The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court have indicated that they will hear an appeal of certain cases related to the Capitol protest of Jan. 6, 2021. 

The justices, according to the Associated Press, have specifically agreed to hear Jan. 6 cases in which a person has been charged with obstruction of an official proceeding.

The Associated Press reports, "The justices will review a charge of obstruction of an official proceeding that has been brought against more than 300 people. The charge refers to the disruption of Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election victory over Trump."

The kicker, here, is that former President Donald Trump is one of the 300 people against whom this charge has been brought.

This really could change everything

Obstructing an official proceeding is one of four criminal charges that special counsel Jack Smith, on behalf of the Biden administration, has brought against Trump. This is the same case that Smith has brought against Trump in Washington, D.C.

The claim is that Trump, with his actions before and on Jan. 6 - including the speech that he gave - illegally obstructed Congress's certification of President Joe Biden's electoral college victory in the 2020 presidential election.

There are a couple of ways that the Supreme Court's decision to hear this case could be beneficial to Trump - not to mention the 300 other individuals who have been charged with obstructing an official proceeding.

For one thing, the Supreme Court's decision to hear the case could significantly delay Smith's prosecution of Trump in D.C. Smith has insisted that he wants to prosecute Trump quickly, obtaining a trial commencement date of March 4, 2024. Depending on how things go, this trial date could get pushed back - significantly, which would already be a big win for Trump.

It would be an even bigger win if the justices were to throw out one of the key charges that Smith has brought against Trump.

What now?

Fox News reports that the justices of the Supreme Court are scheduled to hear oral arguments in this case in the coming months.

Per the outlet, "The Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments in this case in the coming months and issue a ruling by the summer."

The big question is whether this will cause Trump's D.C. case to be delayed.

There is no doubt that Trump's legal team will argue in favor of the delay, while Smith's team argues against it.

As renowned defense attorney Alan Dershowitz explained, "The prosecutors want a down and dirty conviction to affect the election, before the election, knowing that they very well may be reversed on appeal, but that will be too late to affect the election."