Mueller's
Investigation Targets Trump Over Supposed 'Obstruction.' This Could Be A
Massive Constitutional Crisis In The Making.
ByBen Shapiro
@benshapiro
January 24, 2018
On Wednesday, the wave of news around the Mueller
investigation seemed to crest
with a bevy of headlines about how the special counsel was now targeting
President
Trump himself for an interview.
That interview would presumably cover Trump’s firing of former FBI director
James Comey,
his alleged request to Comey to let now-indicted former National Security
Advisor Mike Flynn go, and his pressure on various officials ranging from
Attorney General Jeff Sessions to deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe with regard to the Trump-Russia collusion investigation.
According to The Washington
Post, Mueller wants to interview Trump in particular
about the firings of Flynn and Comey. Sessions and Comey have both met with the
special counsel investigators. One source told the Post that Mueller “has also
expressed interest in Trump’s efforts to remove Sessions as attorney general or
pressure him into quitting…The person said the special counsel was seeking to
determine whether there was a ‘pattern’ of behavior by the president.”
So, here’s the “pattern” of behavior that apparently
bothers Mueller.
According to Comey, Trump asked Comey for his “loyalty”
during a private dinner at the White House in January. Then, in February, Trump
fired Flynn; immediately thereafter, Comey says Trump asked him to let Flynn
go. In May, Trump asked McCabe how he voted in the last election cycle.
Throughout this period, Trump harassed Attorney General Jeff Sessions on
Twitter, presumably for recusing himself from the Russia investigation.
Presumably, Mueller is looking to pin Trump down on
possible obstruction charges — the notion that Trump was attempting to
manipulate his own law enforcement agencies to cover for Flynn or himself.
That’s why he wants to interview Trump: to set a perjury trap for the
president, or to get Trump to admit to something that would indict him.
Democrats have been suggesting that this is Mueller’s
ultimate angle here for months. Back in December, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) stated on Meet The Press:
I think what we’re beginning to see is the putting
together of a case of obstruction of justice. I think we see this in the
indictments — the four indictments and pleas that have just taken place — in
some of the comments that are being made. I see it in the hyper-frenetic
attitude of the White House, the comments every day, the continual tweets, and
I see it most importantly in what happened with the firing of [former FBI]
Director Comey, and it is my belief that that is directly because he did not
agree to lift the cloud of the Russia investigation. That's obstruction of
Justice.
Trump didn’t help his case when he tweeted in December
that he fired Flynn because “he lied to the Vice President and the FBI,”
strongly implying that he knew Flynn was guilty of something when he asked
Comey to let him go.
Now, is there a legal case for obstruction of justice
even if all of this is true? Not really. Here’s what I wrote about it in June
2017:
There are three separate federal laws, as The New York Times
points out, that could deal with this situation. None clearly does.
1. 18 USC 1503: This “omnibus” clause covers
“corruptly or… by any threatening letter or communication influenc[ing], or
imped[ing] or endeavor[ing[ to influence, obstruct, or impede, the due
administration of justice.” But the clause also requires a pending judicial
proceeding – and as far as we are all aware, there is none. Furthermore, the
Supreme Court is quite exacting on the application of this law – a prosecutor
would need to prove that Trump’s conduct materially impeded the investigation,
which even Comey has said didn’t happen.
2. 18 USC 1512(c): This provision of law covers anyone
who “obstructs, influences, or impedes an official proceeding, or attempts to
do so.” It is not clear that an FBI investigation is an “official proceeding,”
and proving intent is difficult in any case. And it’s not enough to show intent
to violate the subsection – you have to take a “substantial step toward the
accomplishment of that goal.”
3. 18 USC 1519: This provision covers destroying
evidence related to a federal investigation. There are no accusations that
Trump destroyed evidence. Unless Trump had tapes and destroyed them, the statue
simply doesn’t apply.
So what is Mueller doing?
He’s setting the groundwork for what could become the
worst political fight of our lifetime: an impeachment move started by Democrats
over supposed non-illegal “obstruction” of an investigation that found no
underlying crime other than lying to the FBI. Trump will be tempted to pardon
those who lied to the FBI; Republicans will surely defend Trump.
Meanwhile, the media will have a field day suggesting
that Trump is a criminal and that the Republicans are covering for his
manipulation of the FBI and Department of Justice.
Nowhere in any of this will Russian collusion be a
factor.
So an investigation that began with promises that Trump
had worked hand-in-glove with Vladimir Putin to subvert an American election
will boil down to Mike Flynn lying to the FBI about talking with the Russians
about foreign policy during the transition, George Papadopoulos lying to
the FBI about meeting with a rumored Russian source and then being stymied by
the upper levels of the Trump campaign, and Paul Manafort and Rick Gates for
issues unrelated to the campaign — and then Trump firing Comey and Flynn and
saying stuff to Comey and McCabe and Sessions.
That’s weak tea. But weak tea may make for the most
controversy, given that actual evidence of Russian collusion would unite
Americans against Trump.
Let’s connect the dots:
Andrew McCabe
Andrew G. McCabe
is the deputy director and former acting director for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), married to Jill McCabe, and oversaw Hillary Rodham Clinton’s FBI email investigation.
Note: Jill McCabe is
married to Andrew G. McCabe, and was
the candidate for the 2015 Jill McCabe
VA state Senate campaign.
Virginia
Democratic Party was a contributor for the 2015 Jill
McCabe VA state Senate campaign.
Common Good VA
was a contributor for the 2015 Jill
McCabe VA state Senate campaign.
Terence R.
McAuliffe set up the Common Good VA
(PAC) in March 2014 to raise political donations during his four year term,
the candidate for the 2013 Terry
McAuliffe (VA) gubernatorial campaign, was the Virginia state government governor, a director at the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton
Foundation, and a guest at Chelsea
V. Clinton’s 2010 wedding.
Chelsea V. Clinton
was married in 2010 & Terence R.
McAuliffe was her guest, is Hillary
Rodham Clinton’s daughter, and the vice chair for the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation.
Open
Society Foundations was a funder for the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, the American Constitution Society, the Atlantic Council of the United States
(think tank), the Human Rights Watch,
and the Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace (think tank).
George
Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, was the chairman for the Foundation to
Promote Open Society, and a benefactor for the Human Rights Watch.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, the International Rescue Committee, the Brookings Institution (think tank), the
Human Rights Watch, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
(think tank).
Eric H. Holder Jr.
was a board member for the American Constitution Society, the attorney
general for the U.S. Department of
Justice, and is a director at the NAACP
Legal Defense & Educational Fund.
Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is
a division of the U.S. Department of
Justice.
Howard M. Shapiro
was the general counsel for the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and is a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr.
Debo P. Adegbile
was an assistant attorney general nominee for the U.S. Department of Justice, an acting president &
director-counsel for the NAACP Legal
Defense & Educational Fund, Mumia
Abu-Jamal’s attorney, is a director at the American Constitution Society, and a partner at the Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr.
Mumia Abu-Jamal’s
attorney was Debo P. Adegbile, and
was a member of the Black Panthers.
Stephen W.
Preston was the deputy assistant attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice, and is a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr.
Thomas L.
Strickland was the U.S. attorney in Colorado for the U.S. Department of Justice, and is a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr.
Rachel Brand is
an associate attorney general for the U.S.
Department of Justice, was counsel for[SM1]
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr,
and an associate counsel for George W.
Bush.
George
W. Bush’s associate counsel was Rachel
Brand, and is a member of the Alfalfa
Club.
Indra K. Nooyi is
a member of
the Alfalfa Club, and an overseer at
the International Rescue Committee.
Michael R.
Bloomberg is a member of
the Alfalfa Club, and was an advocate
for the ONE Campaign.
ONE Campaign is
a partner with the International Rescue
Committee.
Tom
Brokaw is an overseer at the International
Rescue Committee, and was the interim host for Meet the Press.
Dianne Feinstein
is a member of the Alfalfa Club, a U.S. Senate senator, and married to Richard C. Blum.
Richard C. Blum
is married to Senator Dianne Feinstein,
and an honorary trustee at the Brookings
Institution (think tank).
Cameron F. Kerry
is a fellow at the Brookings Institution
(think tank), a senior counsel for the Sidley
Austin LLP, John F. Kerry’s
brother, and was an associate at Wilmer
Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr.
Cyrus F.
Freidheim Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Commercial Club of Chicago, Members Directory A-Z (Past
Research)
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Newton N. Minow
is a member of the Commercial Club of
Chicago, and a senior counsel at Sidley
Austin LLP.
R. Eden Martin is
the president of the Commercial Club of
Chicago, and counsel at Sidley
Austin LLP.
Michelle Obama
was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.
Barack
Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin
LLP.
Virginia A. Seitz
is a partner at Sidley Austin LLP,
and was an assistant attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice.
James M. Cole is
a partner at Sidley Austin LLP, and
was a deputy attorney general for the U.S.
Department of Justice.
Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is
a division of the U.S. Department of
Justice.
James B. Comey
was a director at the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI), deputy attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice, and a director at the HSBC Holdings plc.
HSBC Holdings
plc was a funder for the Bill,
Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation.
Terence R.
McAuliffe a director at the Bill,
Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, the Virginia state government governor, a guest at Chelsea V. Clinton’s 2010 wedding, and set up the Common Good VA (PAC) in March 2014 to
raise political donations during his four year term, the candidate for the 2013 Terry McAuliffe (VA) gubernatorial
campaign.
John J.
Studzinski was a co-head of investment banking for the HSBC Holdings plc., is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and a director
at the Human Rights Watch.
Stuart A. Levey
is the chief legal officer for the HSBC
Holdings plc., and was a principal associate deputy attorney general for
the U.S. Department of Justice.
Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is
a division of the U.S. Department of
Justice.
Stephen W.
Preston was the deputy assistant attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice, and is a
partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale
and Dorr.
Thomas L.
Strickland was the U.S. attorney in Colorado for the U.S. Department of Justice, and is a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr.
Rachel Brand is
an associate attorney general for the U.S.
Department of Justice, was counsel for[SM2]
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr,
and an associate counsel for George W.
Bush.
Aaron Zebley was
a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering
Hale and Dorr, a chief of staff to the director for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),
and is assisting Robert S. Mueller III
in the Russia probe.
Robert S.
Mueller III was a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr,
a director at the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI), is a special counsel investigating the 2016 Donald Trump presidential campaign
Russian ties, and investigating Russia’s
interference in 2016 U.S. election.
Jamie S. Gorelick
is a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, Jared Kushner & Ivanka Trump’s attorney, was a funder
for the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea
Clinton Foundation, a deputy attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice, a trustee at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), and Steven L. Rattner’s attorney.
Jared Kushner’s
attorney is Jamie S. Gorelick, a senior
adviser to the president for the Donald
Trump administration, Donald Trump’s
son-in-law, and married to Ivanka Trump.
Ivanka Trump’s
attorney is Jamie S. Gorelick, an unpaid
adviser for the Donald Trump
administration, Donald Trump’s daughter, married to Jared Kushner.
James F. Collins
is a senior associate at the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace (think tank), was a U.S. ambassador for Russia, and a senior advisor for Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP.
Jessica Tuchman Mathews was the president of
the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), an honorary trustee at the Brookings
Institution (think tank), is a director at the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank), a director at the American
Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference
participant (think tank).
Ed Griffin’s interview with
Norman Dodd in 1982
(The investigation into the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace uncovered the plans for population
control by involving the United States in war)
Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace (think
tank) was a funder for the Nuclear
Threat Initiative (think tank).
Robert Kagan was a
senior associate for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think
tank), is a contributing
columnist for the Washington Post,
and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Vernon E. Jordan
Jr. is a senior counsel for Akin,
Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP, an honorary trustee at the Brookings
Institution (think tank), Valerie B. Jarrett’s great uncle, a
director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg
conference participant (think tank).
Valerie B. Jarrett
is Vernon E. Jordan Jr’s great niece, the senior
adviser for the Barack Obama
administration, and a member of the Commercial
Club of Chicago.
Cyrus F.
Freidheim Jr. is a member of the Commercial
Club of Chicago, and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
E.J.
Dionne is a senior fellow at
the Brookings Institution (think tank),
and a columnist for the Washington Post.
Steven L. Rattner
was a trustee at the Brookings
Institution (think tank), an economic correspondent for the New York Times, Jamie S. Gorelick was his attorney, is a frequent guest on Morning Joe, and a friend of Michael R. Bloomberg.
Eugene Robinson
is a frequent guest on Morning Joe,
a columnist for the Washington Post,
and a contributor for MSNBC.
Jonathan
Capehart , is a frequent guest on Morning
Joe, and an opinion writer for the Washington
Post.
Morning Joe is an
MSNBC program.
Harold E. Ford Jr. is a
political commentator at MSNBC, was
an overseer at the International Rescue
Committee, and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think
tank).
Tom
Brokaw is an overseer at the International
Rescue Committee, and was the interim host for Meet the Press.
Indra K. Nooyi is
an overseer at the International Rescue
Committee, and a member of the Alfalfa
Club.
ONE Campaign is
a partner with the International Rescue
Committee.
Michael R.
Bloomberg was an advocate for the ONE
Campaign, and is a member of the Alfalfa
Club.
Dianne Feinstein
is a member of the Alfalfa Club, a U.S. Senate senator, and married to Richard C. Blum.
George
W. Bush is a member of the Alfalfa
Club, and Rachel Brand was his associate
counsel.
Rachel Brand was an
associate counsel for George W. Bush,
counsel for[SM3]
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr,
and is an associate attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice.
Aaron Zebley was
a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering
Hale and Dorr, a chief of staff to the director for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),
and is assisting Robert S. Mueller III
in the Russia probe.
Robert S.
Mueller III was a partner at Wilmer
Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, a director at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), is a special counsel
investigating the 2016 Donald Trump
presidential campaign Russian ties, and investigating Russia’s interference in 2016 U.S. election.
Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is
a division of the U.S. Department of
Justice.
Eric H. Holder Jr.
was the attorney general for the U.S.
Department of Justice, a board
member for the American Constitution
Society, and is a director at the NAACP
Legal Defense & Educational Fund.
Debo P. Adegbile
was an assistant attorney general nominee for the U.S. Department of Justice, an acting president &
director-counsel for the NAACP Legal
Defense & Educational Fund, Mumia
Abu-Jamal’s attorney, is a director at the American Constitution Society, and a partner at the Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr.
Mumia Abu-Jamal’s
attorney was Debo P. Adegbile, and
was a member of the Black Panthers.
Neal S. Wolin was
an associate at Wilmer Cutler Pickering
Hale and Dorr, a special assistant to the director for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and
is a director at the Atlantic Council of
the United States (think tank).
John J.
Studzinski is a director at the Atlantic
Council of the United States (think tank), a director at the Human Rights Watch, and was a co-head
of investment banking for the HSBC
Holdings plc.
Stuart A. Levey
is the chief legal officer for the HSBC
Holdings plc., and was a principal associate deputy attorney general for
the U.S. Department of Justice.
Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is
a division of the U.S. Department of
Justice.
James B. Comey
was a director at the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI), deputy attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice, and a director at the HSBC Holdings plc.
HSBC Holdings
plc was a funder for the Bill,
Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation.
Chelsea V. Clinton
is the vice chair for the Bill, Hillary
& Chelsea Clinton Foundation, Hillary
Rodham Clinton’s daughter, and was married in 2010 & Terence R. McAuliffe was her guest.
Terence R.
McAuliffe was a director at the Bill,
Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, the candidate for the 2013 Terry McAuliffe (VA) gubernatorial
campaign, the Virginia state
government governor, a guest at Chelsea
V. Clinton’s 2010 wedding, set up the Common
Good VA (PAC) in March 2014 to raise political donations during his four
year term, and is a friend of Hassan
Nemazee.
Common Good VA
was a contributor for the 2015 Jill
McCabe VA state Senate campaign.
Virginia
Democratic Party was a contributor for the 2015 Jill McCabe VA state Senate campaign.
Jill McCabe was
the candidate for the 2015 Jill McCabe
VA state Senate campaign, and is married to Andrew G. McCabe.
Andrew G. McCabe
is married to Jill McCabe, the deputy
director and former acting director for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and oversaw Hillary Rodham Clinton’s FBI email investigation.
Hassan Nemazee is
a friend of Terence R. McAuliffe,
and was a director at the Brain Trauma
Foundation.
George
Soros is a director at the Brain
Trauma Foundation.
Paul J. Manafort
Jr. is a director at
the Brain Trauma Foundation, Rick Gates’s deputy, an adviser for Viktor F. Yanukovich, and Oleg Deripaska was his contractor.
Viktor F.
Yanukovich’s adviser was Paul J.
Manafort Jr., and Vladimir Putin
helped him to escape from the Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin
helped to Viktor F. Yanukovich’s to escape
from the Ukraine, is the president
of Russia, and Oleg Deripaska is his ally.
Oleg Deripaska
is Vladimir Putin’s ally, and was Paul J. Manafort Jr’s contractor.
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