Posted on 01/27/2018 7:02:15 AM PST by mandaladon
A former Department of Justice appointee under former President Barack Obama said special counsel Robert Mueller “almost certainly won’t indict” President Donald Trump at the conclusion of his investigation.
Eric Columbus, former senior counsel to the deputy attorney general under Obama, explained on Twitter why we should not expect any criminal charges against Trump, despite a growing chorus of pundits and Democratic politicians predicting that Mueller is building an obstruction of justice case.
Mueller almost certainly won't indict Trump – not because it would be unconstitutional, but because Mueller's authority is very different from Ken Starr's was. I can explain. As Columbus points out, the law guiding independent counsel Kenneth Starr that allowed him to indict then-President Bill Clinton Starr’s investigation into the Clinton during the 1990s had expired in 1999 “amidst concern that ICs had too much leeway,” he writes.
Mueller is a “special counsel,” the position that replaced independent counsels, out of concern that ICs had too much power, Columbus notes.
In other words, Mueller “is essentially the equivalent of a U.S. Attorney, except that his jurisdiction is defined by topic rather than geography,” wrote Columbus. Therefore, Mueller reports to deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein because Attorney General Jeff Sessions has recused himself.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailycaller.com ...
Er, Special Counsels do not indict presidents. They do not have the authority.
Don’t tell CNN.
Of course he won’t indict Trump. Instead, he’ll indict one of the kids and leave dark hints about Trump’s involvement.
The Mueller probe has always been about the 2018 elections - both to influence and to provide grist for the impeachment mill.
The plan was to conclude it in late summer to allow a crescendo to build by election day and to discourage cowardly Pubbies from supporting Trump.
Maybe the coup is failing. We can only hope.
BUT? Will Trump have Mueller charged?
Of course not.
Mulehead is doing oppo research.
This isn’t exactly news. It’s been pretty much common knowledge that Mueller wouldn’t (couldn’t?) indict the president. Mueller is after information that leads to impeachment. Impeachment is a POLITICAL process, not a criminal action. All Mueller needs is sufficient accusations, along with a compliant press to allow democRats to initiate impeachment votes.
What act did Trump do which could obstruct justice?
Not a darn thing.
Don't forget that Mueller is as dirty as the rest of them. He was appointed as Special Council to try and CYA for all of the 'deep staters'. Because if he fails, which he is failing, then all of the dirty, unlawful, unConstitutional deeds that the FBI, DOJ and others will be laid bare for all to see.
Exactly. The only thing the Mueller investigation ever intended to do is harass Trump for 8 years. Notice his investigation leaks like a sieve but #FusionCollusion is as tight as a bottle.
I agree. Read the statute and cases pursued under.
They can initiate votes, but an actual conviction is another thing entirely. The economy is strong and getting stronger. There are not enough votes now -- their only hope is after the mid-terms. Some more good economic news and we may actually do well in the mid-terms.
When all the workers in the US have $20-40 more in each weekly paycheck, it is going to be hard to convince them to give it back.
Look at what has been accomplished in one year. One more year of the same and popularity may be over 50%.
I think it was supposed to be for impeachment, just look at what people like Kerry and Soros have been telling people overseas.
This entire “investigation” was designed to create process crimes. There apparently is no underlying crime, so the goal was to literally create crimes over the course of the investigation - a criminal investigation designed to not find crimes, but to create them.
You don’t put together the team that Mueller did if the objective is to “get to the truth.” They aren’t just Democrats - they are blatant partisans with conflicts of interest. There are numerous qualified attorneys to have been assembled who don’t have those kinds of biases - but Mueller didn’t choose an objective legal team - obviously by design.
It's fortunate that there is a real media outside the Swamp, but it only takes a majority of the Swamp dwellers in the House to approve an impeachment. A conviction by 2/3 of the Senate would be more problematic.
In the minds of the MSM, registering as a Republican is enough.
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