(Cartoon image is by R.J. Matson in Roll Call.)The Brookings Institute has released a new study -- and they believe Donald Trump has committed a crime (obstruction of justice). The conclusion of that report is posted below -- and if you want to see the entire report, you can go here:
In our estimation, the public discourse surrounding President Trump’s course of conduct, including the firing of FBI Director Comey, has lacked a detailed exploration of Trump’s possible obstruction of justice. That may be due to the necessarily piecemeal and delayed manner of disclosures about the relevant facts. It also may be the product of the cacophony of voices that dominate our news cycles—ones that can be too varied and conflicting to make a lasting impression. Our goal in this paper has been to inform the conversation by collecting the relevant facts and allegations (at least as we know them) and engaging in a rigorous and sustained analysis of the legal consequences that might flow from them. In that regard, the analysis herein is likely similar to that undertaken behind closed doors by the special counsel and his team on a daily basis. We of course recognize that their investigation is ongoing, and many facts are still to be determined.
With that caveat, our review of the facts and the law leads us to the view that the president likely obstructed justice. Should that conclusion be borne out, we believe he will be held to account under one or another of the vehicles we have outlined, for no one is above the law in our system. Accountability will have significant consequences for the functioning of our democracy. We offer this paper as a framework to evaluate the facts and the investigation as they develop, and to help prepare for the turbulence that may well lie ahead.
