By Jake Kaplan

Here are some of the legal news stories making headlines this week:

There are significant developments in the aftermath of the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol.

• On Monday, a federal judge in the District of Columbia sentenced Paul Hodgkins to eight months in prison for obstructing an official proceeding — the counting of the electoral votes. Hodgkins is the first insurrectionist to be sent to jail for his conduct on January 6th.
• An unsealed criminal complaint revealed that former Drug Enforcement Administration special agent Mark Ibrahim is facing federal charges for, among other things, bringing his service firearm onto Capitol grounds and lying to the FBI. In March, Ibrahim told Fox News’ Tucker Carlson that he was fired from the DEA for attending the riot at the Capitol, but prosecutors allege that, weeks before January 6th, Ibrahim informed the DEA that he was planning to resign.
• There is a lot of drama surrounding which members of the House will serve on the select committee that will investigate the insurrection. Last month, the House approved a measure to launch the committee, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi nominated eight representatives to sit on it (seven Democrats and Republican Rep. Liz Cheney). This week, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced his five Republican suggestions to fill the remaining seats, including Reps. Jim Banks and Jim Jordan. However, Pelosi, who, according to the legislation authorizing the committee, must provide “consultation” on all nominees, refused to seat Banks and Jordan. In response, McCarthy pulled all five of his nominations and said Republicans would pursue their own investigation of January 6th.  

And, on Tuesday, federal prosecutors in New York charged Trump ally Tom Barrack for illegally lobbying on behalf of the United Arab Emirates.

• Barrack is an investor and real estate developer who served as chairman of former President Trump’s inaugural committee. Barrack and Trump have been friends since the 1980s. 
• According to the indictment, Barrack, and two other men who were also indicted, used Barrack’s connection to Trump to “advance the interests of and provide intelligence to the UAE while simultaneously failing to notify the Attorney General that their actions were taken at the direction of senior UAE officials.”
• Prosecutors allege that Barrack’s conduct violated 18 U.S. Code §951, which bars acting “as an agent of a foreign government without prior notification to the Attorney General,” and carries a potential sentence of up to ten years in prison. According to Barb McQuade, this statute is commonly “used against foreign spies.”