All of this was a subject of conversation on NPR this morning. The other point
that was made was that it is now known that the investigation of Russian
tampering was already ongoing as of April 2016. So much for the false narative
that it was created by the Clinton team after her loss. IMHO that lie about it
being created by the Clinton team is just a song and dance contrived by the
liberal elite to twart a fair nvestigation.
Frank
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Miriam Vieni
Sent: Thursday, May 18, 2017 9:13 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Did Trump Commit High Crimes and Misdemeanors?
Did Trump Commit High Crimes and Misdemeanors?
Thursday, May 18, 2017
By Marjorie Cohn, Jurist | Op-Ed
FBI Director Robert Mueller III testifies during a hearing on Capitol Hill, in
Washington, DC, June 19, 2013. The Justice Department has appointed Mueller to
serve as a special counsel to oversee its investigation into Russian meddling
in the 2016 election, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced on May
17, 2017, a move that dramatically raises the stakes for Donald Trump. (Photo:
Christopher Gregory / The New York Times)
Marjorie Cohn discusses the legal framework of a potential Trump impeachment.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has responded to the crescendo of
outrage by appointing former FBI director Robert Mueller as special counsel to
investigate "any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and
individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump'' and "any
matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation'' as well as
any other matters within the scope of the Department of Justice
(DOJ) regulation on special counsel appointments.
"In my capacity as acting attorney general I determined that it is in the
public interest for me to exercise my authority and appoint a special counsel
to assume responsibility for this matter,'' Rosenstein stated.
"My decision is not a finding that crimes have been committed or that any
prosecution is warranted. I have made no such determination. What I have
determined is that based upon the unique circumstances the public interest
requires me to place this investigation under the authority of a person who
exercises a degree of independence from the normal chain of command,''
Rosenstein added.
Independent counsel Kenneth Starr thought he had "substantial and credible"
evidence against President Bill Clinton in 1998. Starr turned over the results
of his investigation to the House of Representatives, who then initiated
impeachment proceedings.
Evidence of a Cover-Up by Trump
As evidence of President Donald Trump's malfeasance emerges, the old adage that
the cover-up is worse than the crime may once again prove true.
There is circumstantial evidence of improper contact between members of the
Trump administration and Russian operatives during the presidential campaign.
At this point, however, we have seen no concrete proof of criminal conduct.
But evidence of a cover-up continues to mount. Trump has admitted the Russia
investigation motivated him to fire FBI director James Comey. Trump asked Comey
to end the investigation of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.
Trump made veiled threats to Comey about possible tapes of their conversations.
Trump demanded that Comey pledge loyalty to him, but Comey refused. And Trump
defensively fixated on Comey telling him three times that Trump was not an
object of the investigation.
These acts constitute probable cause that Trump engaged in obstruction of
justice and witness tampering.
Both of these crimes are felonies. They are "high crimes and misdemeanors,"
the constitutional standard for impeachment.
In addition, according to the Washington Post, Trump revealed "highly
classified information" to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Russian
ambassador to the US Sergei Kislyak, and Russian reporters.
Although this may not amount to criminal behavior, it could still constitute a
high crime and misdemeanor for impeachment purposes.
What Are High Crimes and Misdemeanors?
Alexander Hamilton wrote in The Federalist No. 65 that offenses are impeachable
if they
proceed from the misconduct of public men, or, in other words, from the abuse
or violation of some public trust. They are of a nature which may with peculiar
propriety be denominated POLITICAL, as they relate chiefly to injuries done
immediately to the society itself.
When the president obstructs justice or tampers with a witness, that violates
the public trust and injures society's right to the fair administration of
justice.
The New York Times reported that Trump revealed to Lavrov and Kislyak
classified information he learned from Israel. The president does have the
power to declassify classified information. But CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou
told Democracy Now! that the proper procedure for a president to declassify
information is that
it goes back to the CIA, to the originating office. The CIA will pull the
relevant information out of the report, put it on a new blank sheet of paper
and then type at the top, 'Secret releasable to Russia.' That way, nobody gets
in trouble, no sources and methods are revealed, everybody's happy, and we can
establish something of a liaison relationship to the Russians. That's not what
the president did.
Former CIA director Michael Hayden cautioned in the Washington Post:
The information reportedly derived from another country's intelligence service,
so its revelation would have violated the near-sacred third-party rule of
intelligence: Information from one country cannot be shared with another
without the agreement of the originator. Break that rule often enough and your
intelligence begins to dry up.
Indeed, US intelligence officials told the Post that the "disclosures
jeopardized a critical source of intelligence on the Islamic State."
Moreover, Hayden noted, "Reportedly, National Security Council staffers were
concerned enough about the revelations that they felt compelled to warn the CIA
and the National Security Agency. Clearly, someone in government was concerned
about potential damage."
Trump's revelation to the Russian officials endangers the future security
relationship between the US and one of its allies, which is a significant
purveyor of intelligence about the Middle East. That could injure US national
security, and thereby, the society itself. Trump "revealed more information to
the Russian ambassador than we have shared with our own allies," a US official
told the Post.
The Judiciary Committee's impeachment inquiry staff during the Nixon
impeachment wrote in 1974 that impeachment "is to be predicated only upon
conduct seriously incompatible with ... the proper performance of
constitutional duties of the presidential office." Under the Constitution, the
president has a duty to "take Care that the laws be faithfully executed."
There is strong evidence that Trump committed high crimes and misdemeanors to
support an impeachment investigation. Mueller will undoubtedly uncover a great
deal more. The new special counsel should send the results of his investigation
to the House of Representatives, where impeachment proceedings take place.
Obstruction of Justice
The articles of impeachment in the cases of both Nixon and Clinton contained
allegations of obstruction of justice.
The federal obstruction of justice statute punishes anyone who "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 and proper exercise of the power of inquiry under which any inquiry or
investigation is being had by either House, or any committee of either House or
any joint committee of the Congress."
A conviction of obstruction of justice requires "acting with an improper
purpose, personally or by influencing another." Trump asked Vice President Mike
Pence and Attorney General Jeff Sessions to step out of the Oval Office before
the president requested that Comey drop the investigation of Flynn.
The president didn't want Pence or Sessions to hear what he had to say to
Comey. This is evidence that Trump made the request to Comey for an improper
purpose.
If Trump did fire Comey because the latter's investigation was getting too
close to incriminating Trump, it would be a cover-up, and strong evidence of
obstruction of justice.
Witness Tampering
The federal witness tampering statute punishes anyone who "knowingly uses
intimidation, threatens, or corruptly persuades another person, or attempts to
do so, or engages in misleading conduct toward another person, with intent to
influence, delay or prevent the testimony of any person in an official
proceeding"
A person also engages in witness tampering if he "otherwise obstructs,
influences, or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so" or
"intentionally harasses another person and thereby hinders, delays, prevents,
or dissuades any person from attending or testifying in an official proceeding."
Comey reported that Trump asked him for his loyalty. Although the FBI requires
its officials to pledge fealty to the Constitution, not to any individual
leader, Trump sought to elicit a personal loyalty oath from the FBI director.
This may be evidence of intimidation to prevent Comey from testifying against
Trump.
And Trump's veiled threats to Comey about tapes of their conversation,
ostensibly to keep Comey quiet, may also amount to witness tampering.
Regulations on Appointment of Special Counsel
The attorney general (AG) has the authority to appoint and remove special
counsel to investigate top government officials. The AG exercises power over
indictments and other prosecutorial actions. The special counsel remains
accountable to the AG, who can block "any investigative or prosecutorial step"
he deems "inappropriate or unwarranted."
In March, Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the Russia
investigation because during his confirmation hearing, Sessions had failed to
disclose contacts he had with Russian officials. Thus the authority to appoint
a special independent counsel falls to Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein.
DOJ regulations call for the appointment of an outside special counsel when
(1) a criminal investigation of a person or matter is warranted, (2) the
investigation or prosecution of that person or matter by a US Attorney's Office
or litigating division of the DOJ would present a conflict of interest for the
Department, and (3) under the circumstances it would be in the public interest
to appoint an outside Special Counsel to assume responsibility for the matter.
When these three conditions are satisfied, the AG must select a special counsel
from outside the government.
Mueller, a former government official, is expected to resign from his law firm
in order to serve as special counsel in this investigation.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license.
