Trump's New Impeachable Offenses: Obstruction of Justice, Conspiracy, Abuse of Power [View all]

[L. Coyote]

There is absolutely no doubt Trump's motive in firing Comey was to eliminate the person investigating #TrumpRussia and to obstruct the FBI investigation. That is criminal action.

The action was taken be three persons, Trump, Sessions and Rosenstein, and therefore conspiracy statutes prevail:

18 U.S. Code § 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud United States - If two or more persons conspire either to commit any offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States, or any agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

18 U.S. Code § 372 - Conspiracy to impede or injure officer - If two or more persons in any State, Territory, Possession, or District conspire to prevent, by force, intimidation, or threat, any person from accepting or holding any office, trust, or place of confidence under the United States, or from discharging any duties thereof, or to induce by like means any officer of the United States to leave the place, where his duties as an officer are required to be performed, or to injure him in his person or property on account of his lawful discharge of the duties of his office, or while engaged in the lawful discharge thereof, or to injure his property so as to molest, interrupt, hinder, or impede him in the discharge of his official duties, each of such persons shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six years, or both.

The conspiracy began earlier, with truth-suppressing acts by co-conspirators Sessions, Flynn, and Kushner. Given perjury, false declarations, or assertion of a false affirmative statement by an individual testifying under oath accompanied by other obstructive, evasive testimony, such as a false denial of knowledge or memory, legal offenses exist. Sessions committed perjury in his confirmation hearing, Flynn lied to the FBI and about his Russia contacts, Kushner failed to disclose his Russia contacts in his security clearance. These acts and Trump's firing of Comey are part of a pattern of actions, a cover up related to the Trump campaign, and have been carried out for a unified purpose and in a concerted manner.

18 U.S. Code § 1621 - Perjury generally - Whoever—
(1) having taken an oath before a competent tribunal, officer, or person, in any case in which a law of the United States authorizes an oath to be administered, that he will testify, declare, depose, or certify truly, or that any written testimony, declaration, deposition, or certificate by him subscribed, is true, willfully and contrary to such oath states or subscribes any material matter which he does not believe to be true; or
(2) in any declaration, certificate, verification, or statement under penalty of perjury as permitted under section 1746 of title 28, United States Code, willfully subscribes as true any material matter which he does not believe to be true;
is guilty of perjury and shall, except as otherwise expressly provided by law, be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both. This section is applicable whether the statement or subscription is made within or without the United States.

Obstruction and impeding any inquiry or investigation in Congress is also criminal. Director Comey was a witness before Congress in both public and classified hearings in the very days before his dismissal.

18 U.S. Code § 1505 - Whoever 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 administration of the law under which any pending proceeding is being had before any department or agency of the United States, or 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—

Shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years or, if the offense involves international or domestic terrorism (as defined in section 2331), imprisoned not more than 8 years, or both.

History repeats. The first charge in Nixon's impeachment resolution was obstruction of justice. Abuse of power and politics can continue to impede investigations. An independent investigation is an immediate imperative.

The best path forward remains unresolved. There were reasons to impeach Trump before this latest action, but political will was lacking. That too is changing, moreso behind the barriers of secrecy imposed by classified information. As more information from the multitudinous investigations is revealed, the demands to end Trump's despotic tenure will grow. I doubt partisanship will be set aside to restore justice and undo an election outcome that never should have been. However, we don't have all the facts yet and when we do, even that may happen. Meanwhile, let the impeachment begin.