Blaze Media investigative reporter Steve Baker filed a late motion in U.S. District Court to delay all proceedings in his looming Jan. 6 criminal trial, citing the Department of Justice pausing its prosecution of President-elect Donald J. Trump.
The lead defense attorney for Baker, scheduled to go to trial on Nov. 12, asked U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper “to vacate all dates and hearings in this case in the interests of justice, and to set a status conference in this matter for the week of February 2, 2025.”
William Shipley cited the DOJ’s motion to pause the criminal case against the president-elect in light of the Nov. 5 election “to afford the government time to assess this unprecedented circumstance and determine the appropriate course going forward consistent with Department of Justice policy.”
‘The “people” on behalf of whom the government purports to speak made themselves heard clearly on November 5.’
“The unique circumstances now before this Court — a president-elect having pledged to reverse the decision-making of the predecessor administration after having made the issue a part of his campaign promises — and the Department of Justice now making a representation on the record in another case that the election outcome is a change in circumstances warranting a delay, justifies defendant Baker making this motion,” Shipley wrote in a motion filed late on Nov. 10.
Baker, 64, of Raleigh, North Carolina, is charged with four trespass-related misdemeanor counts for being at the Capitol on Jan. 6. He was in Washington to document the historic protests and provide coverage for the readers of his blog, the Pragmatic Constitutionalist. Now a Blaze Media writer, Baker was arrested in Dallas on March 1 and perp-walked in front of media at the FBI offices.
Baker had planned a selective-prosecution defense, noting that no left-of-center media reporters and podcasters were prosecuted for covering the Jan. 6 protests and riots. Armed with a list of more than 75 journalists who were not charged, Baker sought discovery from the government explaining the apparent political tilt in its prosecutions.
Blaze Media investigative reporter Steve Baker is perp-walked before the media at the FBI offices in Dallas on March 1, 2024.Photos by Blaze Media
“To deny this motion, in the face of the Justice Department’s official position, would run contrary to the interests of justice and likely subject the defendant to criminal convictions for no purpose other than expediency,” Shipley wrote.
Baker said the list itself weighs heavily in favor of his selective-prosecution strategy.
“The most important legal argument that we’re bringing is this: Somewhere in the vicinity of 80 journalists of all types — credentialed employees of mainstream news organizations from the New York Times to the L.A. Times to French media to British television — went through broken windows and broken doors that day without permission,” Baker said Oct. 29. “Included in that bunch were freelancers, independents, bloggers, podcasters, and social media influencers without credentials.”
Trump’s sweeping election victory with 312 Electoral College votes and a popular vote margin of 3.6 million votes creates a new reality that the courts should not ignore, Shipley argued.
Blaze Media journalist Steve Baker captured iconic video footage on the West Plaza of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.Steve Baker/Blaze Media
“Before the government makes the claim that the ‘people’ have an interest in the administration of justice as reflected in the Speedy Trial Act, defendant Baker would point out that the ‘people’ on behalf of whom the government purports to speak,” Shipley wrote, “made themselves heard clearly on November 5, and that should mean something to the Department of Justice without regard to what administration is now in charge.”
In a nine-page opinion issued Oct. 25, Cooper refused Baker’s motion to dismiss the charges. He previously denied Baker’s motion to retain his right to carry a firearm after threats were made against his safety. Baker appealed the issue, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled against him.
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2024 election, Free press, January 6, Selective prosecution, Steve baker, Trump, Politics
