jan. 6 rioters. The obstruction statute is also key to various legal challenges facing former President Donald Trump. Geoff Bennett discussed more with Politico’s Kyle Cheney, who has been following the Jan. 6 legal fallout.

View the transcript of the story.

News alternative: Check out recent segments from the NewsHour, and choose the story you’re most interested in watching. You can make a Google doc copy of discussion questions that work for any of the stories here.

Key terms

obstruction: the act of interfering with or the process of justice, i.e. tampering with evidence or threatening witnesses in criminal trials

Example: In 2002, as part of a larger law, Congress made it illegal to obstruct a larger set of official proceedings in response to an energy company, Enron, shredding incriminating documents.

WARM-UP QUESTIONS

• What is the obstruction law being used to charge Jan. 6 defendants?
• Why was the obstruction law originally written?
• Who has brought this case to the Supreme Court to challenge the obstruction law in question?
• How did the Supreme Court justices seem to respond to arguments that the obstruction law applied?
• When and how did Donald Trump allegedly obstruct the business of Congress, according to the special prosecutor charging him with crimes?

FOCUS QUESTIONS

1. Do you think Jan. 6 defendants should be charged with obstructing the business of Congress by occupying the capitol while electoral votes were being confirmed?
2. What might make these cases different from other cases of interrupting public officials?

Media literacy: Who else might you want to hear from to better understand why these charges have been brought against Jan. 6 defendants?

Alternative: See, Think, Wonder: What did you notice? What did the story make you think? What would you want to learn more about?

FOR MORE

What students can do: What exactly happened on Jan. 6? You can learn more by reading through this explainer that examines evidence brought to light by the January 6 Congressional Committee.

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