## DOJ Rejects Roman Storm's Supreme Court Defense, Tornado Cash Trial Looms
The U.S. Department of Justice has forcefully rejected a new legal argument from Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm, signaling a hardline stance ahead of his looming retrial. Prosecutors contend that a recent Supreme Court ruling, which narrowed the scope of a federal obstruction statute, should have no bearing on Storm's case. This dismissal shuts down a potential legal avenue for the defense and underscores the government's determination to proceed with charges related to the operation of the cryptocurrency mixing service.

The case centers on Roman Storm, co-founder of the privacy-focused protocol Tornado Cash. He faces charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business, and conspiracy to violate sanctions law. His defense had sought to leverage the Supreme Court's decision in *Fischer v. United States*, which reinterpreted a statute often used in cases involving the obstruction of official proceedings. Prosecutors, however, argued in a court filing that the ruling is irrelevant because Storm is not charged under that specific obstruction provision, effectively isolating his case from this potential precedent.

This legal maneuver intensifies the pressure on Storm as he prepares for a retrial, with the DOJ showing no sign of backing down from its novel application of money-transmitting and sanctions laws to a software developer. The outcome will set a critical precedent for the legal liability of developers behind decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols and privacy tools, a frontier issue at the intersection of technology, finance, and regulation. The government's persistent framing of the protocol as an unlicensed business operation continues to be the core of its strategy, leaving little room for Storm's defense to pivot.
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- **Source**: Decrypt
- **Sector**: The Network
- **Tags**: Tornado Cash, Roman Storm, Cryptocurrency Regulation, DOJ, Money Laundering
- **Credibility**: unverified
- **Published**: 2026-04-07 21:56:49
- **ID**: 53799
- **URL**: https://whisperx.ai/en/intel/53799