The Washington Post reports that a bipartisan group of 370 former federal prosecutors say that President Trump obstructed justice. No kidding. But here’s the key part:
“We emphasize that these are not matters of close professional judgment,” they added. “Of course, there are potential defenses or arguments that could be raised in response to an indictment of the nature we describe here . . . But, to look at these facts and say that a prosecutor could not probably sustain a conviction for obstruction of justice — the standard set out in Principles of Federal Prosecution — runs counter to logic and our experience.”
It’s not even a close call. That’s obviously correct to anyone who’s actually read the Mueller report—and Mueller himself made it pretty clear that he would have recommended obstruction charges if not for the fact that he felt it would be unfair since DOJ wouldn’t prosecute and therefore the president wouldn’t have a chance to defend himself.
This is the mirror opposite of what happened to Hillary Clinton. In his press conference, James Comey said that case also wasn’t a close call. Clinton might have made some mistakes, but it was clear that she didn’t knowingly violate any laws.
But that made no difference to Republicans. They chanted “Lock her up” regardless, just as they’ll refuse to do anything about Trump even though he is guilty. Hell, Trump is straight-up retweeting white nationalists these days and Republicans won’t even suggest that maybe he should stop.
Still, if DOJ won’t prosecute, Congress can still initiate impeachment proceedings. What else should be done in the case of a president who, unquestionably and deliberately, has serially violated the law and shows no signs of stopping?
MONDAY NIGHT UPDATE: Now we’re up to 450 prosecutors. Impressive!
