United States v. Thomas Robertson

United States Court of Appeals
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT

Argued May 11, 2023 Decided October 20, 2023

No. 22-3062

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
APPELLEE

v.

THOMAS ROBERTSON,
APPELLANT

Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Columbia
(No. 1:21-cr-00034-1)

Timothy Cone, appointed by the court, argued the cause
and filed the briefs for appellant.

James I. Pearce, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S.
Department of Justice, argued the cause for appellee. With him
on the brief was Chrisellen R. Kolb, Assistant U.S. Attorney.
 2
Before: HENDERSON, PILLARD and PAN, Circuit Judges.

Opinion for the Court filed by Circuit Judge PAN.

Dissenting opinion filed by Circuit Judge HENDERSON.

PAN, Circuit Judge: Defendant-appellant Thomas
Robertson participated in the riot that took place on January 6,
2021, at the United States Capitol. The riot interrupted and
delayed Congress’s certification of the Electoral College vote
that determined the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
A jury convicted Robertson of obstructing the vote
certification, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2). In this
appeal, Robertson contends that the evidence was insufficient
to show that he acted “corruptly,” as § 1512(c)(2) requires. He
also challenges his 87-month sentence, making new arguments
on appeal that the district court erred in applying two specific
offense characteristics for obstruction of the “administration of
justice.” Because the evidence was sufficient to establish that
Robertson acted “corruptly,” and the district court did not
plainly err in applying the specific offense characteristics, we
affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

A.

January 6, 2021, was a significant day. It was the day on
which the United States Congress convened to declare the
winner of the 2020 presidential election, after certifying the
Electoral College vote. The vote certification must take place
on January 6 following an election, after electors have met in
their respective states, cast their votes for President and Vice
President, and transmitted their certified and sealed ballots to
the President of the Senate. U.S. Const. amend. XII; 3 U.S.C
§ 15 (2018), amended by Consolidated Appropriations Act,
 3
136 Stat. 4459, 5238 (2022). To certify the vote, the Vice
President of the United States, acting as President of the
Senate, “shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of
Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall
then be counted.” U.S. Const. amend. XII. “The person having
the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the
President, if such number be a majority of the whole number
of Electors appointed.” Id. “Such joint session shall not be
dissolved until the count of electoral votes shall be completed
and the result declared.” 3 U.S.C. § 16 (2018), amended by
136 Stat. 4459, 5240 (2022). The vote certification is thus a
pivotal moment in the peaceful transition of presidential power
in the United States.

Thomas Robertson is an Army veteran, who was
employed as a police sergeant in Rocky Mount, Virginia. He
believed that the results of the 2020 presidential election were
“rigged.” Gov’t’s Suppl. App. (“S.A.”) 110. In the aftermath
of the election, he repeatedly shared his views on social media.
He posted messages like the following: “I won’t be
disenfranchised. I’ll follow the path our founders gave us.
Redress of grievances (already done) civil disobedience (here
now) and then open armed rebellion. I’ve spent the last 10
years fighting an insurgency in Iraq and then Afghanistan.
[I’m] prepared to start one here . . . .” Id. at 190. Because he
was “tired of always taking the high road and being beat by
those who cheat, lie, and [steal] to win,” id., Robertson made
plans to travel to Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021, when
Congress would be in session to certify the results of the
election.

Robertson invited two companions to travel with him to
the District of Columbia on January 6: a work colleague, Jacob
Fracker, and a neighbor. Robertson packed ready-to-eat meals,
water, gas masks, and a large stick into his car. He drove
 4
Fracker and the neighbor to a metro station outside of the
District; they then took a train into the city. The three men
attended a rally near the Washington Monument, where they
listened to speeches by Rudolph Giuliani and former President
Donald Trump. They then joined a crowd that was headed to
the Capitol. When they arrived at a lower plaza on the west
side of the Capitol building, “[a] huge crowd [was] getting
pretty out of hand.” S.A. 121. The crowd was “yelling” and
“screaming.” Id. “[P]eople were throwing things,” like “flash
bangs” and “smoke grenades,” so Robertson and his
companions donned their gas masks. Id. at 121, 124-25. When
Metropolitan Police Department officers tried to move through
the crowd, Robertson blocked their way by standing in front of
them with his stick in a “tactical” grip that allowed offensive
and defensive movement. Trial Tr. 521:17–523:23, ECF No.
108; S.A. 85. Robertson used the stick to hit one officer and
“swipe[]” at another. S.A. 103.

Robertson and Fracker followed a group that had broken
through scaffolding on the west side of the Capitol, heading up
a set of stairs and into a courtyard just outside the building.
They crossed barricades and passed outnumbered officers who
were trying to keep rioters out of the area. As Robertson and
Fracker went up the stairs, another rioter threw a “stick-like
object” at officers. S.A. 132–33.

Although they were briefly separated, both Robertson and
Fracker entered the Capitol building at around 2:16 p.m.,
minutes after other members of the mob first breached the
building at 2:13 p.m. Fracker observed rioters climbing
through windows to gain access to the Capitol. He also saw
broken glass and overturned furniture, and heard an alarm
blaring. Robertson and Fracker made their way to the Capitol
Crypt, where they took “selfie[s]” and other photos of the
 5
chaos. The Crypt was filled with rioters who began chanting,
and Robertson pounded his stick on the floor to their beat.

When Robertson entered the Capitol building, the House
and the Senate “were meeting in both the House and Senate
chambers of the Capitol to certify the vote count of the electoral
college of the 2020 presidential election which had taken place
on Tuesday, November 3, 2020.” Trial Tr. 641:13–18, ECF
No. 109. The Vice President was in the building and presiding
over the joint session. Id. at 641:23–25. Robertson was part
of the mob that forced members of Congress to flee from the
Senate chamber at 2:12 p.m. and from the House chamber at
2:30 p.m. See id. at 642:3–18. Even after the rioters had been
cleared, the chaos and disruption caused by the mob prevented
the Senate and the House from resuming their work until “8:06
p.m. and 9:02 p.m., respectively.” Id. at 642:14–15.

After January 6, Robertson celebrated his participation in
the riot on social media. He posted one message stating, “We
were stomping on the roof of their safe room chanting
WHOS[E] HOUSE? OUR HOUSE,” S.A. 186; and another
stating, “[I’ve] seen for the first time in my life . . . [a]
government scared of its people. The pictures of them huddled
in the floor crying is the most American thing I have ever
seen.” Id. at 192–93. Commenting on a photo of himself with
Fracker in the Crypt, Robertson proclaimed: “I am fucking
PROUD of it. It shows 2 men willing to actually put skin in
the game and stand up for their rights. . . . Enjoy your feel good
protests and fame. I’ll simply accept a ‘Thank you’ for the very
blanket of freedom that you live and sleep under.” Id. at 180–
81. He also said that “CNN and the Left are just mad because
we actually attacked the government who is the problem . . . .
The Right IN ONE DAY . . . took the fucking U.S. Capitol.
Keep poking us.” Id. at 184–85. He described his actions as
 6
“storm[ing]” the Capitol, id. at 193, and as being “part of the
next American revolution,” id. at 187.

Law-enforcement authorities informed Robertson and
Fracker that warrants had been issued for their arrest, and gave
them an opportunity to turn themselves in. Before they
surrendered, Robertson took his and Fracker’s phones and hid
them. When officers later searched Robertson’s home, they
found a cell phone that had been activated the day after his
arrest. They also discovered that Robertson had texted a friend
that “[a]nything that may have been problematic is destroyed,”
“[i]ncluding [his] old phone” that “[t]ook a lake swim” and
“had a tragic boating accident.” S.A. 196, 198–200.

B.

Robertson was charged with “corruptly” obstructing
Congress’s certification of the Electoral College vote, in
violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2). He also was charged with
five additional offenses, including three more felony counts:
knowingly entering a restricted building when the Vice
President was there, while carrying a deadly and dangerous
weapon (the large wooden stick), in violation of 18 U.S.C.
§ 1752(a)(1); knowingly impeding the orderly conduct of
government business, while carrying a deadly and dangerous
weapon (the large wooden stick), in violation of 18 U.S.C.
§ 1752(a)(2); and altering, destroying, mutilating, or
concealing cell phones with intent to impair their use in an
ensuing investigation (here, the grand jury investigation of the
January 6 riot and Robertson’s criminal prosecution), in
violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(1). See 18 U.S.C.
§ 1752(b)(1)(A) (providing that a violation of § 1752(a) shall
be a felony if “during and in relation to the offense, [a person]
uses or carries a deadly or dangerous weapon or firearm”). The
remaining charges were misdemeanors: interfering with law
 7
enforcement officers during the commission of a civil disorder,
in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 231(a)(3) and 18 U.S.C. § 2; and
engaging in disorderly and disruptive conduct in a Capitol
building with the intent to disturb the orderly conduct of
Congress, in violation of 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(D).

Robertson moved to dismiss the § 1512(c)(2) charge,
which alleged that he “corruptly” obstructed, influenced, or
impeded the vote certification. He argued that the term
“corruptly” is ambiguous, and that the statute was
unconstitutionally vague as applied to him because it did not
give him fair notice that his conduct was unlawful. The district
court denied the motion, explaining that “corruptly” means
“acting ‘with consciousness of wrongdoing.’” United States v.
Robertson (Robertson I), 588 F. Supp. 3d 114, 123 (D.D.C.
2022) (citing Arthur Andersen LLP v. United States, 544 U.S.
696, 705–06 (2005)).

Robertson’s case proceeded to trial. At the close of the
government’s case, and again at the close of all the evidence,
Robertson moved for judgment of acquittal under Rule 29 of
the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. He argued that the
government had failed to prove that he had acted “corruptly.”
The district court reserved ruling on his motions until after the
jury’s verdict.

Robertson revisited the definition of “corruptly” in his
proposed jury instructions. He requested that the jury be
instructed as follows:

To act “corruptly,” the defendant must use
unlawful means or have a wrongful or an
unlawful purpose, or both. An act is done
“corruptly” if the defendant acted knowingly
and dishonestly, with the specific intent to
 8
subvert or undermine the due administration of
justice. The defendant must also act with
“consciousness of wrongdoing.”
“Consciousness of wrongdoing” means with an
understanding or awareness that what the
person is doing is wrong or unlawful. Not all
attempts to obstruct or impede an official
proceeding involve acting corruptly. For
example, a witness in a court proceeding may
refuse to testify by invoking his constitutional
privilege against self-incrimination, thereby
obstructing or impeding the proceeding, but he
does not act corruptly. In contrast, an individual
who obstructs or impedes a court proceeding by
bribing a witness to refuse to testify in that
proceeding, or by engaging in other
independently unlawful conduct, does act
corruptly.

S.A. 35 (citation omitted). The government objected to the
reference to “dishonestly” as duplicative and unnecessary.

The district court declined to adopt the requirement of
“dishonestly” but otherwise gave an instruction that largely
tracked what Robertson had requested. The final instruction
on “corruptly” provided:

To act corruptly the defendant must use
unlawful means, or act with an unlawful
purpose, or both. The defendant must also act
with consciousness of wrongdoing.
Consciousness of wrongdoing means with an
understanding or awareness that what the
person is doing is wrong. Not all attempts to
obstruct or impede an official proceeding
 9
involve acting corruptly. For example, a
witness in a court proceeding may refuse to
testify by invoking his constitutional privilege
against self-incrimination, thereby obstructing
or impeding the proceeding. But he does not act
corruptly. In contrast, an individual who
obstructs or impedes a court proceeding by
bribing a witness to refuse to testify in that
proceeding or by engaging in other
independently unlawful conduct does act
corruptly.

S.A. 203; see also ECF No. 86 (Final Jury Instructions). The
jury found Robertson guilty on all counts.

After the trial, Robertson renewed his motion for judgment
of acquittal on the § 1512(c)(2) count. He again asserted that
“corruptly” is unconstitutionally vague. He also argued for the
first time that the government did not prove that he acted
corruptly because it did not show that he “acted knowingly and
dishonestly with the intent to obtain an unlawful advantage for
himself or an associate.” Robertson’s App. (“App.”) 38.

The district court denied the motion, reiterating that
“corruptly” is not unconstitutionally vague and that the term
means acting with consciousness of wrongdoing and with
independently unlawful means or purpose. United States v.
Robertson (Robertson II), 610 F. Supp. 3d 229, 233, 236
(D.D.C. 2022). The court further determined that the evidence
supported the jury’s finding that Robertson acted “corruptly.”
Id. at 236. The district court relied on evidence that Robertson
“engaged in other independently unlawful conduct, by entering
and remaining in a restricted area without lawful authority and
by engaging in disruptive and disorderly conduct in a restricted
area,” and determined that such evidence demonstrated “using
 10
unlawful means or acting with an unlawful purpose.” Id.
(cleaned up).

Robertson faced a statutory maximum sentence of 20
years’ imprisonment for his convictions under 18 U.S.C.
§ 1512(c)(1) and (c)(2), while his other felony convictions each
carried a statutory maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment, see 18
U.S.C. § 1752(b)(1)(A). The district court sentenced
Robertson to a total of 87 months’ imprisonment (seven years
and three months), followed by 36 months of supervised
release. That sentence was at the bottom of the calculated
guidelines range of 87 to 108 months, which was based on a
total offense level of 29 and a Category I criminal history. To
determine the offense level, the district court first looked to the
obstruction-of-justice sentencing guideline, U.S.S.G. § 2J1.2,
which has a base offense level of 14. Over Robertson’s
objections, the court then added 15 more levels to the offense:
an eight-level increase for “causing or threatening to cause
physical injury to a person, or property damage, in order to
obstruct the administration of justice,” U.S.S.G.
§ 2J1.2(b)(1)(B); a three-level increase because “the offense
resulted in substantial interference with the administration of
justice,” id. § 2J1.2(b)(2); a two-level adjustment for being an
organizer of criminal activity, id. § 3B1.1(c); and another two-
level enhancement for obstruction of justice based on
destroying his and Fracker’s cell phones, id. § 3C1.1.

II. ANALYSIS

A.

Robertson challenges his conviction under 18 U.S.C.
§ 1512(c)(2), which prohibits “corruptly . . . obstruct[ing],
influenc[ing], or imped[ing] any official proceeding, or
attempt[ing] to do so.” The jury was instructed that, in order
 11
to convict Robertson of violating § 1512(c)(2), it had to find
beyond a reasonable doubt that he (1) “attempted [to] or did
obstruct or impede an official proceeding”; (2) “acted with the
intent to obstruct or impede the official proceeding”; (3) “acted
knowingly with awareness that the natural and probable effect
of his conduct would be to obstruct or impede the official
proceeding”; and (4) “acted corruptly.” Trial Tr. 980:14-20,
981:6-8, ECF No. 111. On appeal, Robertson takes issue with
only the “corruptly” element. He does not challenge any of the
other elements or dispute that they were met.

Robertson contends that the evidence presented at his trial
was insufficient to prove that he acted “corruptly.” The district
court held that “corruptly” signifies acting with independently
unlawful means, unlawful purpose, or both, and with
consciousness of wrongdoing. Robertson II, 610 F. Supp. 3d
at 233, 236. Although Robertson previously endorsed most of
the district court’s definition, he now argues that a proper
construction of “corruptly” holds a different meaning. He
claims that the term describes only “an act dishonestly done
‘with a hope or expectation of either financial gain or other
benefit to oneself or a benefit to another person.’” Opening Br.
21 (quoting United States v. Aguilar, 515 U.S. 593, 616–17
(1995) (Scalia, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part)).
Under that interpretation, he urges, the trial evidence was
insufficient to prove that he “corruptly” obstructed an official
proceeding. He contends that he did not act “dishonestly,” that
he did not seek any personal benefit by participating in the
January 6 riot, and that any benefit to former President Trump
was “too remote” to be considered. Id.

We conclude that “corruptly” must be construed according
to its plain meaning; that the “corruptly” element in
§ 1512(c)(2) delineates whether a defendant’s conduct is
culpable; and that there are a range of ways to prove a
 12
defendant’s “corrupt” intent or action. On review of the
sufficiency of the evidence, we need only determine that the
“corruptly” element was satisfied by the evidence presented in
Robertson’s trial. See Musacchio v. United States, 577 U.S.
237, 243 (2016). We hold that the jury could have found,
consistent with the district court’s instructions, that Robertson
acted “corruptly” based on evidence that he used felonious
“unlawful means” to obstruct, impede, or influence the
Electoral College vote certification. The evidence was
therefore sufficient to support Robertson’s conviction of
violating § 1512(c)(2). Robertson’s contention that his
preferred definition of “corruptly” is the sole and exclusive
meaning of that term finds no support in the text, structure, or
context of the statute, and is inconsistent with relevant
precedents.

1.

Robertson frames his claim as one of insufficient
evidence.1 The parties agree that our standard of review is de
novo. Gov’t Br. 21; Def. Br. 12. The government further states
that our review does not rest on how the jury was instructed
and that we should assess Robertson’s claim based on how a
properly instructed jury would assess the evidence. See Gov’t
Br. 21 (citing United States v. Hillie, 39 F.4th 674, 679–80

1
It may be that the type of claim brought by Robertson, in which
he essentially asserts that the jury instructions omitted a requirement
under the statute, is not properly characterized as a challenge to the
sufficiency of the evidence. See United States v. Reynoso, 38 F.4th
1083, 1086–87 (D.C. Cir. 2022). But the government does not
question the framing of Robertson’s claim.
 13
(D.C. Cir. 2022); Reynoso, 38 F.4th at 1089).2 We thus apply
that standard even though Robertson’s claim on appeal is
inconsistent with the jury instruction that he requested in the
trial court.

In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence de novo, we
consider the evidence “in the light most favorable to the
government.” United States v. Shi, 991 F.3d 198, 205 (D.C.
Cir. 2021). “As an appellate court, we owe tremendous
deference to a jury verdict.” United States v. Long, 905 F.2d
1572, 1576 (D.C. Cir. 1990). We must affirm where “any
rational trier of fact” could have found guilt beyond a
reasonable doubt. Id. (emphasis in original) (quoting Jackson
v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 (1979)). Our task here is to
make only a “limited inquiry” — we must examine the record
in this case just to determine the sufficiency of the evidence to
support Robertson’s conviction. Musacchio, 577 U.S. at 243
(“On sufficiency review, a reviewing court makes a limited
inquiry tailored to ensure that a defendant receives the
minimum that due process requires . . . .”). We start by
determining the meaning of “corruptly” and then assess
whether the evidence presented at Robertson’s trial was
sufficient to prove that element.

2.

In defining “corruptly,” we do not write on a clean slate.
Both the Supreme Court and this court have examined the
meaning of “corruptly” in statutes that address obstructive

2
Although Hillie is arguably distinguishable from the case at bar
because the instructional error in that case was preserved with a
specific objection, Hillie, 39 F.4th at 679–80, the government does
not make that distinction and does not request a different standard of
review from that applied in Hillie.
 14
behavior. See Arthur Andersen, 544 U.S. at 704–07 (analyzing
18 U.S.C. § 1512(b)(2)(A) and (B), which prohibits
“knowingly . . . corruptly persuad[ing] another” to withhold,
alter, or conceal evidence for use in an official proceeding);
United States v. North, 910 F.2d 843, 881 (D.C. Cir. 1990),
opinion withdrawn and superseded on other grounds on reh’g,
920 F.2d 940 (D.C. Cir. 1990) (analyzing 18 U.S.C. § 1505,
which prohibits “corruptly . . . influenc[ing], obstruct[ing], or
imped[ing] or endeavor[ing] to influence, obstruct, or impede”
a congressional inquiry). As in those cases, we must begin with
the statutory text. Because Congress has not defined
“corruptly” in § 1512(c)(2), we must look to the word’s
ordinary meaning. See Mohamad v. Palestinian Auth., 566
U.S. 449, 454 (2012); North, 910 F.2d at 881; Arthur Andersen,
544 U.S. at 705.

The Supreme Court noted in Arthur Andersen that the
“natural meaning” of “corruptly” is “clear”: The word is
“normally associated with wrongful, immoral, depraved, or
evil.” Arthur Andersen, 544 U.S. at 705. Similarly, we stated
in North that “‘corruptly’ is the adverbial form of the adjective
‘corrupt,’ which means ‘depraved, evil: perverted into a state
of moral weakness or wickedness.’” North, 910 F.2d at 881
(quoting Corrupt, Webster’s Third New International
Dictionary 512 (1976)). Those cases provide guidance on how
to apply the ordinary meaning of “corruptly” in statutory
interpretation. Arthur Andersen, 544 U.S. at 705 (the “natural
meaning” of “corruptly” “provides a clear answer” for how it
should be applied in the statute); North, 910 F.2d at 882, 884
(“corruptly” is to be understood according to its “common
meaning[]”).

In Arthur Andersen, the Supreme Court reviewed the jury
instructions for an obstruction charge arising from conduct that
could have been either an ordinary business practice or
 15
criminal obstruction: document shredding. 544 U.S. at 703–
08. In that case, the Court reversed the conviction of
accounting firm Arthur Andersen LLP under 18 U.S.C.
§ 1512(b) for instructing its employees to destroy documents
of its client, the Enron Corporation, in advance of a
government investigation. Id. at 698–702. The Court
recognized that instructing employees to shred documents
pursuant to a corporate document-retention policy was not
necessarily criminal. Id. at 704. To determine whether Arthur
Andersen’s behavior was culpable, the Court looked to the
ordinary meaning of “corruptly”: “wrongful, immoral,
depraved, or evil.” Id. at 705. Then, because § 1512(b)
penalizes “knowingly . . . corruptly persuad[ing],” the Court
paired the ordinary meaning of “knowingly” with the ordinary
meaning of “corruptly” to hold that the statute required
“consciousness of wrongdoing.” Id. at 705–06. Importantly,
the Court noted that the “knowingly corruptly” element
ensured that “only those with the level of ‘culpability . . . we
usually require in order to impose criminal liability’” could be
convicted. Id. at 706 (quoting Aguilar, 515 U.S. at 602).

Like the Supreme Court, we have relied on the ordinary
meaning of “corruptly.” In North, we reviewed a conviction
under 18 U.S.C. § 1505 for aiding and abetting an endeavor to
obstruct the congressional investigation of the Iran/Contra
affair. 910 F.2d at 851–52. The defendant argued that his
obstructive actions were authorized by his superiors, and that
he therefore did not act “corruptly.” Id. at 878. Interpreting
“corruptly” as used in § 1505, we recognized that ordinary
meanings of the word include “depraved, evil: perverted into a
state of moral weakness or wickedness.” Id. at 881. We held
that the defendant was “entitled only . . . to a jury that applied
‘corruptly’ according to its usual definitions” or “common
meaning[].” Id. at 882, 884. We recognized, however, that
proof of “corrupt” intent or action may vary depending on
 16
circumstances. We noted that several courts of appeal
reviewing convictions under § 1503 — which prohibits corrupt
obstruction of the “due administration of justice” — have said
that “the word ‘corruptly’ means nothing more than an intent
to obstruct the proceeding,” because there are “very few non-
corrupt ways to or reasons for intentionally obstructing a
judicial proceeding.” Id. at 882. In other words, knowingly
obstructing a judicial proceeding — such as by destroying
evidence or threatening jurors — may be viewed as inherently
corrupt. Id.; see also United States v. Fischer, 64 F.4th 329,
355 (D.C. Cir. 2023) (Walker, J., concurring in part and
concurring in the judgment); id. at 373 (Katsas, J., dissenting).
By contrast, “to assert that all endeavors to influence, obstruct
or impede the proceedings of congressional committees are, as
a matter of law, corrupt [] would undoubtedly criminalize some
innocent behavior.” North, 910 F.2d at 882. That is because
“congressional committees are part and parcel of a political
branch of government” that is engaged in making legislative
and policy choices. Id. It is thus commonplace for people —
such as lobbyists, protesters, and constituents — to lawfully
“attempt, in innumerable ways, to obstruct or impede
congressional committees.” Id.3

3
Our dissenting colleague errs in asserting that we “expressly
rejected” defining “corruptly” according to its ordinary meaning and
dictionary definition in United States v. Poindexter, 951 F.2d 369
(D.C. Cir. 1991). Dissenting Op. 28. We held in that case that the
term “corruptly” as used in 18 U.S.C. § 1505 was vague as applied
to Poindexter’s alleged conduct — lying to Congress. Poindexter,
951 F.2d at 379 (“As used in § 1505, . . . we find that the term
‘corruptly’ is too vague to provide constitutionally adequate notice
that it prohibits lying to the Congress.”). But we expressly declined
to conclude that “the ambiguity of the term ‘corruptly’ in § 1505
renders that term unconstitutionally vague as applied to all conduct.”
Id. at 385. Because Poindexter’s holding focused on whether § 1505
 17
Arthur Andersen and North show that the type of
proceeding and the nature of a defendant’s conduct matter. In
contexts where obstructive actions are not inherently corrupt,
the requirement to act “corruptly” separates innocent from
illegal behavior. See Arthur Andersen, 544 U.S. at 706. The
“corruptly” element protects non-culpable conduct — such as
a corporation following a document retention policy for routine
reasons, id. at 704, or lobbyists and protestors exercising their
rights to influence a congressional committee hearing, North,
910 F.2d at 882 — from being swept up by the statute’s broad
prohibition on “obstructing, influencing or impeding an official
proceeding.” Those cases confirm, moreover, that the
requirement that a defendant act “corruptly” is met by
establishing that the defendant acted with a corrupt purpose or
via independently corrupt means. Id.; see id. at 942–43
(Silberman, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part) (“[T]o
say that someone corruptly endeavors to obstruct an inquiry
might mean (1) that he does so with a corrupt purpose, or
(2) that he does so by independently corrupt means, or (3)
both.”).

North suggests that where an individual “chooses the
illegal or dubious course” to obstruct a congressional
proceeding when a lawful means was available, no further
showing of “corrupt motive” is required beyond his intent to
commit the illegal, obstructive act. North, 910 F.2d at 883–84
(rejecting defendant’s argument that he did not act “corruptly”
if his supervisors authorized his conduct where evidence
showed that he employed unlawful means to do their bidding);

was unconstitutionally vague as applied to the specific conduct at
issue in that case, it is not helpful in interpreting whether Robertson’s
very different conduct in obstructing the Electoral College vote
certification was sufficient to establish “corrupt” intent or action
under § 1512(c)(2).
 18
see also Aguilar, 515 U.S. at 616 (Scalia, J., concurring in part
and dissenting in part) (citing with approval a jury instruction
for 18 U.S.C. § 1503 stating that “[a]n act is done corruptly if
it’s done voluntarily and intentionally to bring about either an
unlawful result or a lawful result by some unlawful method”
(emphasis added)). In concluding that reliance on corrupt
means is appropriate, Judge Silberman reasoned in his separate
opinion in North that the “adverbial words or phrases
‘corruptly,’ ‘by threats or force,’ and ‘by any threatening letter
or communication’ [in § 1505] are equated, suggesting that
Congress meant ‘corruptly’ to refer to the means by which the
defendant endeavored to influence or impede a congressional
inquiry.” 910 F.2d at 943 (Silberman, J., concurring in part and
dissenting in part). Thus, a defendant who seeks to influence a
congressional vote by “brib[ing] the chairman of a
congressional committee can be said to have acted ‘corruptly’
no matter how laudable his underlying motive.” Id. Where a
defendant uses “independently criminal” means, the jury
“would not necessarily need to probe the morality or propriety
of the defendant’s purpose.” Id.

Where neither the obstruction itself nor the defendant’s
means of obstruction are “inherently malign,” however,
consideration of a defendant’s actions alone does not suffice.
Arthur Andersen, 544 U.S. at 704. In that circumstance, a jury
must find that the defendant acted with a “corrupt” purpose —
in other words, a purpose that was “depraved, evil, or
wrongful.” See North, 910 F.2d at 942–43 (Silberman, J.,
concurring in part and dissenting in part) (“Whenever the
means used are not independently criminal, the jury cannot
avoid considering the defendant’s purpose if it is to
meaningfully determine whether the endeavor was corrupt or
evil or depraved.”). As the Supreme Court explained in Arthur
Andersen, a manager’s instruction to employees to shred
documents in compliance with an established document
 19
retention policy “under ordinary circumstances” is not corrupt,
544 U.S. at 704; but a manager who knows that the shredded
documents are relevant to a pending judicial proceeding may
act “corruptly” in giving the same instruction. Id. at 708.
Similarly, a jury considering the culpability of a lawyer who
“advise[d] his client not to testify before a congressional
committee conducting an inquiry” must consider the lawyer’s
purpose in giving that advice to “meaningfully determine
whether the endeavor was corrupt or evil or depraved.” See
North, 910 F.2d at 943 (Silberman, J., concurring in part and
dissenting in part). “The obstruction would not be corrupt if
his purpose were solely to protect his client from possible legal
difficulties.” Id. “But it might well be corrupt if the lawyer’s
purpose were to prevent the client from divulging information
that would implicate the lawyer.” Id. Thus, under
circumstances where a defendant’s conduct is not inherently
corrupt nor his means independently wrongful, “corruptly” can
be proved by examining the defendant’s purpose.

North and Arthur Andersen confirm that there are multiple
ways to prove that a defendant acted “corruptly.” Those cases
provide examples of how corrupt intent or action may be
established and demonstrate that “corruptly” need not be
proved in the same way in every case. See North, 910 F.2d at
883 (declining to adopt a rule that a defendant must have a
“corrupt motive” to act “corruptly” because, “[j]ust as . . . there
are myriad ways of ‘impeding’ or ‘obstructing’ congressional
investigations that are not in themselves corrupt; so are there
equally corrupt ways of impeding or obstructing Congress that
do not proceed from corrupt motives”). Thus, “choos[ing] the
illegal or dubious course” to obstruct a congressional
proceeding can suffice to establish that a defendant acted
corruptly. Id. at 887. Alternatively, a defendant’s purpose may
prove to be “corrupt” where, as in the hypothetical of the
lawyer who convinces his client not to testify against him, the
 20
defendant “attempt[s] to secure some advantage for himself . . .
that was . . . not in accordance with [his] legal rights.” Id. at
944 (Silberman, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part).
Or one might establish a defendant’s corrupt intent by proving
that he acted “dishonestly” in “persuad[ing] another to
withhold information from the Government,” or that he
committed obstructive acts with “consciousness of
wrongdoing.” Arthur Andersen, 544 U.S. at 704, 706–07. As
Congress has recognized in a related context, “the variety of
corrupt methods by which the proper administration of justice
may be impeded or thwarted . . . [is] limited only by the
imagination of the criminally inclined.” Poindexter, 951 F.2d
at 382 (quoting S. Rep. No. 97-532, at 18 (1982)); see also S.
Rep. No. 97-532, at 18 (1982) (noting that the “obstruction of
justice statute,” i.e., what became 18 U.S.C. § 1505, “is an
outgrowth of Congressional recognition of [a] variety of
corrupt methods” (quoting Catrino v. United States, 176 F.2d
884, 887 (9th Cir. 1949))). Congress and the courts have,
accordingly, both recognized that “corruptly” in obstruction
statutes can be proved in a variety of ways.

3.

For present purposes, we need only identify one way in
which the evidence at trial could have supported a finding that
Robertson acted “corruptly” when he obstructed, impeded, or
influenced the Electoral College vote certification. That is
because his claim on appeal challenges only the sufficiency of
the evidence, and evaluating such a claim requires us to make
only a “limited inquiry.” Musacchio, 577 U.S. at 243. In our
view, the district court correctly instructed the jury, in relevant
part, that one way to prove that a defendant acted “corruptly”
 21
is to demonstrate that he “obstruct[ed] or impede[d] . . . by
engaging in other independently unlawful conduct.” S.A. 203.

That part of the district court’s instruction falls squarely
within our holding in North that a defendant acts “corruptly”
when he “chooses the illegal or dubious course when other
legal action” is possible. North, 910 F.2d at 883; id. at 942–43
(Silberman, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part).
Moreover, courts that have construed “corruptly” in 18 U.S.C.
§ 1512 and in similar obstruction statutes have often focused
on equating “corruption” with “wrongfulness.” See, e.g.,
Arthur Andersen, 544 U.S. at 705–06 (defining corruption as
“wrongdoing” under § 1512(b)(2)(A) and (B)).4 In this
context, “wrongful” can mean “[a]n act taken in violation of a
legal duty,” i.e., unlawful. Wrongful Conduct, Black’s Law
Dictionary (7th ed. 1999); see also Unlawful, Black’s Law
Dictionary (7th ed. 1999) (“Not authorized by law; illegal.”);
Matthews, 505 F.3d at 706 (explaining that “wrongfully”
means acting without “legal right,” such as the right to avoid

4
See also North, 910 F.2d at 942 (Silberman, J., concurring in
part and dissenting in part) (interpreting “corruptly” as “depraved,
evil, or wrongful” under 18 U.S.C. § 1505); United States v. Farrell,
921 F.3d 116, 141 (4th Cir. 2019) (“To act ‘corruptly’ [under
§ 1512(c)(2)] means to act wrongfully.”); United States v.
Volpendesto, 746 F.3d 273, 286 (7th Cir. 2014) (defining “corruptly”
under § 1512(c)(2) as acting “with a wrongful purpose”); United
States v. Mann, 701 F.3d 274, 307 (8th Cir. 2012) (upholding
convictions under § 1512(c)(1), (c)(2), and (k) where “the jury was
instructed that ‘corruptly’ means to act with ‘consciousness of
wrongdoing’”); United States v. Matthews, 505 F.3d 698, 705–07
(7th Cir. 2007) (approving jury instruction defining “corruptly”
under § 1512(c)(1) “as acting ‘with the purpose of wrongfully
impeding the due administration of justice’” (quoting Seventh
Circuit Pattern Criminal Federal Jury Instructions for 18 U.S.C.
§ 1503 (1999))).
 22
self-incrimination); United States v. Davis, 183 F.3d 231, 250
(3d Cir. 1999) (determining that a defendant could be
convicted of corrupt persuasion in violation of § 1512(b)
because he persuaded another to “violate his legal duty”),
amended, 197 F.3d 662 (3d Cir. 1999); United States v. Ogle,
613 F.2d 233, 238 (10th Cir. 1979) (explaining that “corruptly”
as used in 18 U.S.C. § 1503 “really means unlawful”). There
is thus ample precedent for treating acting unlawfully as acting
“corruptly.”

Accordingly, the district court correctly informed the jury
that it could find that Robertson acted “corruptly” if the
government proved that he “use[d] [independently] unlawful
means” when he obstructed, impeded, or influenced the
Electoral College vote certification. S.A. 203. Defining
“corruptly” as “wrongfully” — and treating independently
unlawful conduct as “wrongful” — provides an objective
measure of culpable conduct that is straightforward to apply:
A court or a jury can easily determine whether the evidence
shows that a defendant took unlawful action to obstruct,
impede, or influence the proceeding. See North, 910 F.2d at
943 (Silberman, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part).
Although words like “immoral, depraved, or evil” may also
accurately convey what it means to be “corrupt,” see Arthur
Andersen, 544 U.S. at 705; North, 910 F.2d at 881, “wrongful”
captures the “core” meaning of “corrupt” intent or action and
readily describes Robertson’s conduct. See Poindexter, 951
F.2d at 385 (noting that defining “corruptly” as prompting the
“violat[ion] [of] a legal duty . . . may be useful as a description
of the ‘core’ behavior to which [18 U.S.C. § 1505] may
constitutionally be applied”).

In sum, the ordinary meaning of the word “corruptly” in
18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2) encompasses acting through
 23
independently unlawful means –– just as the district court
instructed the jury.5
4.

The evidence presented at Robertson’s trial was
undoubtedly sufficient to prove that he acted “corruptly.” We
must consider that evidence “in the light most favorable to the
government.” Shi, 991 F.3d at 205. And we undertake this
review mindful of the “tremendous deference” owed to a jury
verdict. Long, 905 F.2d at 1576.

Before January 6, Robertson declared his intention to join
a “counterinsurgency” and to participate in an “open armed
rebellion.” S.A. 112, 190. To accomplish that end, Robertson
broke the law in multiple ways. He used a stick to hit a police
officer and to swipe at another. Wielding that stick as a show
of force and intimidation, he joined the “out of hand” crowd
surging into the Capitol building despite the blaring of alarms
and warnings by police officers that the area was restricted. Id.
at 83, 85, 121, 140, 142. Once inside the Capitol, he beat his
stick on the floor while other rioters chanted. The riot, which

5
We note that the district court’s instruction required the jury to
find that Robertson acted with “consciousness of wrongdoing,” in
addition to finding that he acted with an unlawful purpose or through
independently unlawful means. S.A. 203. That “consciousness of
wrongdoing” standard originated with Arthur Andersen’s
interpretation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(b), which makes it a crime for a
defendant to “knowingly . . . corruptly persuade[]” another to
obstruct an investigation. See Arthur Andersen, 544 U.S. at 704–06.
Because § 1512(c)(2) does not contain a “knowingly corrupt”
requirement, it is not apparent that “consciousness of wrongdoing”
must be proved in this context. Nevertheless, the jury necessarily
found that the evidence met that standard when it convicted
Robertson; and showing “consciousness of wrongdoing” may itself
suffice to prove corrupt intent. See id. at 706–07.
 24
Robertson enthusiastically joined, forced both houses of
Congress to suspend the Electoral College vote certification for
six to seven hours. That evidence amply supported the jury’s
finding that Robertson committed two felony offenses to
obstruct the vote certification: i.e., remaining in a restricted
building or grounds without lawful authority, and disorderly
conduct at the Capitol, both with a deadly or dangerous
weapon. See 18 U.S.C. § 1752(a)(1), (a)(2), (b)(1)(A). In
other words, a jury could easily find that Robertson acted
“corruptly” by using independently unlawful, felonious means
with the intent to obstruct, influence, or impede the electoral-
vote certification.6

Applying the “corruptly” element of the statute in this case
is “rather simple” because Robertson took action to obstruct
Congress by force. Cf. North, 910 F.2d at 940 (Silberman, J.,
concurring in part and dissenting in part) (interpreting 18
U.S.C. § 1505). Using force to obstruct, influence, or impede
a congressional proceeding is plainly wrongful and therefore
corrupt. Thus, this case does not present a close question of
culpability. Robertson did not argue, for example, that he was
a mere protestor exercising his First Amendment right to
peacefully disagree with the outcome of the presidential
election. The evidence established that Robertson was part of
a mob that sought to overturn the result of the election by force,
and that he used a dangerous weapon to impede the Electoral
College vote certification. Where a defendant acts feloniously
to obstruct a proceeding before the Congress, with no evidence
or argument that he was merely engaged in peaceful
6
Robertson and our dissenting colleague argue that relying on
independently unlawful conduct to prove the “corruptly” element is
the equivalent of requiring proof of a predicate offense that is not
listed in the statute. But that is not so. We hold only that proof of
independently felonious means is a sufficient way to establish
corrupt intent or conduct.
 25
expression, his culpability –– i.e., the “corruptness” of his
actions –– is not difficult to discern.

We emphasize that Robertson’s independently wrongful
conduct was felonious because his resort to felonious means
unquestionably suffices to establish his culpability. Whether
§ 1512(c)(2) applies to defendants who obstruct Congress by
means of only “minor advocacy, lobbying, and protest
offenses,” Fischer, 64 F.4th at 380 (Katsas, J., dissenting), or
by “non-criminal tortious activity,” Opening Br. 15, is beyond
the scope of our “limited” review and should be decided in a
case that requires resolution of that question. See Musacchio,
577 U.S. at 243. Here, we have no trouble rejecting
Robertson’s specific claim that the evidence was insufficient to
support a finding that he acted “corruptly” when he participated
in the Capitol riot. A jury could find that he used independently
felonious means to obstruct a congressional proceeding, which
falls within the core meaning of “corruptly.” See Poindexter,
951 F.2d at 385.7

5.

Robertson advocates a definition of “corruptly” that he
claims is the sole and exclusive meaning of that term: He
asserts that the only way to satisfy the element of “corrupt”
intent under 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c) is to establish “an act
dishonestly done,” Opening Br. 21, “with a hope or expectation
of either financial gain or other benefit to oneself or a benefit
[to] another person,” id. (quoting Aguilar, 515 U.S. at 616–17
7
Robertson has not renewed on appeal his argument before the
district court that “corruptly” is unconstitutionally vague because it
has no definite meaning. He apparently recognizes the uphill battle
a vagueness challenge would face in light of his use of wrongful —
indeed, felonious — means with the intent to obstruct an official
proceeding.
 26
(Scalia, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part)).
According to Robertson, a defendant must act in that particular
way and with that particular purpose in order to behave
“corruptly,” and such a limited definition is necessary to
appropriately constrain § 1512(c)(2)’s otherwise overly
expansive scope. Robertson’s attempt to limit “corruptly” to
his preferred, single meaning is wholly unconvincing: It finds
no support in the statute and is contrary to precedent.

The asserted exclusivity of Robertson’s definition of
“corruptly” is at odds with the view of that term taken by the
Supreme Court, this court, and Congress. See supra Section
II.A.2. Moreover, the two requirements espoused by
Robertson are not mandated by the ordinary meaning of
“corruptly” or any other relevant text in the statute. The word
“dishonestly” is not included in 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2), or in
the dictionary definition of “corruptly.” See Arthur Andersen,
544 U.S. at 705–06; Corruptly, Black’s Law Dictionary (7th
ed. 1999). Likewise, the “hope or expectation of a benefit” is
absent from the statute’s text and not required by its plain
meaning. See 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c). Robertson’s proposed
definition cannot be the exclusive way to construe “corruptly,”
as he insists, when his definition does not even reflect the
ordinary meaning of the word. Indeed, Robertson’s reading of
“corruptly” conflicts with our decision in North. We held that
even if North could show that he lacked a corrupt motive
(because he was just following orders), a jury could find that
he acted “corruptly” because he chose illegal means over
available lawful ones to carry out the instructions of his
superiors. See 901 F.2d at 883–84. In other words, where
criminal means are employed, no proof of corrupt purpose is
necessary. That holding precludes Robertson’s position that a
particular purpose –– seeking a benefit for oneself or another
— is invariably required to prove “corruptly.”
 27
The broader statutory context also undermines
Robertson’s position. As we have discussed, “corruptly”
encompasses multiple ways of acting with corrupt purpose or
corrupt means. See supra Section II.A.2. Robertson seems to
acknowledge as much in his supplemental brief, and he
requested a jury instruction stating that “[t]o act ‘corruptly,’ the
defendant must use unlawful means or have a wrongful or an
unlawful purpose, or both.” S.A. 35 (emphases added). Yet
his current definition of “corruptly” focuses only on a
particular type of corrupt means and purpose — acting
dishonestly with the hope or expectation of gaining a benefit
for oneself or another — while reading the statute to preclude
other common ways of behaving “corruptly.”

Nor do precedents support Robertson’s limited and
exclusive interpretation of “corruptly.” With respect to the
asserted requirement of dishonesty, he relies on Arthur
Andersen. In that case, the Supreme Court faulted the trial
judge for removing from the proposed jury instructions the
requirement that the defendant acted “dishonestly” –– but only
because that deletion relieved the government of its obligation
to prove any culpable state of mind and thereby “diluted the
meaning of ‘corruptly’ so that it covered innocent conduct.”
Arthur Andersen, 544 U.S. at 706–07. We do not read Arthur
Andersen to require proof of “dishonesty” in every case in
which “corruptly” is an element.

As for the asserted requirement that the defendant have a
“hope or expectation” of a “benefit,” Robertson and our
dissenting colleague cite two sources: (1) Judge Walker’s
concurring opinion in United States v. Fischer, which asserted
that “corruptly” means acting “with an intent to procure an
unlawful benefit either for [one]self or for some other person,”
Fischer, 64 F.4th at 352, 357 (Walker, J., concurring in part
and concurring in the judgment) (quoting Marinello v. United
 28
States, 138 S. Ct. 1101, 1114 (2018) (Thomas, J., dissenting));
see also Dissenting Op. 11; and (2) Justice Scalia’s partial
dissent in Aguilar, which approved of a jury instruction
defining “corruptly” under 18 U.S.C. § 1503 as an act done
“with a hope or expectation of either financial gain or other
benefit to oneself or a benefit of another person.” Aguilar, 515
U.S. at 616–17 (Scalia, J., concurring in part and dissenting in
part); see Def.’s Suppl. Br. 9.

Both Judge Walker and Justice Scalia characterized the
expectation-of-benefit formulation of “corruptly” as
“longstanding,” and Judge Walker reasoned in Fischer that
Congress must have intended “corruptly” as used in § 1512(c)
to incorporate that meaning because it is well-established.
Fischer, 64 F.4th at 352–53, 356–57 (Walker, J., concurring in
part and concurring in the judgment). But Judge Walker relied
primarily on a dissent in Marinello to support his claim of
“longstanding” authority, id. at 352; and Justice Scalia also was
in the minority in Aguilar — his opinion was joined by only
two other justices, Aguilar, 515 U.S. at 609 (Scalia, J.,
concurring in part and dissenting in part). No majority of the
Supreme Court has adopted the “expectation-of-benefit”
requirement when defining “corruptly” in an obstruction case.

In actuality, the expectation-of-benefit requirement is not
“longstanding” at all in the context of obstruction statutes:
Instead, its use has been almost exclusively confined to bribery
and tax law. See Fischer, 64 F.4th at 381 (Katsas, J.,
dissenting) (“The concurrence’s approach thus requires
transplanting into section 1512(c)(2) an interpretation of
corruptly that appears to have been used so far only in tax law.”
(emphasis in original)); see also United States v. Lonich, 23
F.4th 881, 902–03 (9th Cir. 2022) (noting similar interpretation
in bribery statutes); United States v. Floyd, 740 F.3d 22, 31 (1st
Cir. 2014) (“[T]here is a consensus among the courts of appeals
 29
that ‘corruptly,’ as used in section 7212(a) [prohibiting
obstruction of the administration of the tax code], means acting
with an intent to procure an unlawful benefit either for the actor
or for some other person.”). Thus, the purportedly
“longstanding” definition of “corruptly” would come as a
surprise to every sister circuit to previously consider the
meaning of that term in § 1512(c)(2). See United States v.
Bedoy, 827 F.3d 495, 510 (5th Cir. 2016); United States v.
Delgado, 984 F.3d 435, 452 (5th Cir. 2021); Lonich, 23 F.4th
at 906; United States v. Ahrensfield, 698 F.3d 1310, 1324–25
(10th Cir. 2012); United States v. Gordon, 710 F.3d 1124,
1148–49 (10th Cir. 2013); United States v. Mintmire, 507 F.3d
1273, 1289 (11th Cir. 2007); United States v. Friske, 640 F.3d
1288, 1291 (11th Cir. 2011); see also Matthews, 505 F.3d at
705 (interpreting “corruptly” in § 1512(c)(1)). Even the Tenth
Circuit, which recognized the benefit-focused definition in a
case involving a different obstruction statute, Ogle, 613 F.2d at
238, has approved definitions of “corruptly” without the
benefit requirement in later cases See United States v.
Erickson, 561 F.3d 1150, 1159 (10th Cir. 2009) (interpreting
§ 1503); see also Ahrensfield, 698 F.3d at 1325 (interpreting
§ 1512(c)(2)); Gordon, 710 F.3d at 1148 (interpreting
§ 1512(c)(2)). We see no basis to create a split with those
circuits, particularly on sufficiency review when the culpability
of Robertson’s conduct is obvious.8

8
The dissent erroneously asserts that our interpretation is in
“outright conflict” with some of the cited authorities from other
jurisdictions. Dissenting Op. 19 n.10. The dissent notes that none
of those authorities adopts an “independently unlawful means”
requirement. Id. Nor do we impose such a requirement. Instead, we
recognize that proof of independently unlawful means can suffice to
establish “corrupt” intent or action. By the same token, in cases
charging that conduct was corrupt because it was dishonest, proof of
 30
The Fischer concurrence argued that its narrow view of
“corruptly” must be exclusive to “ensure[] that [§ 1512(c)(2)]
does not have a breathtaking scope.” Fischer, 64 F.4th at 352,
360–61, 362 n.10 (Walker, J., concurring in part and
concurring in the judgment); see also Opening Br. 15–16;
Reply Br. 8–9. But, as discussed, the “corruptly” element
works to separate culpable conduct from innocent behavior,
even without the additional requirement advocated by the
Fischer concurrence. See supra Section II.A.2. The element
of “corrupt” intent or action, as we construe it, protects the right
of peaceful advocacy and protest –– i.e., the legitimate efforts
of lobbyists and protestors to influence policymaking or to
express political views do not fit the ordinary meaning of
“corruptly.” See North, 910 F.2d at 882. That is so even in the
case of protestors who passionately, but lawfully, voice
displeasure, suspicion, or outrage over election results. In any
event, the potential breadth of a statute is not alone a reason to
depart from its ordinary meaning. Even Justice Scalia’s partial
dissent in Aguilar, on which Robertson and the Fischer
concurrence both rely, opposed “importing extratextual
requirements in order to limit the reach of a federal criminal
statute.” Aguilar, 515 U.S at 612 (Scalia, J., concurring in part
and dissenting in part) (emphasis in original).

We note, too, that concerns about constraining lobbying
and advocacy are not implicated in January 6 cases because the
electoral-vote certification by Congress is not a policymaking
exercise open to “political jousting,” see North, 910 F.2d at
882. Instead, it is a constitutionally scripted transition of
presidential power, with an outcome determined by the results
of a presidential election. Fischer, 64 F.4th at 342-43; 3 U.S.C.

dishonesty can also suffice. The cited authorities are consistent with
our view that there are many ways to prove “corruptly.” See supra
Section II.A.2.
 31
§ 15 (2018), amended by 136 Stat. 4459, 5238 (2022). The
purpose of the proceeding is to present and count the
“certificates of the electoral votes” duly submitted by each
state. 3 U.S.C. § 15 (2018), amended by 136 Stat. 4459, 5238
(2022). After the votes are “ascertained and counted,” the Vice
President, as President of the Senate, “announce[s] the state of
the vote, which announcement shall be deemed a sufficient
declaration of the persons, if any, elected President and Vice
President of the United States.” Id. Although members of
Congress may object to a state’s certificates, see id., Robertson
does not argue that his conduct on January 6, 2021, was a
peaceful effort to convince members of Congress to raise
objections to the vote certification.

The interpretations of “corruptly” posited by Robertson
and the Fischer concurrence appear to confuse sufficiency with
necessity: Their proposed definitions of “corruptly” may be
sufficient to prove corrupt intent, but neither dishonesty nor
seeking a benefit for oneself or another is necessary to
demonstrate “wrongful, immoral, depraved, or evil” behavior
within the meaning of § 1512(c). See supra Section II.A.2
(explaining that corrupt intent may be proved in many ways).
Acting “dishonestly” would be consistent with the ordinary
meaning of acting “corruptly.” See United States v.
Richardson, 676 F.3d 491, 507–08 (5th Cir. 2012). Likewise,
a defendant’s obstructive conduct may often seek to secure an
unlawful benefit for himself or another, such as preventing
negative testimony at a trial. See United States v. Edlind, 887
F.3d 166, 172–76 (4th Cir. 2018). But Robertson has not
persuaded us that all the courts that have heretofore defined
“corruptly” without the “benefit” element — i.e., in virtually
all previous cases not involving bribery or tax offenses — were
wrong.
 32
For all the foregoing reasons, we decline to adopt the
limited constructions of “corruptly” proffered by Robertson
and the Fischer concurrence, which each insist that the broad
concept of “corrupt” intent must be proved in only one way.
To the extent that Robertson seeks reversal of his conviction
under § 1512(c)(2), we also note that the Fischer concurrence
does not appear to help him. Although the Fischer concurrence
favored a definition of “corruptly” that required proof of the
defendant’s intent to procure a benefit for himself or another,
it applied that standard to support the prosecution of January 6
defendants who, like Robertson, “used illegal means (like
assaulting police officers) with the intent to procure a benefit
(the presidency) for another person (Donald Trump).” Fischer,
64 F.4th at 361 (Walker, J., concurring in part and concurring
in the judgment).

6.

We respectfully disagree with our dissenting colleague,
who asserts that the record evidence was insufficient to support
Robertson’s conviction under § 1512(c)(2) and that Judge
Walker’s concurrence in United States v. Fischer is binding on
us. See 64 F.4 351 (Walker, J., concurring in part and
concurring in the judgment).

i.

The dissent contends that the concurring opinion in
Fischer is binding precedent that we must follow. See
Dissenting Op. 1, 12–14. That contention is based on the
erroneous belief that “[t]he definition of ‘corruptly’ endorsed
by Judge Walker . . . was necessary to create a holding.” Id. at
13. The only holding in Fischer was the majority’s ruling
reversing the district court’s erroneous interpretation of a
different part of the statute — the “otherwise obstructs” clause.
 33
In Fischer, we reversed the district court’s decision to
dismiss the § 1512(c)(2) charges in the defendants’ indictments
and remanded the cases for further proceedings. 64 F.4th at
350. The district court’s dismissal order was narrow: It rested
solely on the conclusion that § 1512(c)(2) “requires that the
defendant have taken some action with respect to a document,
record, or other object.” United States v. Miller, 589 F. Supp.
3d 60, 78 (D.D.C. 2022). We disagreed, holding that
“otherwise . . . obstruct[ing], influenc[ing] or imped[ing]” an
official proceeding under § 1512(c)(2) covers “all forms of
corrupt obstruction of an official proceeding.” Fischer, 64
F.4th at 336. We also determined that the certification of the
Electoral College vote by Congress is an “official proceeding”
under the statute. Id. at 342–43. We did not resolve the
question at issue in this case: How to define and apply
“corruptly” within the meaning of the statute.

The district court in Fischer had expressly declined to
address the meaning of “corruptly” in § 1512(c)(2). United
States v. Miller, 605 F. Supp. 3d 63, 70 n.3 (D.D.C. 2022).
Thus, the briefing in the Fischer appeal considered the role of
“corruptly” only as context for interpreting the words
“otherwise . . . obstructs, influences, or impedes,” which was
the issue before us. In arguing for a broader interpretation of
“otherwise obstructs,” the government asserted that the
statute’s reach was constrained by the “corruptly” element,
which requires proof that the defendant “intended to obstruct”
an official proceeding, took actions “the natural and probable
effect of which” was to obstruct, and did so “with a corrupt
purpose or through independently corrupt means, or
both.” U.S. Br. 50–51, Fischer, 64 F.4th 329 (22-3038)
(cleaned up). The defendants responded that the term
“corruptly” is unconstitutionally vague, Appellee Br. 32–36,
Fischer, 64 F.4th 329 (22-3038), so would not cure “the
uncertainty surrounding which acts are criminal,” id. at
 34
36. Thus, the parties only tangentially addressed the meaning
of “corruptly” in their briefs.

Our holding in Fischer was that the district court
erroneously dismissed the defendants’ § 1512(c)(2) counts
based on its interpretation of “otherwise obstructs”; we did not
decide whether the § 1512(c)(2) charge was otherwise properly
pled, including as to the “corruptly” element. A holding of
error as to a district court’s sole ground for dismissing an
indictment does not affirmatively establish the indictment’s
validity in all other respects. Cf. Dissenting Op. 13 n.8.
Rather, our conclusion that the district court erred in its
interpretation of “otherwise obstructs” left room for the
defendants to raise other challenges to the statute on remand —
including any claims regarding “corruptly.” Nothing in the
Fischer opinion prevented the district court from entertaining
such a claim on remand.

Robertson and the government agree that the three
separate opinions in Fischer produced no holding on the
meaning of “corruptly.” Def.’s Suppl. Br. 1; Gov’t’s Suppl.
Br. 1. The lead Fischer opinion saw no need to settle on a
statutory interpretation of that term, 64 F.4th at 339–42, nor did
Judge Katsas in dissent, id. at 382. Only Judge Walker,
concurring in part and concurring in the judgment, presented
his view of how “corruptly” in § 1512(c)(2) should be defined.
His discussion on that point was dicta.

Judge Walker agreed with Judge Pan that the district court
erred in dismissing the indictments for failure to sufficiently
allege that the defendants “otherwise . . . obstruct[ed],
influence[d] or impede[d]” an official proceeding. He noted
that, “[i]f proven at trial, the Defendants’ efforts to stop
Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential
election are the kind of ‘obstructive conduct’ proscribed by
 35
(c)(2).” 64 F.4th at 351 (Walker, J., concurring in the lead
opinion’s interpretation of “otherwise obstructs” in
§ 1512(c)(2) and concurring in the judgment) (cleaned up). He
went on to explain his view that the statutory requirement that
obstruction be undertaken “corruptly” requires proof that the
defendant acted “with an intent to procure an unlawful benefit
either for himself or for some other person.” Id. at 352
(quoting Marinello, 138 S. Ct. at 1114 (Thomas, J.,
dissenting)).

Judge Walker suggested that his interpretation of
“corruptly” might be binding on the court, emphasizing its
importance to him in his decision to embrace the broader
reading of “otherwise obstructs.” Fischer, 64 F.4th at 362 n.10
(Walker, J., concurring in part and concurring in the
judgment). Although Judge Walker was free to forecast in his
concurrence how he would interpret “corruptly” in an appeal
requiring that it be resolved, the role his interpretation played
in his own thinking did not make it precedent that is binding on
this court. See Doe v. Fed. Democratic Republic of Ethiopia,
851 F.3d 7, 10 (D.C. Cir. 2017) (“[B]inding circuit law comes
only from the holdings of a prior panel, not from its dicta.”
(cleaned up)).

In any event, even if we assume, arguendo, that Fischer
included a holding about “corruptly,” any such holding was
limited to a conclusion that the “corruptly” element was
adequately alleged. Two members of the panel agreed on that
outcome but relied on different reasoning — a way to resolve
an appeal that is not unusual. See, e.g., W. Org. of Res.
Councils v. Zinke, 892 F.3d 1234, 1246 (D.C. Cir. 2018)
(Henderson, J., concurring) (“I do not join the portion of the
opinion that identifies alternative avenues by which the
plaintiffs might press their claim. . . . I would leave it up to a
 36
future court to decide whether the alternatives discussed are
sufficient to pursue the claim we reject in this appeal.”).

The lead opinion in Fischer determined that the facts
alleged in the indictments were sufficient to support any
definition of “corruptly,” but did not adopt a definition, i.e., the
opinion did not state what was necessary to prove corrupt
intent. See 64 F.4th at 339–41 (opinion of Pan, J.); id. at 340
(“[T]he sufficiency of the indictments in this case does not turn
on the precise definition of ‘corruptly.’”). By contrast, Judge
Walker opined in his concurrence that it was necessary to
prove that a defendant intended to procure an unlawful benefit
to establish corrupt intent, and that the allegations in the
indictments satisfied that requirement. Id. at 361–62 & 362
n.10 (Walker, J., concurring in part and concurring in the
judgment). Thus, in reversing the judgment of the trial court
dismissing the indictments, both Judge Pan and Judge Walker
agreed that the “corruptly” element — as well as the “otherwise
obstructs” element — was adequately alleged. Contrary to the
dissent’s analysis, it was not necessary for Judge Pan and Judge
Walker to adopt the same reasoning about the definition of
“corruptly” to conclude that the element was met. Although
the dissent emphasizes that “Judge Walker conditioned his vote
on one definition — the one he called the ‘long-standing
meaning’ of ‘corruptly,’” Dissenting Op. 12, Judge Walker’s
statement did not, and could not, change Judge Pan’s view of
the “corruptly” requirement, which was plainly different from
his.

Our dissenting colleague asserts that Judge Walker’s
reasoning was the narrowest holding of Fischer and therefore
is binding. Dissenting Op. 14 n.9. That characterization is
inapt because, as we have explained, there was no “holding”
about “corruptly” in Fischer. Moreover, the dissent’s logic is
drawn from the Supreme Court’s Marks rule, which this court
 37
has never adopted for the purpose of determining its own
holdings. See Fischer, 64 F.4th at 341 n.5 (opinion of Pan, J.)
(discussing Marks v. United States, 430 U.S. 188 (1977)).

In any event, even under Marks, the narrowest holding
must be the lowest common denominator, or a “subset,” of any
broader opinion’s reasoning: In that circumstance, the
narrower “subset” commands the majority needed to bind the
court and therefore can be characterized as a “holding.” Cf.
King v. Palmer, 950 F.2d 771, 781 (D.C. Cir. 1991) (en banc)
(Silberman, J., concurring) (“Marks is workable — one
opinion can be meaningfully regarded as ‘narrower’ than
another — only when one opinion is a logical subset of other,
broader opinions.”). In Fischer, where the lead opinion
reasoned that proof of options A, B, or C would be sufficient
to establish “corrupt” intent, Fischer, 64 F.4th at 339–41
(opinion of Pan, J.), and the concurrence stated that option C is
necessary to prove “corruptly,” id. at 352, 361–362 (Walker,
J., concurring in part and concurring in the judgment), the
concurrence is not a subset of the lead opinion — the two
opinions rely on rationales that do not overlap.9 Judge Pan’s
acceptance of C as sufficient but not necessary — i.e., that C
need not be proved in every case — conflicts with Judge
Walker’s insistence that C is invariably required. Thus, neither

9
By contrast, if the lead opinion had said that options A, B, and
C are necessary to prove “corruptly,” and the concurrence had said
only that C is necessary, then the concurrence would be a logical
subset of the lead opinion. Under such circumstances, a defendant’s
claim that a jury instruction was inadequate for failing to require
proof of C would support reversal because two judges agreed that C
was necessary. By contrast, if a defendant objected to instructions
failing to require A, there would be no binding law because only the
lead opinion reached such a conclusion.
 38
opinion is narrower than the other.10 The Fischer concurrence
is not a “holding” but instead reflects the opinion of a single
judge.

ii.

The dissent claims that we are bound by Judge Walker’s
view that “corruptly” in § 1512(c)(2) requires the defendant to
act with the intent of obtaining an unlawful benefit for himself
or another. See Dissenting Op. 8–15. But in applying that
standard, Judge Walker reasoned that the indictments at issue
in Fischer should be upheld, stating that “it might be enough
for the Government to prove that a defendant used illegal
means (like assaulting police officers) with the intent to
procure a benefit (the presidency) for another person (Donald
Trump).” Fischer, 64 F.4th at 361 (Walker, J., concurring in
part and concurring in the judgment). The dissent does not
explain why that reasoning, in an opinion that the dissent
believes is binding, does not dictate affirmance in this case.

Instead, the dissent contends that we must overturn the
jury’s verdict in this case because “[t]here is no evidence in the
record suggesting Robertson obstructed the election
certification proceeding in order to obtain an unlawful benefit
for himself or someone else.” Dissenting Op. 33. That is
incorrect. Robertson believed that the election was “rigged”;
announced that he refused to be “disenfranchised”; and
declared that he was “prepared to start” an “open armed

10
The dissent posits that “[a]nother way of phrasing Judge
Walker’s conclusion that C is necessary is to say that only C is
sufficient,” and that phrasing “yields a logical subset.” Dissenting
Op. 14 n.9. The dissent’s formulation makes little sense because
“necessary” and “sufficient” mean different things. There is no way
to make Judge Walker’s opinion a subset of Judge Pan’s opinion
because Judge Pan did not agree with him that C is necessary.
 39
rebellion.” S.A. 110, 190. That evidence was plainly sufficient
to support a finding that Robertson intended to secure the
unlawful benefit of installing the loser of the presidential
election, Donald J. Trump, as its winner. See Fischer, 64 F.4th
at 361 (Walker, J., concurring in part and concurring in the
judgment); see also id. at 356 n.5 (reasoning that “the
beneficiary of an unlawful benefit need not be the defendant or
his friends” and § 1512(c)(2) could apply to a defendant
“trying to secure the presidency for Donald Trump”).

To shore up its assessment of the evidence, the dissent
states in a footnote that “[t]he ‘unlawful benefit’ the defendant
seeks must be financial, professional or exculpatory.”
Dissenting Op. 34 n.18. But Judge Walker’s concurring
decision in Fischer, which the dissent believes is binding, see
id. at 1, did not endorse such a limited definition. See Fischer,
64 F.4th at 356 n.5 (Walker, J., concurring in part and
concurring in the judgment). And Judge Walker himself
emphasized that, even were the requisite “benefit” so limited,
the defendants’ conduct “may have been an attempt to help
Donald Trump unlawfully secure a professional advantage —
the presidency,” so would likely suffice. Id. The dissent’s
position, in any event, ignores the fact that it can be “corrupt”
to obstruct an official proceeding for the purpose of gaining a
personal, social, or political favor. See United States v.
Brenson, 104 F.3d 1267, 1273–81 (11th Cir. 1997) (affirming
defendant’s conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 1503 where he
disclosed details of a grand jury investigation to its target in
order to get a date with the target’s daughter).

iii.

In explaining their adoption of the expectation-of-benefit
formulation of “corruptly,” the dissent and the Fischer
concurrence rely on bribery and tax law as asserted foundations
 40
of the expectation-of-benefit requirement. See 64 F.4th at 352–
56 (Walker, J., concurring in part and concurring in the
judgment); Dissenting Op. 15–19. But both of those types of
cases are poor comparators. For a bribe to be a bribe and not
merely a payment, there must be some sort of quid pro quo,
i.e., an agreement by a public official to perform an official act
to benefit the payee. See McDonnell v. United States, 579 U.S.
550, 562–63 (2016); United States v. Gatling, 96 F.3d 1511,
1522 (D.C. Cir. 1996); Lonich, 23 F.4th at 902–07. Likewise,
it is difficult to “imagine a scenario where a taxpayer would
‘willfully’ violate the Tax Code (the mens rea requirement of
various tax crimes, including misdemeanors) without intending
someone to obtain an unlawful advantage.” Marinello, 138 S.
Ct. at 1108. Thus, in bribery and tax cases, the expectation of
a benefit is inherent in the crime in a way that it is not in the
obstruction context. Unlike in tax and bribery cases, there are
many corrupt ways or reasons for a defendant to obstruct an
official proceeding that do not involve seeking to obtain an
unlawful advantage for himself or another. Moreover, for a
person who attempts to influence a congressional proceeding,
the intent to procure a benefit — e.g., a change of policy —
may be entirely lawful. Thus, requiring proof of a benefit
would not protect the innocent lobbying or advocacy that
concerns the dissent. We therefore see no apparent reason to
import the expectation-of-benefit requirement into the
obstruction context, and we discern no justification for making
such a requirement the exclusive way to prove corrupt intent.

We also reject the assertion by the dissent and the Fischer
concurrence that the common-law history of bribery
determines the meaning of “corruptly” in this obstruction
statute. Our court has previously traced the historical
provenance of a related obstruction statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1505,
to an 1831 contempt statute that punished attempts to
“corruptly, or by threats or force, endeavour to influence,
 41
intimidate, or impede any juror, witness, or officer” or to
“corruptly, or by threats or force, obstruct, or impede, or
endeavour to obstruct or impede, the due administration of
justice.” Act of Mar. 2, 1831, ch. 98, § 2, 4 Stat. 487, 488; see
Poindexter, 951 F.2d at 380 (citing Walter Nelles & Carol
Weiss King, Contempt by Publication in the United States, 28
COLUM. L. REV. 401, 430–31 (1928)); see also Felix
Frankfurter, Power of Congress over Procedure in Criminal
Contempts in ‘Inferior’ Federal Courts — A Study in
Separation of Powers, 37 HARV. L. REV. 1010, 1026–27 n.75
(1924) (recounting legislative history of Act of Mar. 2, 1831).

That predecessor contempt statute does not include any
mention of a required intent to procure a benefit. Moreover,
courts interpreting a later version of that provision, which
incorporated similar statutory language, have held that the
word “corruptly” is “capable of different meanings in different
connections,” and that requiring that obstruction be
accompanied by a promise of payment would “quite
unreasonably restrict the obvious purpose of the legislation.”
See Bosselman v. United States, 239 F. 82, 86 (2d Cir. 1917)
(“As used in this particular [contempt] statute, we think any
endeavor to impede and obstruct the due administration of
justice in the inquiries specified is corrupt.”); see also United
States v. Polakoff, 121 F.2d 333, 334 (2d Cir. 1941) (“Exact
precedents appear to be lacking, but the decisions under the
[contempt] statute are illuminating in their unwillingness to
limit the court’s protection from improper obstructions.”); id.
at 335 (discussing Bosselman). Neither the dissent nor the
Fischer concurrence address contempt statutes in the history
that they recount.

The dissent raises three additional objections to our
holding that a defendant obstructs “corruptly” when he does so
by independently felonious means. First, the dissent reiterates
 42
concerns expressed by the Fischer dissent that relying on
independently unlawful means to prove “corruptly” could
inappropriately “supercharge a range of minor advocacy,
lobbying, and protest offenses into 20-year felonies.”
Dissenting Op. 30, 32 (quoting Fischer, 64 F.4th at 380
(Katsas, J., dissenting)). But that is not so: Obstruction of
Congress by corrupt means is a distinct harm from that
associated with the unlawful means used to carry out the
obstruction. In any event, prosecutions seeking to demonstrate
that a defendant “corruptly” obstructed a proceeding by relying
on proof that the defendant’s means were misdemeanors or
otherwise unlawful are not before us and should be addressed
when they arise. See supra Section II.A.4.

Second, the dissent complains that our opinion responds to
such concerns by “imposing a limitation plucked from thin
air,” i.e., that we “suggest[] that the ‘unlawful-means’
requirement is satisfied only when a defendant acts through
‘independently felonious means.’” Dissenting Op. 30
(emphasis in original). The dissent is again mistaken. In
holding that felonious means are sufficient to establish
“corrupt” behavior, we do not suggest that they are always
necessary to prove the “corruptly” element.

Third, and finally, the dissent contends that our reading of
“corruptly” “strip[s] the word of any independent meaning.”
Dissenting Op. 24. That, too, is wrong. The requirement that
a defendant act via corrupt means or corrupt purpose plays the
crucial role of ensuring that § 1512(c)(2) does not penalize
innocent efforts to obstruct an official proceeding, including by
engaging in constitutionally protected expression. See supra
Section II.A.2.

For all the foregoing reasons, we respectfully disagree
with our dissenting colleague.
 43
B.

Robertson challenges his sentence, arguing that the district
court erroneously applied an 11-point increase to his offense
level based on the specific offense characteristics in U.S.S.G.
§ 2J1.2(b)(1)(B) and (b)(2). Section 2J1.2 sets forth the base
offense level and enhancements for obstruction-of-justice
crimes. Subsection (b)(1)(B) instructs that an eight-level
increase applies “[i]f the offense involved causing or
threatening to cause physical injury to a person, or property
damage, in order to obstruct the administration of justice,” id.
§ 2J1.2(b)(1)(B); and subsection (b)(2) provides that a three-
level increase is appropriate “[i]f the offense resulted in
substantial interference with the administration of justice,” id.
§ 2J1.2(b)(2).

In Robertson’s view, his conduct does not fall within either
subsection (b)(1)(B) or (b)(2) because Congress’s certification
of the Electoral College vote does not implicate the
“administration of justice.” Instead, he asserts, “administration
of justice” refers only to judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings
and related investigations, relying primarily on a district court
decision issued after his sentencing. See Opening Br. 24–28
(citing United States v. Seefried, 639 F. Supp. 3d 8, 11-19
(D.D.C. 2022)).

Although Robertson objected to the application of
subsections (b)(1)(B) and (b)(2) in the district court, he never
argued that Congress’s certification of the election was not an
“administration of justice.”11 We therefore review Robertson’s

11
Specifically, Robertson’s sentencing memorandum argued only
that the offense characteristics did not apply because “at no time did
[he] cause or threaten physical injury to a person or property,” and
because he “did nothing that increased the resources” expended by
 44
claims for plain error. See United States v. Hunter, 809 F.3d
677, 681 (D.C. Cir. 2016); United States v. Gewin, 759 F.3d
72, 78–79 (D.C. Cir. 2014). Under that standard, Robertson
bears the burden of showing “(1) that there was an error, (2)
that the error was clear or obvious, (3) that it affected [his]
substantial rights, and (4) that it seriously affected the fairness,
integrity, or public reputation of the judicial proceedings.”
United States v. Gooch, 665 F.3d 1318, 1332 (D.C. Cir. 2012);
accord Greer v. United States, 141 S. Ct. 2090, 2096–97
(2021); United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 732–35 (1993).

Robertson’s argument fails to clear the second hurdle: We
need not even decide whether the district court erred to
conclude that it is far from clear or obvious that it did so. First,
the ordinary meaning of “administration of justice” does not
necessarily exclude Congress’s certification of the Electoral
College vote under 3 U.S.C. § 15. The term “justice” is defined
as the “fair and proper administration of laws,” which may
pertain to the administration of laws by a legislative body.
Justice, Black’s Law Dictionary (7th ed. 1999); see also
Contempt, Black’s Law Dictionary (7th ed. 1999) (explaining
that contempt of a “legislature” impairs the “administration of
justice”). Moreover, Robertson cites no binding authority
limiting the administration of justice to judicial or quasi-
judicial proceedings. Thus, we cannot conclude that the district
court clearly or obviously erred when it found that Robertson’s
obstruction of the Electoral College vote also obstructed and
interfered with the “administration of justice.” In short,
Robertson fails to meet his burden to demonstrate that the

the government. S.A. 54–55. Likewise, at the sentencing hearing,
his counsel repeated that “the enhancement does not apply when the
government fails to identify any expenses in addition to the costs of
bringing the defendant to trial” and that “if we take the definition of
what ‘substantial interference’ means, that doesn’t apply here at all.”
Id. at 212, 214.
 45
district court plainly erred when it determined that the specific
offense characteristics in U.S.S.G. § 2J1.2 (b)(1)(B) and (b)(2)
apply to his conduct. See Greer, 141 S. Ct. at 2097.

* * *

For the reasons discussed, we affirm the judgment of the
district court. The evidence at trial was sufficient to support a
finding that Robertson acted “corruptly” under 18 U.S.C.
§ 1512(c)(2) by engaging in independently felonious conduct
to obstruct the certification of the Electoral College vote.
Moreover, the district court did not plainly err when it
increased Robertson’s sentencing range under the Sentencing
Guidelines based on findings that he obstructed or interfered
with the administration of justice.

So ordered.
 KAREN LECRAFT HENDERSON, Circuit Judge, dissenting:

The best laws should be constructed as to leave
as little as possible to the decision of the judge.
Aristotle*

It is not every day that a criminal appeal gives the court a
“multiple choice” of grounds on which to vacate a conviction.
I believe that Thomas Robertson’s appeal has done so. For me,
the simplest ground for vacatur can be described as “done and
dusted” because our court already decided the issue sub judice
in United States v. Fischer, 64 F.4th 329 (D.C. Cir. 2023). My
colleagues stray from that precedent and I cannot join them.
Even if Fischer did not bind us, the majority’s formulation of
the requisite mens rea—“corruptly” defined as having an
“unlawful” purpose or acting through “unlawful” means—
makes the commission of any crime “corrupt” because any
crime requires the use of unlawful means or an unlawful
purpose or both. Perhaps in attempting to define “corruptly,”
we are “faced with the task of trying to define what may be
indefinable,” as Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart once
observed regarding a different criminal statute. Jacobellis v.
Ohio, 378 U.S. 184, 197 (1964) (Stewart, J., concurring). But
as Mr. Justice Stewart also noted (regarding pornography), see
id., I know what “corruptly” does not mean. It does not mean
what the majority says it does. Accordingly, I respectfully
dissent.

I. BACKGROUND

Every four years, state-appointed “Electors,” equal to the
total number of Senators and Representatives for each state,
“vote by Ballot” for the President and the Vice President of the

*
Rhetoric, bk. I, ch. 1 (as reprinted in The Quotable
Lawyer 165 (David Shrager & Elizabeth Frost eds., 1986)).
 2
United States. U.S. Const. art. II, § 1. After voting in their
respective states, the electors sign, seal and forward their votes
to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate, “in
the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives,” then
counts the votes. Id. amend. XII. “The person having the
greatest number of votes for President, shall be the
President . . . .” Id. The certification proceeding occurs “on the
sixth day of January” following the presidential election. 3
U.S.C. § 15.

On January 6, 2021, as the certification of the electoral
vote progressed, hundreds of people made their way past law
enforcement and into the United States Capitol building to
protest the certification.1 Some of them assaulted police
officers and damaged property, halting the certification
proceeding for nearly six hours.

Thomas Robertson was among the protesters who entered
the Capitol. He was then a patrol sergeant in the Rocky Mount
(Virginia) Police Department. According to the record, he
believed that the 2020 presidential election had been “rigged.”
Suppl. App. 110. Robertson and two other men—a neighbor
and a fellow police officer, Jacob Fracker—drove together to
Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021. They carried with them
water, food, three gas masks and a large wooden stick. Both
Robertson and Fracker brought their department-issued
handguns but, at Robertson’s suggestion, left them in
Robertson’s car at a northern Virginia Metro station.

Upon arriving in D.C., Robertson, Fracker and
Robertson’s neighbor headed to the Washington Monument,
where they listened to speeches by then-President Donald
Trump, among others. The three men then walked with a “big

1
The following description of the facts is drawn from the trial
record.
 3
crowd” toward the Capitol building. Suppl. App. 120. By the
time they arrived, the crowd was “pretty out of hand.” There
was “yelling, screaming, [and] people . . . throwing things,”
including “flash bangs [and] smoke grenades.” Id. at 121.
Capitol Police were “overwhelm[ed]” by the rioters, id., and
“severely outnumbered,” id. at 67. Fearing the Capitol Police’s
use of pepper spray or tear gas, Robertson and the other two
donned their gas masks.

Not long after, Metropolitan Police Department (MPD)
officers arrived to reinforce the Capitol Police. One group of
MPD officers, known as unit CDU-42, walked in two single-
file lines toward the Capitol building, passing through
protesters who were holding “large sticks” and “[t]hrowing
cement.” Suppl. App. 93–95. When the MPD officers
approached his position, Robertson stood in their path, holding
his wooden stick in the “[p]ort arms” position.2 Id. at 103. One
MPD officer testified that Robertson used the wooden stick to
strike another officer before taking a “swipe[]” at the testifying
officer. Id.

Robertson and Fracker then entered the Capitol. While
inside, they posed for pictures in the Capitol Crypt (the room
directly beneath the Capitol Rotunda), where they remained for
about ten minutes. As police observed them from across the
room, the crowd began chanting and Robertson banged his
wooden stick to the chant. Eventually, law enforcement
officers regained control of the area and directed Robertson and
Fracker to leave, which they did. Following January 6th,
Robertson made a number of social media posts, including one
with a photograph of him and Fracker in the Capitol Crypt,
expressing his pride in having protested.

2
“Port arms” is a “tactical position” in which a baton or stick
may be used “both offensively and defensively.” Suppl. App. 85.
 4
After the FBI contacted Robertson and Fracker and told
them to turn themselves in, Robertson asked Fracker for
Fracker’s cell phone. Fracker understood that Robertson
intended to “make it disappear.” Suppl. App. 169–70. When
Robertson was arrested on January 13, 2021, he did not have a
cell phone on his person. An FBI search of his house the
following week discovered a cell phone that had been activated
on January 14, 2021—one day after Robertson’s arrest. In a
text message exchange the day after he activated the phone,
Robertson told a correspondent that “[a]nything that may have
been problematic is destroyed.” Id. at 196.

On March 23, 2022, Robertson was charged in a second
superseding indictment with six counts based on his January
6th-related conduct. Five of the counts charged: (1) civil
disorder; (2) entering and remaining in a restricted building
while carrying a dangerous weapon; (3) disorderly conduct in
a restricted building while carrying a dangerous weapon;
(4) disorderly conduct in the Capitol building; and
(5) destroying cell phones with the intent to render them
unavailable for a grand jury investigation.

The sixth count forms the basis of Robertson’s appeal. It
charged Robertson with obstructing an official proceeding in
violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2). Section 1512(c) reads in
full:

Whoever corruptly—

(1) alters, destroys, mutilates, or conceals a
record, document, or other object, or
attempts to do so, with the intent to impair
the object’s integrity or availability for use in
an official proceeding; or
 5
(2) otherwise obstructs, influences, or
impedes any official proceeding, or attempts
to do so,

shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not
more than 20 years, or both.

Before trial, Robertson moved to dismiss the subsection
(c)(2) count. Robertson argued inter alia that the mens rea
adverb “corruptly” rendered subsection (c)(2)
unconstitutionally vague, both on its face and as applied to him.
The district court denied Robertson’s facial vagueness
challenge, concluding that, notwithstanding that there “may be
scenarios at the edges that present vagueness problems,” the
statute sufficiently specified the “‘core’ behavior to which it
constitutionally applies.” United States v. Robertson, 588 F.
Supp. 3d 114, 123 (D.D.C. 2022) (quotation omitted). The
court likewise rejected Robertson’s as-applied challenge,
concluding that the allegations in the indictment sufficed for a
jury to conclude Robertson acted “corruptly.” Id. at 123–24.

The jury charge defined “corruptly” as used in section
1512(c)(2) as follows:

To act corruptly the defendant must use
unlawful means, or act with an unlawful
purpose, or both. The defendant must also act
with consciousness of wrongdoing.
Consciousness of wrongdoing means with an
understanding or awareness that what the
person is doing is wrong.

Not all attempts to obstruct or impede an official
proceeding involve acting corruptly. For
example, a witness in a court proceeding may
refuse to testify by invoking his constitutional
 6
privilege against self-incrimination, thereby
obstructing or impeding the proceeding. But he
does not act corruptly.

In contrast, an individual who obstructs or
impedes a court proceeding by bribing a witness
to refuse to testify in that proceeding or by
engaging in other independently unlawful
conduct does act corruptly.

Suppl. App. 203.

The jury convicted Robertson on all counts. After trial,
Robertson moved for a judgment of acquittal under Rule 29 of
the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.3 Robertson argued
that, in order to prove he acted “corruptly,” the Government
was required to show that he acted “knowingly and dishonestly
with the intent to obtain an unlawful advantage for himself or
an associate, and that he influenced another to violate their
legal duty.” App. 38. Robertson argued that the Government
failed to meet that burden, relying instead on his “mere
presence” inside the Capitol to establish that he acted
“corruptly.” Id. at 39.

The district court denied Robertson’s motion, holding that
section 1512(c)(2) is “properly narrowed” by the requirement
that the Government prove Robertson acted with
“consciousness of wrongdoing,” United States v. Robertson,
610 F. Supp. 3d 229, 233 (D.D.C. 2022) (quoting Robertson,
588 F. Supp. 3d at 123), and concluding that the evidence

3
See Fed. R. Crim. P. 29(a) (“[T]he court on the defendant’s
motion must enter a judgment of acquittal of any offense for which
the evidence is insufficient to sustain a conviction.”).
 7
“comfortably support[ed] the jury’s verdict on each element,”
id. at 235.

Robertson was sentenced to eighty-seven months’
imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release.
He timely appealed.

II. ANALYSIS

Robertson appeals the denial of his motion for judgment
of acquittal and seeks vacatur of his section 1512(c)(2)
conviction because the Government’s evidence was
insufficient to show that he acted “corruptly.”

Reviewing a sufficiency-of-the-evidence challenge, the
court asks “whether, after viewing the evidence in the light
most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact
could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a
reasonable doubt.” Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319
(1979) (emphasis omitted). Our sufficiency review “‘does not
rest on how the jury was instructed’ but rather on how a
properly instructed jury would assess the evidence.” United
States v. Hillie, 14 F.4th 677, 682 (D.C. Cir. 2021) (quoting
Musacchio v. United States, 577 U.S. 237, 243 (2016)); see
also United States v. Khatallah, 41 F.4th 608, 634 (D.C. Cir.
2022) (per curiam) (acquittal motion “tests sufficiency against
‘how a properly instructed jury would assess the evidence,’ not
on ‘how the jury was instructed’” (quoting Hillie, 14 F.4th at
682)). The reason for this standard is simple: “To allow a
conviction to stand where the defendant’s conduct ‘fails to
come within the statutory definition of the crime,’ or despite
insufficient evidence to support it, would violate the Due
Process Clause.” Hillie, 14 F.4th at 683 (quoting Griffin v.
United States, 502 U.S. 46, 59 (1991)). Even where, as here,
the defendant fails to object to the definition of the offense used
in the jury charge, his conviction must be set aside if the
 8
prosecution failed to produce sufficient evidence of one or
more elements of the properly formulated offense. See id. (“A
defendant does not ‘waive’ his rights . . . by failing to present
the correct interpretation of the offense to the district court.”);
cf. Boyle v. United Techs. Corp., 487 U.S. 500, 513–14 (1988)
(“If the evidence presented in the . . . trial would not suffice, as
a matter of law, to support a jury verdict under the properly
formulated defense, judgment could properly be entered for the
[defendant] at once, without a new trial. And that is so even
though . . . [the defendant] failed to object to jury instructions
that expressed the defense differently, and in a fashion that
would support a verdict.”).

A. UNITED STATES V. FISCHER

To assess whether a properly instructed jury could have
found the essential elements of the offense beyond a reasonable
doubt, the court must first determine what the essential
elements of the properly formulated offense in fact are.
Robertson’s appeal involves only one of section 1512(c)’s
elements: the requirement that the defendant obstruct an
official proceeding “corruptly.” 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c). As noted
supra, United States v. Fischer defined “corruptly” and we are
required to apply its definition. 64 F.4th 329.4

The three Fischer defendants were indicted on various
offenses arising from their participation in the January 6, 2021,
Capitol protest. Id. at 332. Of relevance here, each was charged
with one count of Obstruction of an Official Proceeding under
18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2). Fischer, 64 F.4th at 333. Each
subsequently moved to dismiss the section 1512(c)(2) count.
Id. at 333–34. The district court granted each defendant’s

4
Although Robertson concedes that Fischer does not bind us,
the precedential effect of an earlier decision is a matter for the court,
not the parties, to decide.
 9
motion to dismiss. Id. at 334. The court first concluded that
section 1512(c) is ambiguous regarding subsection (c)(2)’s
relation to subsection (c)(1). The court explained that (c)(2)
could be read as prohibiting any act that obstructs an official
proceeding or as prohibiting only obstructive acts similar to
those covered by (c)(1).5 See United States v. Miller, 589 F.
Supp. 3d 60, 67–68, 70–71 (D.D.C. 2022). The court chose the
latter reading, in part because the former would render
superfluous both subsection (c)(1) as well as (c)(2)’s use of the
word “otherwise.” Id. at 68, 70. It concluded that (c)(2)
“requires that the defendant have taken some action with
respect to a document, record, or other object in order to
corruptly obstruct, impede or influence an official proceeding.”
Id. at 78. Because the indictments did not allege that the
defendants committed obstructive acts in conjunction with “a
document, record, or other object,” see 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(1),
the court dismissed the section 1512(c)(2) counts. Miller, 589
F. Supp. 3d at 78; see United States v. Fischer, No. 1:21-cr-
234, 2022 WL 782413, at *4 (D.D.C. Mar. 15, 2022) (relying
on Miller to dismiss section 1512(c)(2) count); Min. Order,
United States v. Lang, No. 1:21-cr-53 (D.D.C. June 7, 2022)
(same).

This Court reversed. The Fischer majority held that under
“the most natural reading of the statute,” section 1512(c)(2)
unambiguously “applies to all forms of corrupt obstruction of
an official proceeding, other than the conduct that is already
covered by § 1512(c)(1).” 64 F.4th at 336. In so doing, the
majority explained that “otherwise” as used in (c)(2) does not
limit the reach of that subsection to obstructive acts similar to

5
As noted supra, subsection (c)(1) prohibits “alter[ing],
destroy[ing], mutilat[ing], or conceal[ing] a record, document, or
other object, or attempts to do so, with the intent to impair the
object’s integrity or availability for use in an official proceeding.” 18
U.S.C. § 1512(c)(1).
 10
those mentioned in subsection (c)(1) but instead means “in a
different manner.” Id. at 336–37. Regarding section
1512(c)(2)’s actus reus element, Judge Pan—who authored the
lead opinion—explained that, notwithstanding that section
1512(c)(2) “plainly extends to a wide range of conduct,” the
provision contains “important limitations”: The obstructive act
described in (c)(2) must be accompanied by “corrupt” intent
and must target an “official proceeding.” Id. at 339.

In a section of her opinion not joined by Judge Walker,
who was the concurring judge, Judge Pan discussed the
meaning of “corruptly.” She began with the observation that
“the allegations against appellees appear to be sufficient to
meet any proposed definition of ‘corrupt’ intent.” Id. (emphasis
added). Although she declined to “express[] a preference for
any particular definition of ‘corruptly,’” she “consider[ed]
three candidates.” Id.6 Using any of the three definitions, she
concluded, a jury could find that the defendants acted
“corruptly.” Id. at 339–40. She then opined that the sufficiency
of the indictments did not turn on the “precise definition of

6
First, citing Arthur Andersen LLP v. United States, 544 U.S.
696, 705 (2005), Judge Pan stated that “corruptly” can mean
“wrongful, immoral, depraved, or evil.” Fischer, 64 F.4th at 339–40.
Second, she stated that a defendant has a “corrupt” state of mind if
he acts “with a corrupt purpose, through independently corrupt
means, or both.” Id. at 340 (internal quotations omitted) (citing
United States v. North, 910 F.3d 843, 942–43 (D.C. Cir. 1990)
(Silberman, J., concurring in part)). Third, Judge Pan suggested that
“[a]n act is done corruptly if it’s done voluntarily and intentionally
to bring about either an unlawful result or a lawful result by some
unlawful method, with a hope or expectation of either financial gain
or other benefit to oneself or a benefit of another person.” Id. at 340
(quoting United States v. Aguilar, 515 U.S. 593, 616–17 (1995)
(Scalia, J., concurring in part)).
 11
‘corruptly’” and the “exact contours of ‘corrupt’ intent” could
be left “for another day.” Id. at 340.

Judge Walker’s concurrence—required in part to achieve
a majority holding—adamantly (and, in my view, correctly)
disagreed, declaring that “we must define [corruptly] to make
sense of (c)(2)’s act element,” thereby not joining Judge Pan’s
failure to do so. Id. at 351 (Walker, J., concurring in part). He
gave “corruptly” its “long-standing meaning,” which requires
a defendant to act “with an intent to procure an unlawful benefit
either for himself or for some other person.” Id. at 352 (quoting
Marinello v. United States, 138 S. Ct. 1101, 1114 (2018)
(Thomas, J., dissenting)). Otherwise, he went on, if subsection
(c)(2) “has a broad act element and an even broader mental
state,” the statute would have “breathtaking scope.” Id. at 351–
52. Under his interpretation (Judge Pan’s third option), a
defendant “must not only know he was obtaining an ‘unlawful
benefit,’ it must also be his ‘objective’ or ‘purpose.’” Id.
(cleaned up) (quoting Marinello, 138 S. Ct. at 1114 (Thomas,
J., dissenting)). Critically, Judge Walker expressly conditioned
his vote on his reading of “corruptly.” He explained: “[M]y
reading of ‘corruptly’ is necessary to my vote to join the lead
opinion’s proposed holding on [the actus reus]. If I did not read
‘corruptly’ narrowly, I would join the dissenting opinion.” Id.
at 362 n.10. He also suggested his reading of “corruptly” may
be controlling. Id. (citing Marks v. United States, 430 U.S. 188,
193 (1977)).

Judge Katsas dissented. In his view, section 1512(c)(2)
applies only to obstructive acts related to the specific acts of
evidence spoliation covered by subsection (c)(1). To reach that
conclusion, he read “otherwise” in (c)(2) to mean “in a manner
similar to” rather than “in a manner different from.” Id. at 363
(Katsas, J., dissenting). He also relied on “normal linguistic
usage” and interpretive canons to find that subsection (c)(2), a
 12
catch-all provision, must not render superfluous the longer,
more complex list of examples in (c)(1). Id. And, most notably
here, he concluded that the majority’s reading renders
subsection (c)(2) implausibly broad and unconstitutional in a
significant number of its applications. Id. at 363, 378–79. On
the mens rea question, Judge Katsas explained that, in his view,
none of the three definitions of “corruptly” proposed by Judge
Pan “inspire[d] much confidence.” Id. at 379. Thus, “[r]ather
than try to extract meaningful limits out of that broad
and vague adverb,” he would have “acknowledged that
Congress limited the actus reus to conduct that impairs the
integrity or availability of evidence.” Id. at 382.

The determinative question for us is whether Fischer
constitutes a holding regarding the meaning of “corruptly.” It
does. Judges Pan and Walker agreed that a defendant acts
“corruptly” if he acts with the intent to obtain an unlawful
benefit for himself or another. Recall that Judge Pan considered
three definitions of “corruptly” and concluded that the
indictments sufficiently charged the Fischer defendants under
any of the three. Id. at 339–40 (opinion of Pan, J.). And Judge
Walker conditioned his vote on one definition—the one he
called the “long-standing meaning” of “corruptly.” See id. at
352, 362 n.10 (Walker, J., concurring in part). That “long-
standing meaning” was one of the three definitions Judge Pan
considered.7 Two judges, then, agreed that the Fischer

7
Compare id. at 340 (opinion of Pan, J.) (“[A]n act is done
corruptly if it’s done voluntarily and intentionally to bring about
either an unlawful result or a lawful result by some unlawful method,
with a hope or expectation of either financial gain or other benefit to
oneself or a benefit of another person.” (quoting Aguilar, 515 U.S. at
616–17 (Scalia, J., concurring in part))), with id. at 352 (Walker, J.,
concurring in part) (“‘[C]orruptly’ . . . requires a defendant to act
‘with an intent to procure an unlawful benefit either for himself or
 13
defendants could be found to have acted “corruptly” if they
obstructed the election certification proceeding with the intent
to obtain an unlawful benefit.8

The definition of “corruptly” endorsed by Judge Walker
binds us because that definition was necessary to create a
holding. See Fischer, 64 F.4th at 362 n.10 (Walker, J.,
concurring in part) (“[M]y reading of ‘corruptly’ is necessary
to my vote to join the lead opinion’s proposed holding on [the
actus reus]. If I did not read ‘corruptly’ narrowly, I would join
the dissenting opinion.”). We must follow “those portions of
the opinion necessary to that result by which we are bound.”
Util. Air Regul. Grp. v. EPA, 885 F.3d 714, 720 (D.C. Cir.
2018) (quoting Seminole Tribe of Fla. v. Florida, 517 U.S. 44,
67 (1996)); see also Holding, Black’s Law Dictionary (11th ed.
2019) (defining “holding” as “[the] court’s determination of a

for some other person.’” (quoting Marinello, 138 S. Ct. at 1114
(Thomas, J., dissenting))).
8
Although Judge Pan declared that she took “no position on the
exact meaning of ‘corruptly,’” id. at 341 n.5 (opinion of Pan, J.), that
cannot be right. In reviewing a motion to dismiss an indictment, the
operative question is whether the allegations are sufficient for a
reasonable jury to conclude the defendant committed the charged
offense. See United States v. Sampson, 371 U.S. 75, 76 (1962). In
order to uphold the Fischer indictments, then, Judge Pan had to
conclude that the allegations were sufficient for a jury to find that the
defendants acted “corruptly.” And, to so conclude, she had to assign
a meaning to “corruptly” that at least one panel member agreed with.
See Fischer, 64 F.4th at 362 n.10 (Walker, J., concurring in part)
(“Without taking a position, the lead opinion could not conclude, as
it does, that the indictments should be upheld.”).
 14
matter of law pivotal to its decision”). Accordingly, I believe
the improper-benefit reading of “corruptly” binds us.9

The majority resists this conclusion by focusing only on
the result in Fischer while ignoring its rationale. According to
the majority, “the only holding in Fischer was the majority’s
ruling reversing the district court’s erroneous interpretation of
a different part of the statute – the ‘otherwise obstructs’

9
Even assuming arguendo that Fischer cannot be explained by
a “single rationale,” the improper-benefit reading of “corruptly”
controls because Judge Walker’s reading represents the “position
taken” by the judge “who concurred in the judgments on the
narrowest grounds.” Marks, 430 U.S. at 193 (quoting Gregg v.
Georgia, 428 U.S. 153, 169 n.15 (1976) (plurality opinion)). We
have explained that the “narrowest ground” is a “logical subset of
other, broader opinions.” King v. Palmer, 950 F.2d 771, 781 (D.C.
Cir. 1991) (en banc). Although Judge Pan would have upheld the
indictments under any of three definitions of “corruptly,” see
Fischer, 64 F.4th at 340, Judge Walker agreed to do so under only
one of those definitions, see id. at 362 (Walker, J., concurring in
part). Put differently, Judge Pan concluded that “corruptly” could
mean A or B or C and, regardless of the definition chosen, the
indictments should be upheld; Judge Walker, however, concluded
that “corruptly” must mean C. His concurrence, then, represents the
“position taken” by the judge “who concurred in the judgments on
the narrowest grounds.” Marks, 430 U.S. at 193 (quoting Gregg, 428
U.S. at 169 n.15).
The majority argues that Judge Walker’s and Judge Pan’s
opinions “rely on rationales that do not overlap” because the latter
focused on the sufficiency of the three possible definitions but the
former found one definition necessary. Maj. Op. 36–37. That
characterization does not prevent Judge Walker’s concurrence from
forming a logical subset of the lead opinion. Another way of phrasing
Judge Walker’s conclusion that C is necessary is to say that only C
is sufficient. Thus, Judge Pan found that A or B or C is sufficient and
Judge Walker found that only C is sufficient. That yields a logical
subset.
 15
clause.” Maj. Op. 32. But that overlooks entirely how the Court
reached the result of reversal. What gives a judicial opinion
precedential effect beyond the parties is not its judgment but its
rationale. Ramos v. Louisiana, 140 S. Ct. 1390, 1404 (2020)
(plurality opinion) (“It is usually a judicial decision’s
reasoning—its ratio decidendi—that allows it to have life and
effect in the disposition of future cases.”); see also United
States v. Montague, 67 F.4th 520, 531 n.2 (2d Cir. 2023)
(“[W]e do not apply prior judgments ‘stripped from any
reasoning’ articulated in those cases.”) (citation omitted). The
reasoning necessary to the result in Fischer includes Judge
Walker’s definition of “corruptly” because he expressly
conditioned his interpretation of the “otherwise obstructs”
clause on his understanding of “corruptly.” Fischer, 64 F.4th at
362 n.10 (Walker, J., concurring in part). Thus, Fischer did
reach a holding on the question before us.

B. MEANING OF “CORRUPTLY”

Even assuming arguendo that Fischer did not decide what
“corruptly” means, I believe “corruptly” is best read to require
the defendant to act with the intent of obtaining an unlawful
benefit for himself or another. To reach that conclusion, I rely
on (1) the historical treatment of the “corrupt” mental state;
(2) other federal statutes requiring evidence of “corrupt” intent;
(3) the structure of Chapter 73 of Title 18 in general and of
section 1512(c) in particular; and (4) the rule of lenity.

1. Common-Law Meaning of “Corruptly”

As Judge Walker explained in Fischer, “corruptly” has a
settled mens rea meaning. See Fischer, 64 F.4th at 352
(Walker, J., concurring in part); see also United States v.
Aguilar, 515 U.S. 593, 616 (1995) (Scalia, J., concurring in
part) (“[T]he term ‘corruptly’ in criminal laws has a
longstanding and well-accepted meaning.”). The criminal
 16
proscription against “corrupt” behavior first appeared in
England around the 13th century—a time when public
officials, most notably the sheriff, “carried a broad range of
powers” and “were only loosely accountable to any central
authority.” Jeremy N. Gayed, “Corruptly”: Why Corrupt State
of Mind Is an Essential Element for Hobbs Act Extortion Under
Color of Official Right, 78 Notre Dame L. Rev. 1731, 1737
(2003). Despite wielding considerable power, officials “were
both poorly and irregularly paid [by the Crown].” 2 William
Holdsworth, A History of English Law 294 (4th ed. 1936); see
Gayed, supra, at 1737 (“Although the sheriff was revenue
collector, administrator, and law enforcer for the king, he
received little or no compensation from the crown for his
duties.”). To compensate for this deficiency, officials exacted
fees from those they served, which fees were fixed by law or
custom. See Gayed, supra, at 1737–38; 10 Holdsworth, supra,
at 153. Because the amount that officials were authorized to
charge was in their view insufficient, however, they resorted to
“blatant and widespread disregard for legal and customary
limits on their fees.” Gayed, supra, at 1738.

This practice gave rise to the earliest laws against
corruption, “particularly th[ose] proscribing extortion and
bribery.” Id. at 1739. Early extortion laws provided that
officials “could not knowingly charge more than the customary
amount.” Fischer, 64 F.4th at 353 (Walker, J., concurring in
part) (citing Gayed, supra, at 1735–38). Thus, even if an
official overcharged for his services, if he did not knowingly
do so, he did not act “corruptly.” See Gayed, supra, at 1748
(“[T]he case law ostensively defines ‘corruptly’ as . . . the
purpose to give, take, receive, or accept, anything of value that
is illegal or inappropriate to that particular office, knowing that
it is illegal or inappropriate.”). Common-law bribery statutes
provided that “the mere payment of a fee to an official for a
benefit was not enough—the bribe payer had to know he was
 17
seeking an unlawful benefit.” Fischer, 64 F.4th at 353 (Walker,
J., concurring in part); see also James Lindgren, The Elusive
Distinction Between Bribery and Extortion: From the Common
Law to the Hobbs Act, 35 UCLA L. Rev. 815, 823 (1988)
(“[E]ven someone who is paying to influence official behavior
in his favor may not be acting corruptly if he is merely buying
back fair treatment from an official who threatens to inflict
unfair treatment.”).

The English courts’ understanding of the “corrupt” mental
state carried over to early American courts. The Supreme Court
of Pennsylvania declined to hold one official liable for
charging concededly “illegal” (excessive) fees because he did
not have “criminal intentions.” Respublica v. Hannum, 1
Yeates 71, 74 (Pa. 1791) (per curiam). Three years later that
same court held that a criminal information lay against a justice
of the peace who released the defendant on his recognizance
notwithstanding the defendant’s grossly insufficient bail
payment because the justice of the peace “could not have been
so ignorant as not to have known, that the taking of
recognizances in such sums, was a reproach to the public
justice of the country.” Respublica v. Burns, 1 Yeates 370, 370
(Pa. 1794) (per curiam). The fact that the justice of the peace
issued a certificate stating that the defendant “had entered into
recognizance with sufficient securities, prove[d] that he knew
he was acting wrong in his office.” Id. at 371. In Runnells v.
Fletcher, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts
assessed whether the defendant, a deputy sheriff collecting a
debt, had committed extortion by “demanding and receiving of
the plaintiff a greater fee” than he was authorized to collect. 15
Mass. 525, 525 (1819). The court decided he had not, reasoning
that he had not demanded the excess fees “wilfully and
corruptly” but had believed they were warranted “as a
compensation for labor and trouble attending a supposed
injury.” Id. at 526; cf. Jenifer v. Lord Proprietary, 1 H. & McH.
 18
535, 535 (Md. 1774) (sheriff convicted of receiving “greater
and larger fees” than he was entitled to). In Cleaveland v. State,
the Supreme Court of Alabama rejected the argument that an
official could be held criminally liable for imposing unlawful
charges without knowing they were illegal. 34 Ala. 254, 259
(1859). To be liable, the court held, officers must “intentionally
charge and take fees which they know at the time they are not
authorized to collect.” Id.

The long history of the “corrupt” mental state, then, has
imposed two requisites: to act “corruptly,” the defendant must
intend to secure an unlawful benefit for himself or another; and,
the defendant must know that the benefit he seeks is unlawful
or improper. Prominent legal treatises, both historical and
modern, reaffirm these principles. See 2 Francis Wharton, A
Treatise on the Criminal Law of the United States § 2518 (7th
ed. 1874) (to be “corrupt,” act must be done “above all with
knowledge that it was wrong”); 2 Emlin McClain, Treatise on
the Criminal Law as Now Administered in the United States
130 (1897) (official did not extort if he “had ground to believe
and did believe that he was justified in taking the fees
received”); Rollin M. Perkins & Ronald N. Boyce, Criminal
Law 446–47 (3d ed. 1982) (“[E]xtortion is not committed by
the officer who innocently receives an unlawful fee as a result
of an honest mistake of fact or of law.”). In addition, modern
legal dictionaries confirm the unlawful-benefit element of
“corruptly.” Black’s Law Dictionary states, “[a]s used in
criminal-law statutes, corruptly usu[ally] indicates a wrongful
desire for pecuniary gain or other advantage.” Corruptly (def.
2), Black’s Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019). And Ballentine’s
Law Dictionary defines “corruptly” as “[w]rongfully; acting
with the intent to obtain an improper advantage for self or
someone else, inconsistent with official duty and the rights of
 19
others.” Corruptly, Ballentine’s Law Dictionary 276 (3d ed.
1969).10

2. “Corruptly” Used in In Pari Materia Statutes

Like common-law extortion and bribery, modern federal
statutes using a “corrupt” mens rea generally require proof that
the defendant acted with the intent to secure an unlawful

10
Interpreting a different criminal statute, the Supreme Court
has recently noted that “[w]hen Congress transplants a common-law
term, the ‘old soil’ comes with it.” United States v. Hansen, 143 S.
Ct. 1932, 1944 (2023) (citation and some internal quotation marks
omitted). Yet the majority here spends little time discussing the
history just recounted. See Maj. 39–40. In fact, the only
counterevidence it cites is a lone contempt statute from 1831, which
“does not include any mention of a required intent to procure a
benefit.” Id. at 40 (discussing Act of Mar. 2, 1831, ch. 98, § 2, 4 Stat.
487). But the statute need not spell out what is already inherent in the
mens rea of “corruptly,” as the common-law history of the word
demonstrates.
The majority also argues that the common-law meaning “would
come as a surprise” to our sister circuits that have not read the
unlawful-benefit requirement into section 1512(c)(2). Id. at 28–29
(collecting authorities). If so, the majority’s definition would come
equally as a surprise. None of the majority’s authorities adopts its
“independently unlawful means” definition and some outright
conflict with it. Cf. Maj. Op. 26–27 and 22 n.3 (rejecting the
argument that the defendant must act “dishonestly” and expressing
doubt that he must act “knowingly”), with United States v. Bedoy,
827 F.3d 495, 510 (5th Cir. 2016) (requiring the defendant to act
“knowingly and dishonestly”); United States v. Delgado, 984 F.3d
435, 452 (5th Cir. 2021) (same); United States v. Mintmire, 507 F.3d
1273, 1289 (11th Cir. 2007) (same); United States v. Gordon, 710
F.3d 1124, 1151 (10th Cir. 2013) (same). Further, not one of the
cases the majority cites even mentions the common-law history of
“corruptly.” They are, then, of little help in construing the common-
law history of “corruptly.”
 20
benefit. For example, 18 U.S.C. § 201, titled “[b]ribery of
public officials and witnesses,” imposes penalties on an
individual who “corruptly gives, offers or promises anything
of value to any public official . . . with intent . . . to influence
any official act.” 18 U.S.C. § 201(b)(1)(A) (emphasis added).
Courts have interpreted “corruptly” in that statute to mean that
the defendant must intend that the bribe be part of a “quid pro
quo.” United States v. Tomblin, 46 F.3d 1369, 1379–80 (5th
Cir. 1995); United States v. Terry, 707 F.3d 607, 612 (6th Cir.
2013). That is, the bribe payer “must intend to secure a benefit
from the bribe taker and vice versa.” Fischer, 64 F.4th at
354 (Walker, J., concurring in part).

“Corruptly” is also used in other obstruction-of-justice
statutes. For most of those provisions, courts have not
interpreted “corruptly” to require proof that the defendant
intended to secure an unlawful benefit. As Judge Walker
observed in Fischer, that omission reflects that, for many
provisions, “the connection between ‘corruptly’ and the
defendant’s intent to procure an unlawful benefit is implicit,”
as the statutes criminalize conduct that necessarily results in
securing some unlawful benefit. Id. at 362 (Walker, J.,
concurring in part). For example, 18 U.S.C. § 1503
criminalizes “corruptly” injuring or influencing a juror or
judicial officer; 18 U.S.C. § 1512(b)(2) makes it unlawful to
“corruptly persuade[]” someone to “withhold testimony,”
destroy evidence or “evade legal process”; and 18 U.S.C.
§ 1517 criminalizes “corruptly” obstructing “any examination
of a financial institution by an agency of the United States.”
With respect to these statutes, then, the improper-benefit
requirement need not be express because commission of the
actus reus necessarily results in an improper advantage—
 21
influencing a juror, suppressing evidence or avoiding financial
investigation, respectively.11

If a criminal statute prohibits a broad range of conduct, as
section 1512(c)(2) does, however, “it is problematic to leave
implicit the long-established requirement that a defendant acts
‘corruptly’ only when he seeks to secure an unlawful benefit.”
Fischer, 64 F.4th at 355 (Walker, J., concurring in part). That
statutory silence is one reason courts give “corruptly” its
narrow meaning in 26 U.S.C. § 7212(a), a statute that imposes
penalties on any individual who “corruptly” “endeavors to
obstruct or impede[] the due administration of [the Internal
Revenue Code].” See, e.g., United States v. Floyd, 740 F.3d 22,
31 (1st Cir. 2014) (“[T]here is a consensus among the courts of
appeals that ‘corruptly,’ as used in section 7212(a), means
acting with an intent to procure an unlawful benefit either for
the actor or for some other person.”) (collecting cases); see also
Eric J. Tamashasky, The Lewis Carroll Offense: The Ever-
Changing Meaning of “Corruptly” Within the Federal
Criminal Law, 31 J. LEGIS. 129, 130 (2004) (“[T]he common
law meaning [of ‘corruptly’] already is used consistently across
the federal circuits in the context of prosecutions under 26
U.S.C. § 7212(a).”). Whereas suppressing evidence within the
meaning of section 1512(b)(2) or influencing a juror under
section 1503 “will almost necessarily result in an improper
advantage to one side in the case,” obstructing the

11
That the improper-benefit requirement is frequently implicit,
rather than express, has been recognized. See Aguilar, 515 U.S. at
616–17 (Scalia, J., concurring in part) (“Acts specifically intended to
‘influence, obstruct, or impede, the due administration of
justice . . . are necessarily corrupt.” (quoting 18 U.S.C. § 1503));
North, 910 F.2d at 939–46 (Silberman, J., concurring in part)
(reading “corruptly” in section 1505 as not including an unlawful-
benefit requirement “can be taken to express the view that any
endeavor to obstruct a judicial proceeding is inherently . . . corrupt”).
 22
administration of the Internal Revenue Code under section
7212(a) could encompass conduct that does not result in a party
“gain[ing] an improper advantage.” United States v. Reeves,
752 F.2d 995, 999 (5th Cir. 1985). With respect to the latter
statute, then, courts have required that the improper-benefit
requirement be explicit. E.g., id. at 999–1002.

Like in section 7212(a), section 1512(c)(2)’s actus reus
can capture conduct that does not produce an improper benefit.
Not every attempt to influence an official proceeding is carried
out “corruptly.” For example, a lobbyist “who persuades a
congressman to ask hard questions at a committee hearing has
influenced the proceeding” and might therefore come within
section 1512(c)(2). Fischer, 64 F.4th at 361 (Walker, J.,
concurring in part). But the lobbyist has not acted “corruptly.”
Thus, to ensure that such conduct does not trigger section
1512(c)(2), the improper-benefit requirement must be
rigorously enforced. See id. at 356 (“[T]he more conduct an
obstruction statute reaches, the more vigilantly we must apply
the long-established . . . meaning of ‘corruptly.’”).

3. Statutory Structure and History: Chapter 73 and
Section 1512

Both the structure and history of Chapter 73 in general and
of section 1512 specifically offer further support for the
unlawful-benefit reading. Chapter 73 comprises twenty-two
distinct obstruction-of-justice sections, several prescribing
multiple offenses. Section 1512 was initially enacted as part of
the Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982, Pub. L. No. 97-
291, § 4, 96 Stat. 1248, 1249. The codified statute is titled
“[t]ampering with a witness, victim, or an informant” and
criminalizes specific types of obstructive conduct, including
“kill[ing] or attempt[ing] to kill another person” in order to
prevent the person from attending or testifying at an official
 23
proceeding, 18 U.S.C. § 1512(a)(1)(A); “us[ing] physical force
or the threat of physical force” or “knowingly us[ing]
intimidation, threat[s], or corrupt[] persua[sion]” in order to
“influence, delay, or prevent the testimony of any person in an
official proceeding,” id. § 1512(a)(2)(A), (b)(1), or “caus[ing]
or induc[ing] any person to” “withhold [evidence] from an
official proceeding” or “impair [an] object’s integrity or
availability for use in an official proceeding,” id.
§ 1512(a)(2)(B)(i), (b)(2)(B); and “intentionally harass[ing]
another person” to prevent the person from attending or
testifying at an official proceeding, id. § 1512(d)(1).

Section 1512(c), the provision under which Robertson was
charged and convicted, became law twenty years later as part
of the Corporate Fraud Accountability Act of 2002, see Pub. L.
No. 107-204, § 1102, 116 Stat. 745, 807, one of several acts
composing the broader Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the
enactment of which “was prompted by the exposure of [energy
giant] Enron’s massive accounting fraud and revelations that
the company’s outside auditor, Arthur Andersen LLP, had
systematically destroyed potentially incriminating
documents,” see Yates v. United States, 574 U.S. 528, 535–36
(2015) (plurality opinion). The Enron scandal revealed a
“yawning gap” in the obstruction-of-justice enforcement
scheme: although then-current statutes prohibited an individual
from inducing someone else to destroy evidence, none imposed
liability on an individual who destroyed evidence himself. Id.
at 557–58 (Kagan, J., dissenting). In 2002, the Congress cured
that “conspicuous omission” by enacting 18 U.S.C. § 1519,
which criminalizes altering or destroying “any record,
document, or tangible object” with the intent to impede or
influence a federal investigation. See Yates, 574 U.S. at 536
(plurality opinion).
 24
Section 1512(c) was enacted at the same time as section
1519 but as a last-minute addition, having been “introduced in
a floor amendment late in the legislative process.” Fischer, 64
F.4th at 347 (citing 128 Cong. Rec. S6542 (daily ed. July 10,
2002)). Section 1512(c) has two subsections: “(c)(1) prohibits
‘corruptly’ altering or destroying a ‘document, or other
object . . . with the intent to impair the object’s integrity or
availability for use in an official proceeding’” and “(c)(2) is a
residual clause, making it an offense to ‘corruptly’ ‘otherwise
obstruct[], influence[], or impede[] any official proceeding.’”
Id. at 358 (Walker, J., concurring in part) (alterations in
original). “Subsection (c)(2)’s inconspicuous place within the
statutory scheme suggests that it is an odd place for Congress
to hide a far-reaching criminal provision,” id., including, in
particular, the egregiously ill-fit of prosecuting trespassing
protesters. Giving “corruptly” its common-law meaning
correctly limits its reach. “Even though (c)(2) has a broad act
element—there are many ways to obstruct, influence, or
impede an official proceeding—its mental state keeps it in
check: A defendant is liable only if he intends to procure an
unlawful benefit.” Id. Indeed, to conclude that hundreds—
perhaps thousands—of individuals entered the Capitol building
“corruptly”—by reading “corruptly” to mean nothing more
than “acting with an independently unlawful purpose or
through independently unlawful means”—would strip the
word of any independent meaning.

4. Other—Flawed—Definitions of “Corruptly”

Citing Arthur Andersen LLP v. United States, 544 U.S. 696
(2005), the lead Fischer opinion suggested that “corruptly”
may simply mean “wrongful, immoral, depraved, or evil.” 64
F.4th at 340 (opinion of Pan, J.) (quoting Arthur Andersen, 544
U.S. at 705). And other courts have adopted this definition (or
a variation thereof), both in the context of section 1512(c), see,
 25
e.g., United States v. Matthews, 505 F.3d 698, 706 (7th Cir.
2007), and related obstruction statutes, see, e.g., United States
v. Edlind, 887 F.3d 166, 173 (4th Cir. 2018) (interpreting 18
U.S.C. § 1512(b)); United States v. Edwards, 869 F.3d 490,
498 (7th Cir. 2017) (same); United States v. Quattrone, 441
F.3d 153, 170, 173–76 (2d Cir. 2006) (interpreting 18 U.S.C.
§§ 1503, 1505, 1512(b)). Those cases have found this
definition appealing because it gives “corruptly” its common
or colloquial meaning.12 And although, as a general matter,
“words in statutes should be given their common or popular
meanings[] in the absence of [a] congressional definition,”
North, 910 F.2d at 881, “[s]tatutory language need not be
colloquial,” Aguilar, 515 U.S. at 616 (Scalia, J., concurring in
part). Indeed, “where Congress borrows terms of art in which
are accumulated the legal tradition and meaning of centuries of
practice, it presumably knows and adopts the cluster of ideas
that were attached to each borrowed word.” Morissette v.
United States, 342 U.S. 246, 263 (1952). Thus, there are
compelling reasons that “corruptly” should not be given a
colloquial meaning in section 1512(c).

For starters, Arthur Andersen, the primary authority for the
colloquial definition, simply noted that “corruptly” is

12
Lay dictionaries define “corruptly” by using the adverbial
form of “corrupt.” Corruptly, Webster’s Third New International
Dictionary 512 (1976) (“[I]n a corrupt manner; by corruption.”);
Corruptly, Oxford English Dictionary (2d ed. 1989) (“In a corrupt
or depraved manner; pervertedly; by means of corruption or
bribery.”). “Corrupt,” in turn, is defined as “depraved, evil; perverted
into a state of moral weakness or wickedness.” Webster’s Third New
International Dictionary, supra, at 512; see Corrupt, Oxford English
Dictionary, supra (“Debased in character; infected with evil;
depraved; perverted; evil, wicked.”); Corrupt, American Heritage
College Dictionary 321 (4th ed. 2007) (“Marked by immorality and
perversion; depraved.”).
 26
“normally associated with” the adjectives “wrongful, immoral,
depraved, or evil.” 544 U.S. at 705. The opinion never
“suggested that this adjectival string could supply a complete
definition.” Fischer, 64 F.4th at 379 (Katsas, J., dissenting);
accord United States v. Watters, 717 F.3d 733, 735 (9th Cir.
2013) (“While the Court in Arthur Andersen did
observe . . . that ‘corruptly’ is generally associated with
‘wrongful, immoral, depraved, or evil,’ the Court’s holding
was not that the definition of ‘corruptly’ had to include those
words.” (quoting Arthur Andersen, 544 U.S. at 705)). Indeed,
the Arthur Andersen Court expressly declined to “explore[]”
the “outer limits” of the term because, regardless of the precise
definition, the jury instructions in question “simply failed to
convey the requisite consciousness of wrongdoing.” Arthur
Andersen, 544 U.S. at 706. The Arthur Andersen defendant
argued that “corruptly” in 18 U.S.C. § 1512(b)—a different
obstruction provision—meant “‘knowingly and dishonestly,
with the specific intent to subvert or undermine the integrity’
of a proceeding.” Id. (quotation omitted). Instructing the jury,
however, the district court declined to use “dishonestly” and
instead added “impede” to “subvert or undermine.” Id. The
instruction thus read: “The word ‘corruptly’ means having an
improper purpose. An improper purpose, for this case, is an
intent to subvert, undermine, or impede the fact-finding ability
of an official proceeding.” United States v. Arthur Andersen,
LLP, 374 F.2d 281, 293 (5th Cir. 2004). On review, the
Supreme Court found the two changes “significant” because
“dishonesty” was no longer “necessary to a finding of guilt”
and “impede” had “broader connotations” than “subvert or
undermine.” Arthur Andersen, 544 U.S. at 706–07 (alterations
accepted). Thus, the district court’s instruction “diluted the
meaning of ‘corruptly’ so that it covered innocent conduct.” Id.
at 706. The Court also implied that a narrowing construction of
“corruptly” was needed to counteract the statute’s broad actus
reus: “The dictionary defines ‘impede’ as ‘to interfere with or
 27
get in the way of the progress of’ . . . . By definition, [that
applies to] anyone who innocently persuades another to
withhold information from the Government . . . . With regard
to such innocent conduct, the ‘corruptly’ instructions did no
limiting work whatsoever.” Id. at 707 (quotation omitted).

Arthur Andersen plainly warns against giving “corruptly”
in section 1512(c) its colloquial meaning. In fact, because
section 1512(c)’s actus reus is broader than section 1512(b)’s
actus reus, the need to cabin “corruptly” is even more pressing
here. Whereas section 1512(b) reaches comparatively discrete
categories of wrongful conduct such as causing someone to
withhold evidence, section 1512(c)(2) encompasses any
attempt to influence or impede an official proceeding,
including conduct that is otherwise lawful. See Fischer, 64
F.4th at 344–45. Moreover, the defendant’s mental state is
ordinarily a question of fact for the jury. See North, 910 F.2d
at 942 (Silberman, J., concurring in part) (“[I]t seems
inescapable that this is a question of fact for the jury to
determine whether an endeavor was undertaken corruptly.”).
Reading section 1512(c) to criminalize “wrongful, immoral,
depraved, or evil” conduct would support a guilty verdict based
on “little more than a jury’s subjective disapproval of the
conduct at issue.” See Fischer, 64 F.4th at 379–80 (Katsas, J.,
dissenting); see also Kolender v. Lawson, 461 U.S. 352, 358
(1983) (“Where the legislature fails to provide . . . minimal
guidelines, a criminal statute may permit ‘a standardless sweep
[that] allows policemen, prosecutors, and juries to pursue their
personal predilections.’” (alteration in original) (quoting Smith
v. Goguen, 415 U.S. 566, 575 (1974))).13

13
The majority also relies heavily on Judge Silberman’s
separate opinion in North, which suggests that a defendant’s use of
“independently criminal” means satisfies the mens rea of
 28
Defining “corruptly” by reference to ambiguous adjectives
is also objectionable because this Court expressly rejected that
definition in United States v. Poindexter, 951 F.2d 369 (D.C.
Cir. 1991). That case involved the prosecution of Admiral John
Poindexter for his role in the Iran-Contra Affair. We held that
“corruptly” as used in 18 U.S.C. § 1505 was vague “on its face”
and that the “various dictionary definitions of the adjective
‘corrupt’” did “nothing to alleviate the vagueness problem.” Id.
at 378. “Words like ‘depraved,’ ‘evil,’ ‘immoral,’ ‘wicked,’
and ‘improper,’” we explained, did not illuminate the meaning
of “corruptly” because they “are no more specific—indeed they
may be less specific—than ‘corrupt.’” Id. at 379; see also
Cartwright v. Maynard, 822 F.2d 1477, 1489 (10th Cir. 1987)
(en banc) (“Vague terms do not suddenly become clear when
they are defined by reference to other vague terms.”).

Consider an alternative definition of “corruptly”—the one
the majority adopts. “Corruptly,” it contends, encompasses
“act[ing] with a corrupt purpose or via independently corrupt
means.” Maj. Op. 17.14 To avoid circularity, the majority then

“corruptly.” See North, 910 F.2d at 943 (Silberman, J., concurring in
part) (interpreting 18 U.S.C. § 1505). But Judge Silberman was in
dissent in his discussion of the meaning of “corruptly.” See id. at 946
(noting that the majority “reaches the opposite result” and “renders
the word ‘corruptly’ meaningless”). Nor did he discuss the common-
law history of the word in reaching his conclusion—an oversight that
matters here, especially as we are plainly not bound by his view.
14
Note (although it hardly bears mentioning) that “corruptly”
requires something more than the specific intent to commit the actus
reus. If the specific intent to influence, obstruct or impede a
proceeding were enough, section 1512(c)(2) would be untenably
broad, capturing anyone who attempts to influence any official
proceeding for any reason. If we were to adopt that interpretation,
“we might as well convert all of Washington’s office buildings into
 29
equates “corrupt” with “unlawful.” Id. at 20–21.15 My
colleagues’ definition gives section 1512(c)(2) an eye-popping
sweep. Start with “unlawful means.” As Judge Katsas
explained in Fischer, “even if independently unlawful means
were necessary, section 1512(c)(2) still would cover large
swaths of advocacy, lobbying, and protest.” Fischer, 64 F.4th
at 380 (Katsas, J., dissenting). Consider “[a] protestor who
demonstrates outside a courthouse, hoping to affect jury
deliberations.” Id. Or a federal employee who convinces a
congressman to change his vote on pending legislation. Id. Or
an individual who peacefully protests a bill in the Senate
gallery. Id. Under a “corrupt means” interpretation of
“corruptly,” all three would violate section 1512(c)(2) because
all attempted to influence an official proceeding by violating
an independent statute to do so. Id.; see also 18 U.S.C. § 1507
(prohibiting picketing outside courthouse with intent to
influence judge, juror or witness); id. § 1913 (prohibiting
lobbying by agency employees); 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(G)
(prohibiting demonstrating inside Capitol). As a result, each
would face up to twenty years in prison, rather than a maximum

prisons.” North, 910 F.2d at 942 (Silberman, J., concurring in part).
Moreover, reading “corruptly” to require only the specific intent to
influence, obstruct or impede a proceeding would be inconsistent
with even the colloquial meaning of corruptly, which implies some
degree of wrongfulness. See Arthur Andersen, 544 U.S. at 706
(“corruptly” requires “consciousness of wrongdoing”).
15
The majority’s equation of “corruptly” with “unlawfully”
belies its assertion that it is merely adopting the “ordinary meaning”
of the word. See Maj. Op. 14. According to the majority, the plain
meaning of “corruptly” (even in a criminal statute) is “depraved, evil:
perverted into a state of moral weakness or wickedness.” Id. at 15
(quoting North, 910 F.2d at 881). But “unlawfully” means something
else entirely. Acts may be evil or depraved and yet lawful. And acts
may not be evil or depraved and yet be unlawful.
 30
of one year, a criminal fine and six months, respectively. See
Fischer, 64 F.4th at 380 (Katsas, J., dissenting).

Like Judge Katsas, I doubt whether, in enacting section
1512(c)(2), the Congress intended to “supercharge a range of
minor advocacy, lobbying, and protest offenses into 20-year
felonies.” Id. Take 18 U.S.C. § 1507, the statute prohibiting
protesting outside a courthouse with intent to influence a judge
or juror. The Congress specifically provided that conviction
under that provision warranted no more than one year in prison.
See 18 U.S.C. § 1507 (violators “shall be fined under this title
or imprisoned not more than one year, or both”). The
Congress’s policy choice would be nullified if the same person
could be imprisoned for up to twenty years under section
1512(c)(2) for engaging in precisely the same conduct. Yet that
result is possible under the majority’s reading. An individual
convicted under section 1507 could also be convicted under
section 1512(c)(2) because anyone who protests outside a
courthouse with the intent to influence a judge or juror
necessarily intends to influence, obstruct or impede an official
proceeding by unlawful means. Thus, although the majority’s
reading “create[s] an escape hatch for those who influence an
official proceeding without committing any other crime,” it
nevertheless “gives section 1512(c)(2) an improbably broad
reach.” Fischer, 64 F.4th, at 380 (Katsas, J., dissenting).

The majority responds by imposing a limitation plucked
from thin air. It suggests that the “unlawful-means”
requirement is satisfied only when a defendant acts through
“independently felonious means.” Maj. Op. 24–25. But as far
as I can tell, no decision of any court has even suggested, much
less held, that “corruptly” can bear such a meaning. And in any
event, imposing a “felonious means” requirement fails to cure
the remarkable overbreadth of section 1512(c)(2) as interpreted
by the majority. Even with that limitation, the majority’s
 31
reading is difficult to reconcile with Chapter 73’s reticulated
scheme of penalties. For example, 18 U.S.C. § 1506 sets forth
a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment for feloniously
stealing a record or other process used in a court proceeding.
Under the majority’s interpretation of “corruptly,” it would be
impossible to violate section 1506 (aside from the separate
prohibition on posting false bail) without also violating section
1512(c)(2).

Moreover, defining “corruptly” to mean “acting through
independently unlawful means” requires the jury to find
beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed some
other offense, aside from section 1512(c), in order to find him
guilty of violating section 1512(c). The majority’s definition
effectively requires proof of a predicate offense that is not
listed in the statute, an atextual and baffling result. The
majority fails to point to a single statute in which the Congress
uses a mens rea term—much less this particular mens rea
term—to impose a similar requirement.16

The “unlawful purpose” facet of the majority’s definition
is no less dubious. Defining “corruptly” to mean, in essence,
“acting with an independently unlawful purpose” does nothing
to limit the scope of section 1512(c)(2). What does it mean to
act with an independently unlawful purpose? See Maj. Op. 18.
Perhaps the majority means that the defendant must intend to
violate a law other than section 1512(c)(2). But if so, the

16
The majority denies that its definition requires proof of a
predicate offense because there are ways “to establish corrupt intent
or conduct” other than “proof of independently felonious means.”
Maj. Op. 23 n.4. But the majority has tethered the “core” meaning of
“corruptly” to the defendant’s independently unlawful purpose or use
of independently unlawful means, see id. at 21–22, requiring the jury
to look for offenses outside the four corners of section 1512(c)(2) to
assess what is independently unlawful.
 32
defendant would always act “corruptly” so long as he also has
a distinct illegal purpose—distinct from corruption, that is. If
that reading is truly what the Congress intended in enacting
section 1512(c)(2), sadly, Mark Twain had it right.17

Unlike the majority’s definition of “corruptly,” the
unlawful-benefit definition properly limits the scope of section
1512(c)(2). The requirement that a defendant act with intent to
obtain an unlawful benefit means section 1512(c)(2) will
neither cover “large swaths of advocacy, lobbying, and
protest,” Fischer, 64 F.4th at 380 (Katsas, J., dissenting), nor
“supercharge a range of minor advocacy, lobbying, and protest
offenses into 20-year felonies.” Id. Section 1512(c)(2) will
apply only where a defendant intends to secure an unlawful
benefit for himself or another and knows the benefit he seeks
is unlawful. See Marinello, 138 S. Ct. at 1114 (Thomas, J.,
dissenting).

5. Rule of Lenity

If Fischer had not decided the meaning of “corruptly,” and
if the remainder of the foregoing analysis left any doubt, I
believe the rule of lenity tips the scales in Robertson’s favor.
The rule of lenity instructs courts that “ambiguities about the
breadth of a criminal statute should be resolved in the
defendant’s favor.” United States v. Davis, 139 S. Ct. 2319,
2333 (2019). Or, as the rule is often expressed, “when choice
has to be made between two readings of what conduct Congress
has made a crime, it is appropriate, before we choose the
harsher alternative, to require that Congress should have
spoken in language that is clear and definite.” Dowling v.
United States, 473 U.S. 207, 214 (1985) (quoting Williams v.
United States, 458 U.S. 279, 290 (1982)). The Supreme Court

17
2 Albert Bigelow Paine, Mark Twain, A Biography 724
(1912).
 33
has frequently applied the rule of lenity in obstruction-of-
justice cases. See, e.g., Yates, 574 U.S. at 547–48 (plurality
opinion); Arthur Andersen, 544 U.S. at 703–04; Aguilar, 515
U.S. at 600; see also Fischer, 64 F.4th 382 (Katsas, J.,
dissenting) (“In the specific context of obstruction of justice,
the Supreme Court repeatedly has emphasized the need for
caution.”). I would follow the Supreme Court’s instruction.

C. DID ROBERTSON ACT “CORRUPTLY”?

Having concluded that “corruptly” is best read to require a
defendant to act with the intent of obtaining an unlawful benefit
for himself or another, I turn again to the facts of this case. The
question, to reiterate, is whether a properly instructed juror
could have found Robertson guilty under section 1512(c)
beyond a reasonable doubt. Hillie, 14 F.4th at 682. The answer
is no. There is no evidence in the record suggesting Robertson
obstructed the election certification proceeding in order to
obtain an unlawful benefit for himself or someone else. In fact,
the Government does not contend that any such evidence
exists.

In denying Robertson’s motion for judgment of acquittal,
the district court isolated the following evidence to support the
jury’s finding that Robertson acted “corruptly”:
(1) communications Robertson made before and after the
January 6th protest; (2) Robertson’s intent to use violence;
(3) Robertson’s decision to carry a dangerous weapon—a large
wooden stick—outside and inside the Capitol building;
(4) Robertson’s admission that he entered and remained in the
Capitol without lawful authority and engaged in disorderly
conduct in a restricted area; (5) Fracker’s testimony that, when
he and Robertson arrived at the Capitol building, MPD officers
were “in trouble” and the crowd was “out of hand”;
(6) Robertson impeded MPD officers as the officers marched
 34
through the protesters and (7) Robertson banged his wooden
stick while the protesters chanted in the Capitol Crypt. None of
this evidence comes close to establishing at all—much less
beyond a reasonable doubt—that Robertson acted with the
intent to obtain an unlawful benefit for himself or another.18

I would vacate Robertson’s section 1512(c)(2) conviction
and remand for resentencing on the remaining counts.

Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.

18
The “unlawful benefit” the defendant seeks must be financial,
professional or exculpatory. See, e.g., Marinello, 138 S. Ct. at 1105
(avoiding taxes); Aguilar, 515 U.S. at 595 (concealing wrongdoing
through illegal disclosure of wiretap); North, 910 F.2d at 851
(fabricating false testimony and destroying documents); see also
Corruptly (def. 2), Black’s Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019)
(“corruptly usu[ally] indicates a wrongful desire for pecuniary gain
or other advantage”). Acquittal is thus required if, as I view the
evidence, Robertson merely intended to protest the outcome of the
election or his (perceived) disenfranchisement or to make some other
political point.
The majority mistakenly insists that my view conflicts with
Judge Walker’s Fischer opinion. Maj. Op. 37–38. On the contrary,
Judge Walker did not decide how broadly to construe the “unlawful
benefit” requirement. He merely stated that he was “not so sure” that
the sought-after benefit must be “financial, professional, or
exculpatory.” Fischer, 15 64 F.4th at 356 n.5 (Walker, J., concurring
in part) (citation omitted). And even if this panel agreed with Judge
Walker’s suggestion that the office of the President “may” qualify as
“a professional benefit,” see id., we would remain free to conclude
that there was no evidence presented at trial to show that Robertson
intended—either alone or collectively—to procure that benefit.