The Many Pieces of Evidence Suggesting Trump Obstructed Justice

Firing James Comey wasn't the only thing Trump did that could bring about an obstruction of justice charge.

BY STEVEN HARPER | OCTOBER 23, 2017

On Oct. 4, 2017, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-NC) said that all issues relating to the investigation into Russian interference with the election remain open. But with respect to the firing of FBI Director James Comey, the committee had gone as far as it could and was passing the baton: “Future questions surrounding Comey’s firing are better answered by the [special] counsel or by the Justice Department,” Burr said.

Special counsel Robert Mueller is reportedly investigating whether Trump’s interactions with Comey amount to obstruction of justice. The charge can be leveled at anyone, including the president, who attempts to influence, obstruct or impede a federal investigation or a judicial process.

Most people assume that Comey’s firing is the linchpin of any obstruction of justice case against Donald Trump. And while it’s certainly important, it’s just one brick in a longer road. The BillMoyers.com Trump-Russia Timeline reveals that Trump’s Comey predicament is far worse than wherever the act of firing him takes Mueller. Long before he dismissed the FBI director — and for months thereafter — Trump took numerous actions that could now support an obstruction of justice charge. Consider:

On Jan. 27, 2017 — a week after the inauguration — acting Attorney General Sally Yates spoke with White House counsel Don McGahn about national security adviser Michael Flynn. In December, Flynn had been in contact repeatedly with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. In public statements, Vice President Mike Pence and press secretary Sean Spicer had said that Flynn engaged in no discussions about Russian sanctions with Kislyak. But, Yates informed McGahn, that was not consistent with what US intelligence agencies knew to be true. Someone, presumably Flynn, was lying, and that made him potentially susceptible to blackmail by the Russians, who knew the truth about those conversations. On the same day that Yates spoke to McGahn, Trump invited FBI Director Comey to a private dinner at the White House. “I need loyalty,” Trump told him.


http://billmoyers.com/story/many-pieces-evidence-suggesting-trump-obstructed-justice/

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