Despite the request for sealing, the request appeared in the court’s public case on Monday afternoon, just hours before what had been a hearing scheduled for Tuesday on whether Schaffer should remain in detention. At the request of both sides, Howell postponed the hearing until April 21.
The five-page order describes “good faith” efforts to strike a deal that would include Schaffer’s cooperation. While Schaffer’s involvement with the broader Oath Keepers organization is unclear, the U.S. attorney in Washington accused a dozen members of the pro-Trump and anti-government paramilitary group of conspiring to prevent Congressional certification for the 2020 elections.
“Based on these brief interviews, the parties are currently engaged in bona fide plea bargaining negotiations, including discussions on whether to enter into a plea bargain with the aim of resolving the matter without the prosecution,” wrote prosecutors. deputies Ahmed Baset and Louis Manzo. “Among the terms of the argument contemplated after the acceptance of an argument are the release of the defendant pending the sentence.”
After a hearing last month, Washington-based judge Zia Faruqui ordered Schaffer to be detained pending trial. However, Schaffer’s lawyers appealed that decision to Howell. The government had been set to respond to this effort, but requested a two-week delay, as both sides are working towards a cooperation agreement.
Prosecutors indicated in Monday’s lawsuit that they would indict Schaffer quickly if his plea negotiations collapsed by that time. They also indicated that disclosing the existence of these confession discussions could undermine their criminal investigations.
“If alerted to this information, the investigation targets against which the defendant may be providing information can be immediately asked to evade the prosecution, destroy or conceal incriminating evidence, change his operational tactics to avoid future detection, attempt to influence or intimidate witnesses potential and otherwise take steps to undermine the investigation and avoid future prosecutions, ”wrote Baset. “Consequently, these facts present an extraordinary situation and an imperative governmental interest that justify the filing of this process related to this investigation that is being presented at this moment.”