(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) Obama-era Judge Amit Mehta is handling many Jan. 6 matters, and has stated that he will move forward on the prosecution of nine Oath Keepers with or without Congressional approval, American Greatness reported.
“Even if Congress is on the steps of the courthouse reading the [final] report, I am not moving the September trial,” Mehta warned during a status hearing last week for the Oath Keepers accused of seditious conspiracy, among other charges.
Mehta, who emigrated from India as a toddler, was appointed to the bench in 2014. He has been repeatedly accused of judicial activism, particularly when dealing with matters concerning former President Donald Trump and his supporters.
In 2019, Mehta denied Trump’s motion to prevent the Democrat House Oversight Committee from obtaining financial records from his accounting firm, saying the committee had “valid legislative purposes” for its request.
He also ruled against the Trump administration’s plan to force pharmaceutical companies to publicly announce the cost of prescription drugs.
Mehta’s handling of the Jan. 6 civil lawsuit against Trump and his supporters has been remarkably similar.
“January 6, 2021 was supposed to mark the peaceful transition of power,” Mehta wrote in a 112-page ruling in February.
“It had been that way for over two centuries, one presidential administration handing off peacefully to the next. Violence and disruption happened in other countries, but not here.
“This is the United States of America, and it could never happen to our democracy. But it did that very afternoon,” he opined.
Mehta also claimed that Jan. 6 was “the first-ever presidential transfer of power marred by violence,” evidently forgetting that the inauguration of Donald Trump was met with violent protests in Washington D.C.
He also denied the motion to dismiss the case.
“The court concludes that the Complaints establish a plausible conspiracy involving President Trump,” he said.
“That civil conspiracy included the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers—and others who entered the Capitol on January 6th with the intent to disrupt the Certification of the Electoral College vote through force, intimidation, or threat.”
Mehta is now expected to manage the criminal trials against the Oath Keepers objectively.
The trials are expected to start in September.
