Don’t Get Your Panties In A Bunch

MOTUS A.D. ^ | 5-7-19 | MOTUS

[NOBO2012]

How quickly we’ve moved from the Russia! Russia! Russia! Collusion! Collusion! Collusion! offense to the “Trump could still have obstructed justice — even if he didn't break the law” defense.

“Any Person Other Than Trump Would Have Been Indicted For Obstruction”  – Hillary Clinton

Logic aside, apparently you needn’t have a crime in order to commit obstruction, as explained in this WaPo piece: Barr is wrong: Obstruction of justice doesn’t require another underlying crime.

“It is black letter law that a defendant can satisfy the corrupt intent criterion for obstruction even if the defendant himself committed no underlying crime.”

He cites Hip Hop mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick as an example (which I think in this context is racist but that’s the WaPo’s problem).

Former Detroit mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick went to jail for obstructing justice in 2008 after he lied under oath about an extramarital affair.

Regardless of the ex-mayors race that’s a really bad example as Kawame was convicted on a total of 24 federal felony counts, including mail fraud, wire fraud, and racketeering - in addition to obstruction of justice and perjury. So I’m not sure I’ll put much stock in the author’s legal opinion even though he is “an assistant professor of law at the University of Chicago.” So was Barack Obama and we’ve seen how much he knew about constitutional law.

But getting back to the issue at hand, I see that 426 former federal prosecutors have signed onto a “bipartisan” statement declaring that the behavior described in special counsel Robert Mueller’s report would have resulted in obstruction of justice charges had it not come from a sitting president. Given the number of cases of prosecutorial overreach and outright malfeasance that I personally know of this does not impress me in the least. So my advice to this - I’m willing to guess predominantly Democrat leaning - batch of former prosecutors: don’t get your panties in a bunch.

And regarding their claim that “unchecked obstruction—which allows intentional interference with criminal investigations to go unpunished—puts our whole system of justice at risk,” what about Hillary? She actually deleted emails after a federal investigation was underway. If “no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case” against a presidential candidate who BleachBit evidence I fail to see why they would “bring such a case” against the guy who actually won the presidency and did not erase any evidence, remove any investigator,  denying access to any documents or fail to make staff lawyers available to the special prosecutors.

But that’s just me, what do I know? I don’t have a law degree that I can fling around like a partisan noose.

Posted from: MOTUS A.D.

[central_va]

She obstructs human decency.

[Catmom]

...and don’t get your Depends in a wet, crappy bunch.

[JonPreston]

Please stop looking backward to Hillary, she’s yesterday’s news. Today’s battles are; the social media monopoly (break them up), the treasonous GOPe and their failure to support Trump, and the neocons pimping for new wars.

[unread]

In my admittedly small mind, I can't understand how trying to stop or prevent injustice could be contrived as obstruction of justice..(?) Bizarro world maybe.???

[vette6387]

“...and don’t get your Depends in a wet, crappy bunch.”

Make that urine, boiled cabbage and farts! No wonder Slick is on a “perpetual trim hunt!”

[zeestephen]

It is an interesting legal debate.

I'm not a lawyer, but three things jump out at me.

(1) Where is the “criminal intent?” If Trump has committed obstruction, so has every other innocent person who pleads “Not Guilty” and vigorously defends himself.

(2) The two main charges against Trump appear to be firing Comey and trying to fire Mueller. Problem is - Trump is the Chief Executive Officer of the Department of Justice according to Article II of the Constitution. He can nominate or fire anybody he wants to at DOJ.

(3) As to alleged favoritism and misconduct by Trump's A.G. William Barr, John Kennedy appointed his own brother as Attorney General!

[odawg]

The Mueller team thought that if they pushed out a torrent of words, 200+ pages trying to razzle dazzle obstruction, they could overwhelm common sense.

Obstruction against Trump is forever off the table, so now the democrat snakes want to substitute imprisoning Barr (for following the law) for obstruction, no less, to keep the roiling going until the next election.

[NTHockey]

We are DEFINITELY in an alternate universe. SWMNBN. Committed crimes and goes free. President Trump obeys the law and is prosecuted.

[Zathras]

Agreed.
The Clinton’s are gone along with the Kennedy’s and Bush Family.

[erkelly]

So I gather that the left thinks after facing years of accusations and legal investigations turning your life upside down and then you are found to be innocent, you should be prosecuted and punished anyway. What is wrong with these people, this is unseemly and indecent to say the least!

[JonPreston]

It’s all about clicks for some folks. Me, I’m focused on getting Trump re-elected, and Hillary won’t be running.

[Harpotoo]

Panties? No frigg’n way! More like...

https://www.duluthtrading.com/mens-buck-naked-performance-short-boxer-briefs-15278.html?srccode=GPSHPLIA&srccode=GBSHPMN&chnl=ps_brand_pla_mn&region=in_region&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1fyv49GJ4gIVjRyGCh3JjAcNEAQYASABEgLq7PD_BwE

[Swordmaker]

(2) The two main charges against Trump appear to be firing Comey and trying to fire Mueller. Problem is - Trump is the Chief Executive Officer of the Department of Justice according to Article II of the Constitution. He can nominate or fire anybody he wants to at DOJ.

There are serious problems with the assertion that President Trump attempted to fire Mueller.

• First of all, Mueller wasn’t fired when President Trump had the power as Chief Executive to fire Mueller.
• Secondly, they are claiming that his confidential discussions of that power to fire Mueller with his White House Counsel, a perfectly discussion with the White House lawyer whose job it is to advise the president about the law and his options, about a perfectly legal act under his constitutional powers, somehow constitutes obstruction of justice, even though it went unexercised and had no effect on the continued exercise of justice.
• And finally, they claim that President Trump ordered that White House Counsel to actually fire Special Counsel Mueller, ignoring the absolute fact that the White House Counsel has no power to actually fire the Special Counsel. The White House Counsel is not in the chain of command to do any such thing as fire the Special Counsel.
  
  The only people who are in the chain of command and have such direct power to fire the Special Counsel are the President, the Attorney General, and the Deputy Attorney General who is operating as the Acting Attorney General. Those people would be President Trump, Attorney General Sessions and later Attorney General Barr, or (Acting) Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
  
  White House Counsel Don McGahn was not in that chain of command, nor even in the DOJ Chart showing any authority over the Special Counsel. He could NOT have ordered the Special Counsel to do anything, much less fired him. The best he could have done was write a letter for President Trump to sign firing Mueller.

But, none of that happened.