After Trump went full Godfather this morning on James Comey, some legal experts say that's far worse for Trump from a legal standpoint even if the firing was worse politically speaking. Peter Baker at the New York Times writes:
The Twitter comment comes in the context of an F.B.I. investigation, and some experts said the president was skirting a legal line. Samuel W. Buell, a Duke University law professor and former federal prosecutor who led the Enron task force, said that although it was ambiguous whether firing Mr. Comey in the first place amounted to obstruction of justice, Mr. Trump’s threats on Twitter to quiet Mr. Comey could more clearly fall into that category.
“Obstruction of an obstruction investigation is also obstruction,” Mr. Buell said. “If this were an actual criminal investigation — in other words, if there were a prosecutor and a defense lawyer in the picture — this would draw a severe phone call to counsel warning that the defendant is at serious risk of indictment if he continues to speak to witnesses. Thus, this is also definitive evidence that Trump is not listening to counsel and perhaps not even talking to counsel. Unprecedented in the modern presidency.”
This falls into the category of Trump is likely just crazy enough to bring himself down. It’s the second time this week that he probably paved the way for real legal trouble. Here’s constitutional law scholar Laurence Tribe:
Friday, May 12, 2017 · 10:44:18 PM +00:00
·
Kerry Eleveld
UPDATE: Based on Trump's threat tweet, Reps. Elijah Cummings and John Conyers have asked the WH to turn over any tapes and documents related to Comey's firing.
“Under Section 1512 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, it is a crime to intimidate or threaten any potential witness with the intent to influence, delay, or prevent their official testimony,” Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) wrote in a letter to White House Counsel Don McGahn.