Among the many supporters of Donald Trump cheering his victory, some of the most zealous celebrations may be coming from the people who have been criminally charged for storming the Capitol in his name on Jan. 6, 2021. Jan. 6 defendants are poised to deluge the courts with requests to delay their cases in order to buy time until the president-elect can pardon them, Politico reports. The first of those requests landed just after Trump was declared the winner Wednesday morning from Christopher Carnell, a defendant seeking to stave off a felony obstruction charge. Carnell, who has already been convicted of several misdemeanor counts, said Trump’s broad promise to pardon many Jan. 6 defendants warrants a delay in his case to determine whether he might fall under the president-elect’s expected clemency decisions.
“Mr. Carnell, who was an 18 year old nonviolent entrant into the Capitol on January 6, is expecting to be relieved of the criminal prosecution that he is currently facing when the new administration takes office,” his lawyer, Marina Medvin, wrote on Wednesday. “Mr. Carnell is now awaiting further information from the office of the president-elect regarding the timing and expected scope of clemency actions relevant to his case.” U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, who is presiding over Carnell’s case, denied the request. Still, Carnell’s move is likely to presage a flood of similar motions by hundreds of other Jan. 6 defendants with cases still pending.
The Justice Department has yet to signal how it will handle Jan. 6 cases in the final months of the Biden administration.
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