JustSecurity again shines sunlight with a well reasoned analysis of Trumps “drafting on Air Force One of the false statement that Donald Trump, Jr. provided to the press about the June 9, 2016 Trump Tower campaign meeting with Russians, as well as a previously undisclosed conversation among the President and his aides the following day concerning the potential risks and ramifications of the false statement.”
You know the Trump Jr letter they are referring to, the one that totally lied about the meeting Jr had with with the Russians that “gave a very partial and distorted account of events”, aka lied to the FBI and all of us Americans.
They ask these important questions (you have to go to JustSecurity for the full discussion) about this part of Trumps obstruction of justice —
1. What are the implications for the obstruction of justice Investigation?
2. What are the implications for the collusion investigation?
3. Does the reporting potentially reveal new crimes?
4. What are the evidentiary considerations involved here?
To conclude that —
In sum, this latest revelation potentially adds significantly to the Mueller’s investigation. The Times reports that “Some lawyers and witnesses who have sat in or been briefed on the interviews have puzzled over Mr. Mueller’s interest in the episode. … [S]ome of Mr. Trump’s advisers argue that Mr. Mueller has no grounds to ask the president about the statement [drafted on Air Force One] and say he should refuse to discuss it.” There’s no reason to be so puzzled any longer, and the President’s refusal to discuss the episode with Mueller will not fly in any court of law.
Again, go read the full analysis by JustSecurity, a project of NYU Law.
The authors are —
Alex Whiting
Editor
Alex Whiting (@alexgwhiting) is a Professor of Practice at Harvard Law School where he focuses on international and domestic prosecution issues. From 2010-13, he was the Investigation Coordinator and then Prosecution Coordinator in the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, overseeing all of the ongoing investigations and prosecutions in the Office. Before going to the ICC, Whiting taught for more than three years at Harvard Law School. From 2002-2007, he was a Trial Attorney and then a Senior Trial Attorney with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, where he was lead counsel in several war crimes and crimes against humanity prosecutions. Before the ICTY, he was a U.S. federal prosecutor for ten years, first with the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division in Washington, D.C., and then with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston. Whiting attended Yale College and Yale Law School. His publications include International Criminal Law: Cases and Commentary (2011), co-authored with Antonio Cassese and two other authors, and “In International Criminal Prosecutions, Justice Delayed Can Be Justice Delivered,” 50 Harv. Int’l L. J. 323 (2009). Media Inquiries: Contact John Reed, Managing Editor E-mail: jtreed@justsecurity.org
And
Ryan Goodman
Co-Editor-in-Chief
Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw) is founding co-editor-in-chief of Just Security. He is the Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Professor of Law at New York University School of Law. He served as Special Counsel to the General Counsel of the Department of Defense (2015-16). Ryan is also a Professor of Politics and Professor of Sociology at NYU. He was the inaugural Rita E. Hauser Professor of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at Harvard Law School. He received a J.D. from Yale Law School, a Ph.D. from Yale University, and a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a member of the Department of State’s Advisory Committee on International Law, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a member of the US Naval War College’s Board of Advisers for International Law Studies, and a member of the Board of Editors of the American Journal of International Law. Areas of Expertise: National Security Law, International Law, Law of Armed Conflict, Use of Force, Human Rights Law.
Only one thing left to add…. It’s Mueller time.