Trump's loyalty obsession could lead to a case of obstruction

The New York Times reported that Trump had called acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker at the end of last year to ask him if it was possible that the US District Attorney of New York South District, rejected, can nevertheless take over.

Even in his public remarks, the President often left the impression that senior law enforcement officials had a duty to protect him – as a personal lawyer – rather than the neutral administration of justice and the Constitution.

Trump mounted almost daily attacks against Special Investigator Robert Mueller's investigation and other investigations targeting his administration.

In the worst case, its incessant private, public, and political efforts to influence investigations could be an obstacle to justice – and even an integral part of any future article of dismissal.

Brooke Baldwin of CNN asked if Trump's request to Whitaker amounted to an obstruction, Elie Honig, a former federal prosecutor, replied, "What could it be other?"

"What other reason could the president have for calling Matt Whitaker to the right as the Cohen investigation grew and began to threaten him … and asking Whitaker:" Can we have my guy? ", Did he declare.

Paul Rosenzweig, senior counsel for the Whitewater Inquiry, told Baldwin that, if confirmed, reporting on Trump could constitute a possible abuse of power.

"It's really hard to come up with an innocent explanation for asking someone to indulge in a disqualification that seems entirely appropriate," he said. "It is a little early to say for sure what the facts are since Mr. Whitaker has somehow denied that assertion – but if the facts prove what they are, it may be impenetrable."

"No obstruction"

Trump's lawyers argued that his dismissal from Comey and his attempts to intervene in staffing decisions of the Department of Justice were consistent with his titular authority as a senior official in the implementation of the country law.

They said that a president can "order the closure" of an investigation by the Department of Justice or the FBI "at any time and for any reason whatsoever".

But many legal experts believe that if Mueller established an intent to bribe, normal norm for a charge of obstruction in a criminal case, it could be a behavior that could be taken in the context policy of a dismissal case.

There is a historical precedent for a presidency threatened by an existential danger after an attempt to interfere in the investigation process.

Silent consent circle

McCabe told CNN's Anderson Cooper on Tuesday night promoting his new book that Trump posed a threat to the FBI and the nation and that it was "possible" for the president to be a Russian asset.

He renewed his accusation of being fired because he had discharged his task by launching an investigation into Trump's behavior.

The White House argues that McCabe has no credibility because he is currently under criminal investigation for allegedly misleading the investigators in their investigation of the FBI's handling of the Clinton Foundation investigation.

But he suggested that an independent ministerial report used as justification for his dismissal had been unduly influenced by Trump.

"The president has very publicly asked for a result and the office of the inspector general gave this result … the president wished me to leave before I could be eligible for retirement."

Kellyanne Conway, a White House advisor, said on CNN's "Cuomo Prime Time" show that McCabe was "a liar and a liberator".

Trump's alleged propensity to rely on his key law enforcement collaborators emerged during breathtaking public testimonials, contemporary memos, and autobiographical writings by Comey.

"The boss has total control, the oaths of loyalty, the worldview that opposes us, the lie about everything, big or small, at the service of a code of loyalty that places the organization above of morality and truth, "wrote Comey. .

Trump was clearly waiting for Comey not to receive the kind of protection that he had received from former Attorney General Jeff Sessions and never forgive him for recusing himself because of the fact. Mueller's investigation of Russia.

"I would have quickly chosen somebody else – so much time and money wasted, so many lives ruined … and Sessions knew better than anyone else that it was n & # 39; There was no collusion! " Trump added.

The president hinted that he was convinced that the Attorney General should play the role of personal bodyguard when he expressed his opinion on the Attorney General of the former Obama administration, Eric Holder.

However, his reluctance to entrust Berman with responsibility for the Cohen investigation suggests that the legal structures within the Justice Department are strong, despite Trump's relentless pressure.

There was also no sign that Berman would have agreed to take such a step.

Preet Bharara, a former US district attorney in the southern New York District, was fired by Trump, but only after the president called him, what the CNN commentator now sees as an attempt to cultivate a relationship.

"It's a kind of person who does not understand that the rules must work in a particular way and that there must be a regular order, whether it is a challenge or a distance of dependency between a lawyer. or an investigator from the United States and the President of the United States. "Tuesday, Bharara told CNN's Jake Tapper.