8 legal experts on whether Trump's demand for an investigation into the FBI is legal
Most talk about Trump being outside the norms of the institution, unethical. but nothing new for Trump says says one. I hate it trumps behavior is normalized.
8 legal experts on whether Trump’s demand for an investigation into the FBI is legal
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/8-legal-experts-on-whether-trump%e2%80%99s-demand-for-an-investigation-into-the-fbi-is-legal/ar-AAxBaeT
Sean Illing
1 hr ago
President Donald Trump has demanded that the Department of Justice investigate whether the FBI “infiltrated or surveilled” his campaign for political purposes.
The decision, presumably, was a response to reports over the weekend from the Washington Post and New York Times that the FBI had an informant meet with three Trump advisers during the 2016 campaign. Trump’s demand is being taken seriously by the Justice Department, and the inspector general has now expanded its investigation to include the questions raised by Trump.
This could eventually force a clash between the DOJ and the president, especially if Trump continues to use his power to influence or impede the special counsel investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign.
At the moment, two legal questions immediately present themselves. First, does Trump have the authority to order an investigation like this, particularly if the goal is to discredit a separate investigation into his own campaign? Second, does this constitute obstruction of justice?
To get answers, I reached out to eight legal experts. Their full responses, edited for clarity and style, are below.
Peter Shane, law professor, Ohio State University
A presidential order, even if otherwise lawful, can amount to obstruction of justice if it “corruptly . . . influences, obstructs, or impedes or endeavors to influence, obstruct, or impede the due and proper administration of the law.” Proving beyond a reasonable doubt that an otherwise lawful order is corrupt, however, may not be easy.
But whether or not Trump’s “demands” are criminal, they are part and parcel of an unprecedented attack by a sitting president on the law enforcement apparatus of his own administration. Trump’s apparent belief in his personal entitlement to direct that law enforcement resources give priority to his own political ends is antithetical to the rule of law.
Along with his habitual lying, his assaults on the press, his recklessness with regard to the intelligence community, his seeming indifference to the competence and integrity of White House staff and Cabinet members, and his targeting of specific firms and individuals for threats and ridicule — his demands for political investigations weaken our democracy and undermine some of our most critical national institutions.
Jessica Levinson, law professor, Loyola Law School
President Trump has the power to order an investigation but not an outcome to that investigation. And that, of course, is what he is really getting at here. President Trump is not asking for a searching and thorough review of all of the relevant facts. Instead, it appears that he is asking for a specific conclusion. If there is an investigation and it fails to come to the conclusion he wants, he will no doubt call that conclusion more “fake news.” ............................
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