Yes. And it’s not just obstruction of justice. It’s obstruction of Congress.
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In the sense that the accusation of hypocrisy is meaningless now in a Trump dominated world. You can accuse someone of hypocrisy, provide the clear evidence of it, and it will fall on deaf, almost clueless ears. That Trump would be oblivious to such actions is easy to see. He’s a self-serving narcissist. Comey is an intelligent man. Yet, he is oblivious to how his comment looks given what we saw him do just 2.5 years ago. We’ve lost the gene for shame, for restraint, for the fear of reciprocity.
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OK but, by that measure, when has an accusation of hypocrisy ever slowed down any Republican?
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Fair point. Historically speaking, it’s only about a matter of degree.
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Epic trolling !
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Trump’s guilt is shown by the actions of both Barr and Trump, with regard to the release of the Full Mueller Report. The WH even wants to edit a sanitized version if it is actually released by his DOJ.
I am not sure I need your rules for MY life.
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For oh, so many good reasons.
Yes to the former, and very definitely no to the latter.
He hasn’t changed one little bit.
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This is what I predict with over 90% certainty:
Mueller was not done.
We are going to learn the following and it will throw the nation into chaos: Mueller was trying to subpoena Trump, Trump Jr, and Ivanka about 4 weeks ago…he met with Bill Barr (a long standing Republican operative from Iran-Contra) to discuss the subpoenas. Barr refused the subpoenas and instead he ordered Mueller to end the investigation and to write his report now and wrap it up. Mueller was NOT done! It was very unusual for Mueller to shut things down with the likes of Roger Stone to still be prosecuted.
Bill Barr stopped the investigation just as he promised to Trump when he was being considered for AG. You could see this coming IF you know Bill Barr.
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Fair enough, so it’s “Full steam ahead!” then!
I would not want to be the one who has to disprove your prediction …
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Time to buy stock in paper shredders.
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I share your prediction…
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I think you’re right and that Adam Schiff knows all this.
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Comey has a point. If the many instances of what appear to be obstruction had an effect, then that effect was to inhibit the discovery of evidence of conspiracy with Russia to influence the election. Taking the position that a target cannot be prosecuted for obstructing an investigation because the investigation did not establish that the target committed the crime under investigation makes no sense. It would in essence encourage rather than punish obstruction.
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Crossing a “red line…” obviously
The real question is whether this really was Mueller’s intent. If so, he’s essentially pulling a Comey - giving the subject of his investigation every benefit of doubt (and then some) in order to not rile the base or give the slightest impression of bias. (This fear or right-wing push-back has infected politics and the justice system since Reagan.)
The alternative - which in my eternal optimism I find probable - is that Barr is lying, or at least twisting Mueller’s words to fit a narrative that will stick, even once Mueller’s true intents (presumably referral to Congress) are discovered.
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In broad outlines, I think Barr interfering to shut down the investigation is a credible hypothesis.
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Folks on this site should grasp the political opportunity we have here regarding the Mueller Report.
Trump has now redefined the standard from a formal criminal indictment to effectively a preponderance of the evidence that he is unfit for office.
64% believe he committed crimes before entering office. Individual-1 faces 2 such charges as an identified co-conspirator in the campaign finance conspiracy.
3 days after the Barr Report, nearly 50% think that he committed obstruction of justice while in office, which is a Federal crime. That’s because the Barr Report implicated Trump in obstruction as Barr could not say that there wasn’t evidence to support the charge.
If we get the Mueller Report made public, people will see the devil in the details. Those details will show that the sitting POTUS and his aides committed a number of acts of collusion and obstruction which demonstrate that Trump is functionally guilty, shady, a liar, and unfit for office. Whether it rises to a federal indictable crime or not is not that relevant for the purposes of voting him out in 2020. It is relevant for what happens after he leaves office. People are now much more certain that Trump has violated the law. The report will confirm that and give people a very clear impression of who Trump is which his rhetoric and media games will not change. It will also cause those supporters who have a transactional relationship with Trump to reconsider in the face of his bad stewardship of the economy, trade policy, foreign policy, etc.
Get that report and he is politically done. He may even be done without it, because every day he delays it, he proves to average folks that he’s hiding something.
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I highly recommend reading Paul Rosenzweig’s analysis of the Barr letter over at Lawfare. Yes, he’s a Republican, yes he was part of the Starr investigation. But also yes it’s worth the time to read what he has to say on this topic.
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To get the job of AG, William Barr had to pledge personal loyalty to Trump. We know this because this is what Trump demanded of Comey and Sessions. When they did not comply, Trump got rid of them.
“L’état, c’est moi” is Trump’s operative political philosophy.
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