Trump's Personal Lawyer And Campaign Manager Both Going To Prison

[Final-Fan]

NightlyPoe said:

Final-Fan said:

It wasn't illegal to fire Comey or do those other things per se, but it was illegal if he did so with corrupt motivation.  Right?  Just checking because "totally in the clear" sends the wrong message to me. 

Not right.  At least as far as criminal charges go.

In that case, I believe you're mistaken.  Quoth a NYT article,

Did Mr. Trump have lawful authority to fire Mr. Comey?

Yes. But courts have ruled that otherwise lawful acts can constitute obstruction of justice if done with corrupt intentions. Mr. Buell pointed to a 1998 case in which a federal appeals court upheld the conviction of a lawyer who had filed legal complaints and related motions against a government agent who was investigating an illegal gambling operation. The court ruled that the defendant’s “nominally litigation-related conduct” was unlawful because his real motive was “to safeguard his personal financial interest” in the corrupt enterprise.

based on

18 U.S. Code § 1512 -

( c ) Whoever corruptly—

(2)otherwise obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so,

shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.

The main problem is proving that the person in question (Trump in this case) acted with corrupt intent.  So, based on my understanding of this, firing Comey isn't necessarily a violation of this law, but it would be if Trump did it with corrupt motivations. 

Would there be impediments to charging Mr. Trump?

Yes, and not just that the Justice Department reports to Mr. Trump and is therefore unlikely to prosecute him for anything.

Obstruction of justice cases often come down to whether prosecutors can prove what a defendant’s mental state was when he or she committed the act, legal specialists said. It is not enough to show that a defendant knew the act would have a side consequence of impeding an investigation; achieving that obstruction has to have been the specific intention.

Your stated position was that even if Trump fired Comey for corrupt reasons, it still wouldn't be illegal.  I think this is wrong based on a plain reading of the quoted law.  (I think it would be quite ridiculous to claim that Trump did not attempt to "influence" an official proceeding by firing Comey, or even asking him to go easy on Flynn.)  If you still disagree, how do you think I am wrong? 

Last edited by Final-Fan - on 25 August 2018