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Botany

(77,691 posts)
3. Obstruction of Justice ..... Trump fired Comey to stop an investigation between him and Russia
Mon May 22, 2017, 07:27 AM
May 2017

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 defendant’s 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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But would the Pubs be reckless and shameless enough rogerashton May 2017 #1
If I'm not mistaken BumRushDaShow May 2017 #2
More, the courts H2O Man May 2017 #5
And we of course saw that with Clinton. nt BumRushDaShow May 2017 #6
The weight of scholarship distinguishes the President from the VP with respect to immunity onenote May 2017 #10
I actually read through that entire thing BumRushDaShow May 2017 #14
the only thing the founders would have found surprising about benedict donald unblock May 2017 #28
I have always said (and posted) BumRushDaShow May 2017 #37
Obstruction of Justice ..... Trump fired Comey to stop an investigation between him and Russia Botany May 2017 #3
Do they need to wait a year or two before any indictments? Ligyron May 2017 #4
Can he be convicted in the Senate & THEN the indictment move to prosecution in the courts? Bernardo de La Paz May 2017 #7
Yes...can be prosecuted after removal from office. tableturner May 2017 #31
While I agree with Prof. Tribe... jberryhill May 2017 #8
Anyone can make a mistake, as you yourself just proved pnwmom May 2017 #11
Tribe's view is one view. It does not make other views "wrong". onenote May 2017 #9
That's a memo that admits treestar May 2017 #13
It's a conclusion for which neither side can cite binding precedent, which is why one cannot say onenote May 2017 #16
This could be the time treestar May 2017 #17
Under what provision of the Consitution would the VP 'take the job for awhile"? onenote May 2017 #19
The president treestar May 2017 #20
and when the president disagrees onenote May 2017 #21
We need to figure out something treestar May 2017 #22
Sure, but figuring out something will requiring amending the Constitution. onenote May 2017 #23
I'm for trying. treestar May 2017 #38
Where do they get the idea he can't be indicted? treestar May 2017 #12
Do you think the president can be criminally prosecuted while in office? onenote May 2017 #15
I would argue yes if there is evidence to indict. He treestar May 2017 #18
Tribe isn't saying he can. He's saying he can be indicted by a Grand jury pnwmom May 2017 #25
Which would suggest that the "no one is above the law" argument doesn't apply onenote May 2017 #26
The President is already in a special position with regard to the law pnwmom May 2017 #30
Actually, a president can be sued in federal court on a civil claim onenote May 2017 #32
He can't be tried in a criminal court until after he's removed from office. pnwmom May 2017 #33
I said "Civil". onenote May 2017 #34
WHY DO WE HAVE TO WAIT SO LONG TO FIND OUT? bresue May 2017 #24
Maybe because there really isn't an indictment? onenote May 2017 #27
I AGREE... bresue May 2017 #29
Oh, for Heaven's sake! An impeachment IS an indictment! Aristus May 2017 #35
AND, it sounds like that has already happened. L. Coyote May 2017 #36
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