General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTheres no indication Comey violated the law. Trump may be about to.
This article explains the legal issues Trump may be about to get himself into at the advice of his dimwitted, spelling challenged attorney.
-----------------------------------------
As the news broke, I was on the phone with Stephen Kohn, partner at a law firm focused on whistleblower protection. Wed been talking about where the boundaries lay for Comey in what he could and couldnt do with the information about his conversations with the president. Kohns response to the story about Kasowitz, though, was visceral.
Here is my position on that: Frivolous grandstanding, he said. First of all, I dont believe the inspector general would have jurisdiction over Comey any more, because hes no longer a federal employee. The inspector generals job is to investigate wrongdoing by employees of the Justice Department, of which Comey is no longer, thanks to Trump.
But, second, he continued, initiating an investigation because you dont like somebodys testimony could be considered obstruction. And in the whistleblower context, its both evidence of retaliation and, under some laws, could be an adverse retaliatory act itself.
In other words, Comey, here, is an employee who is blowing the whistle, to use the idiom, on his former boss. That boss wants to punish him for doing so. Thats problematic especially if theres no evidence that Comey actually violated any law that would trigger punishment.
<>
In a piece he wrote for The Post on Thursday, Kohn described a 2003 case involving Robert MacLean, an air marshal who was fired for leaking information about a Homeland Security Department decision. That case established a relevant precedent for the Comey question. The Supreme Court determined that the DHS rule prohibiting leaks was insufficient cause for firing in the whistleblower context, since it wasnt a law. By extension, even if Trump tried to argue that Comey violated executive privilege, that, too, is not codified in law.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/news/politics/wp/2017/06/09/theres-no-indication-comey-violated-the-law-trump-may-be-about-to/
YCHDT
(962 posts)... leaking to the press is protected IIRC