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In reply to the discussion: Laurence Tribe, Harvard Con law prof: Yes, a sitting President CAN be indicted. [View all]Botany
(77,691 posts)3. Obstruction of Justice ..... Trump fired Comey to stop an investigation between him and Russia
Please tell me why Donald Trump is not guilty of breaking the following statute 1505,
Obstruction of Justice?
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Obstruction of justice
Obstruction of justice is defined in the omnibus clause of 18 U.S.C. § 1503, which provides that "whoever . . . . corruptly or by threats or force, or by any threatening letter or communication, influences, obstructs, or impedes, or endeavors to influence, obstruct, or impede, the due administration of justice, shall be (guilty of an offense)." Persons are charged under this statute based on allegations that a defendant intended to intefere with an official proceeding, by doing things such as destroying evidence, or intefering with the duties of jurors or court officers.
A person obstructs justice when they have a specific intent to obstruct or interfere with a judicial proceeding. For a person to be convicted of obstructing justice, they must not only have the specific intent to obstruct the proceeding, but the person must know (1) that a proceeding was actually pending at the time; and (2) there must be a nexus between the defendants endeavor to obstruct justice and the proceeding, and the defendant must have knowledge of this nexus.
§ 1503 applies only to federal judicial proceedings. Under § 1505, however, a defendant can be convicted of obstruction of justice by obstructing a pending proceeding before Congress or a federal agency. A pending proceeding could include an informal investigation by an executive agency.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/obstruction_of_justice
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Laurence Tribe, Harvard Con law prof: Yes, a sitting President CAN be indicted. [View all]
pnwmom
May 2017
OP
The weight of scholarship distinguishes the President from the VP with respect to immunity
onenote
May 2017
#10
Obstruction of Justice ..... Trump fired Comey to stop an investigation between him and Russia
Botany
May 2017
#3
Can he be convicted in the Senate & THEN the indictment move to prosecution in the courts?
Bernardo de La Paz
May 2017
#7
It's a conclusion for which neither side can cite binding precedent, which is why one cannot say
onenote
May 2017
#16
Under what provision of the Consitution would the VP 'take the job for awhile"?
onenote
May 2017
#19