[20191008]LSB10349_妨碍司法作为一种工具.pdf

CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i Obstruction of Justice As a Sidecar October 8, 2019 Introduction The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (Second Circuit) recently vacated the sentence of an Air Force veteran convicted of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization and of obstruction of justice. The Second Circuit concluded that the district court judge had not sufficiently explained his sentencing rationale and sent the case back for resentencing. A concurring member of the panel expressed concern over the expanded use of obstruction of justice charges. Background Pugh served in the U.S. Air Force. After his discharge, he worked as an aircraft mechanic in the Middle East. He gradually became enamored of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). Intent on joining ISIS, he flew to Istanbul from Cairo, hoping to make his way to the Syrian border. Turkish officials, however, denied him entry and put him on a return flight to Egypt. Egyptian authorities detained him and discovered that he had attempted to destroy several of his electronic devices. Egyptian officials turned the devices over