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"According to two federal law enforcement officials involved in an investigation into the issue, President Donald Trump has asked his long-time lawyer, Michael Cohen, to lie to Congress about negotiations over the construction of a Trump tower.
"plan, set up by Cohen, to visit Russia during the presidential campaign, in order to personally meet President Vladimir Putin and revive the negotiations of the tower. Trump told Cohen, "Make that happen."
The story of BuzzFeed also states that Cohen confirmed this information to special advocate Robert Mueller after "the special attorney's office had learned that Trump had ordered Cohen to lie to Congress through interviews with several witnesses from the Trump organization and internal emails to the company, SMS and a cache of other documents. "
It's difficult to exaggerate what is a big problem. No other major sales outlet has confirmed the BuzzFeed report. But if the BuzzFeed report is right, the US president then ordered a non-commissioned officer to lie – which in itself is a crime.
Klobuchar: the president persuades son of perjury would be an obstruction, is it true?
Barr: Well, yes. Well, anyone who persuades another de – yeah. "
Klobuchar:" You also said that a president or anyone convincing a witness to change his testimony would be an obstacle, is not it?
Barr: Yes. "
What was good, no?
Ask yourself the following question: why, if there was nothing disturbing in Trump's relations with Russia, would instruct Does Cohen lie about the depth and breadth of conversations between Trumps and the Russians regarding a potential construction project in Moscow? You do not have to lie or conceal things that are not very serious, no?
And we know of Cohen, not only did he lie at the special council office on Trump Tower Moscow, but he did so because he believed in the truthful details of the duration conversations with the Russians about the project (until June 2016, according to Cohen) and the involvement of the Trump family (Cohen said he had repeatedly informed them about the project. evolution of the situation) could jeopardize the chances of the billionaire businessman to win the Republican nomination to the presidency.
Giuliani's problem is that the BuzzFeed report does not concern him. depends on Cohen. It is said that the special attorney had discovered the evidence that Trump had told Cohen to lie by "multiple witnesses from the Trump organization and internal emails to the company, SMS and a cache memory of 39 other documents ". Mueller's office only went to Cohen to confirm / admit that he had actually done so. The special board office did not get Cohen's information. What makes Giuliani's claim that Cohen is a proven liar – what he is! – largely devoid of meaning.
If the BuzzFeed report is true (and yes, it remains a "if" since CNN has not corroborated the record), the whole conversation in Russia is changing. As Barr usefully pointed out earlier this week, the president told someone who works for him to lie to Congress about an ongoing investigation, that is an obstruction of justice. And obstruction of justice is a crime.
"All they have to do, is write a report," Giuliani told CNN's Dana Bash in May 2017. "They can not charge." , they acknowledged to us that after some fighting, they had recognized us. " 19659005] Suppose this is true – although that means we take Giuliani's word, which, given his recent "no collusion" flip-flop, could be a risky proposition.) This means that Mueller's report will be probably go through political channels rather than legal channels. So rather than an indictment, maybe an indictment.
The" if true "part is, of course, the key. BuzzFeed brought into play the credibility of its entire organization. Making an allegation that the President of the United States deliberately hindered justice in an investigation into Russia's attempts to interfere in the presidential election is a gigantic affair – and the kind of thing that, if it is false, can cause irreparable harm to the reputation of a company.
But if BuzzFeed's article is correct – and one of the journalists who reported on the article insisted Friday night on CNN that the information in the play was "rock solid" and that the sourcing "went beyond" the two sources cited – so it's the smoking gun (or at least one a smoking gun).
If Mueller has the goods – as the BuzzFeed report suggests, then it's very, very difficult to see how an impeachment proceeding will not be started in the House once the special advocate's report will have been published. The question of whether Trump is effectively removed from office is a more political issue that depends on the clarity, if not the opposite, Trump's guilt in the Mueller report.
Make no mistake: it is a very big moment in an apparently drunk investigation. And, for history students, you will remember that the first article of dismissal against the then President, Richard Nixon, was that he had impeded justice by ordering others to lie. . So, there is that.
