Tag Archives: FBI

Presidential Obstruction of Justice

20 Thursday Sep 2018

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This article from the California Law Review, written by Daniel J. Hemel and Eric A. Posner and entitled Presidential Obstruction of Justice, examines the standard for charging a United States president with obstruction of justice in light of his role as head of the executive branch and federal law enforcement. The authors assert that a president does violate the law when he obstructs justice with an improper purpose and explore what that improper purpose might be. They ultimately claim that when a president acts/obstructs justice to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed,” his purpose is proper, but that otherwise it is not.

This analysis is of course significant in light of President Trump’s firing of Former FBI James Comey which some believe was an act obstructing justice. The friction between Comey and Trump was brought to the forefront again on Monday when the President ordered that Comey’s communications be released to the public along with ” 20 pages of a 2016 surveillance application targeting former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page and Justice Department official Bruce Ohr’s notes related to the Russia probe.” Comey believes that Trump is trying to root out a procedural mistake made by the FBI, but is confident he will not find one.

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Limiting the Removal Power

28 Monday May 2018

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Qualified Tenure: Presidential Removal of the FBI Director is an article written by Leah A. Hamlin which was published in the Ohio Northern University Law Review. It addresses the question of whether the President’s power to remove an FBI director is limited by the 10-year term instituted by Congress, and whether it may, constitutionally, be further limited by Congress. Hamlin ultimately concludes:

that the ten-year term does not limit the president’s ability to remove the director at will, and that, given the importance of the FBI director to the effective functioning of a unitary executive, Congress may not limit the president’s removal power without infringing on the separation of powers limits laid out in case law.

This question is especially significant, of course, in light of the firing of James Comey which was met with such outrage, and which some believe could constitute obstruction of justice.  Though Hamlin concludes that Congress cannot not interfere with the President’s removal power, it is doubtful that her conclusion would extend so far as to suggest that Congress could not wield its impeachment power in wake of a removal which constitutes a high crime or misdemeanor.

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Bombastic Words about “Bombshell” Texts

08 Thursday Feb 2018

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President Trump has claimed that the text messages which were exchanged between FBI Agent Strzok and FBI Lawyer Lisa Page are “bombshells.” The text messages were likely related to the investigation of the Clinton Email Scandal. While others have expressed concern over what the text messages indicate about the way the FBI handles cases, President Trump did not specify what he meant when he called the texts “bombshells.” Though one might argue that the text messages indicate that there is an “Anti-Trump bias” in the FBI, they are a clearer indication of a lack of professionalism than they are of anything else.

Trump’s calling the texts “bombshells” is a part of his pattern of using any discrepancy within the FBI to characterize the investigation of his obstruction of justice and attempt to defraud the United States as misguided. He made similar claims after the release of Nune’s memo, stating that it “totally vidicates” him, despite the fact that memo did little more than allege possible partisan bias in a dossier used to obtain a warrant. It seems Trump will take what distractions he can get. Meanwhile, I am eagerly awaiting the results of Mueller’s investigation — for the truth covered by all these pointed fingers.

download (2).jpegSusan Walsh/AP Photo

Trump Called to have Mueller Fired

26 Friday Jan 2018

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Reports that President Trump called to have Special Counsel Robert Mueller fired surfaced last night. The request came only a month after Former FBI Director James Comey was fired, and soon after it was revealed that Mueller would be invesitgating potential charges for obstruction of justice against the President. Apparently, White house counsel Don McGahn refused to initiate the firing, because he did not agree with the President’s reasons for doing so (the President cited several conflicts of interest he believed Mueller had).

Trump denies that he asked that Mueller be fired, and Former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci said the accusation was irrelevant because Mueller was not actually fired. However, it may not be so irrelevant. As discussed by Professor Bowman previously on this blog, 18 United States Code, Section 1512(c) outlaws a corrupt attempt to obstruct, influence, or impede an actual or impending proceeding. If the President’s request that Mueller be fired could constitute a corrupt attempt, that may mean additional charges for obstruction of justice against Trump.

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FBI Director Pressured to Remove Deputy Director

23 Tuesday Jan 2018

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FBI Director, Christopher Wray threatened to resign if Deputy FBI Director, Andrew McCabe, was removed from his post. Attorney General Jeff Session apparently pressured Wray to remove both McCabe and the FBI’s lawyer James Baker from their posts (though it is unclear whether that meant firing or transfering the two). Baker was reassigned last year. President Trump has also made his distaste for the Deputy Director known via twitter, apparently for the way he handled Hillary Clinton’s email scandal.

The pressures Wray is facing remind me of the firing of former FBI Director James Comey, who was in the midst of investigating Trump’s connections with Russia when his position was terminated. Commentators feel that the firing of James Comey could constitute obstruction of justice, a potentially impeachable offense. The pressure to remove to McCabe would likely not constitute further obstruction of justice, as it unclear that McCabe is currently involved in the investigation of Russian collusion. However, the pressure put on Wray does show a pattern of interference with the FBI which paints the President in a negative light. One would think that after the firing of Comey, the White House would take a hands off approach.

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Mueller to Interview Trump

09 Tuesday Jan 2018

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Special Counsel Mueller intends to interview President Trump soon, a decision which some believe signals the nearing of the end of his investigation. Though Trump has said that he is happy to talk about Russian collusion, a conversation he believes he will clear his name, his lawyers are scrambling to find a way to avoid or limit Mueller’s interview. Commentators believe what they are trying to avoid are questions about obstruction of justice: namely the firing of former FBI Director James Comey, and the lies former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, told the FBI.

Regardless of the motive for the interview, however, the timing could not be better for Democrats. With the 2018 midterms fast approaching, should Mueller’s investigation come to a close soon, its results may be a boon to Democrats running for Congress. And of course, if Democrats are able to obtain a majority in the House and Senate, impeachment will become more likely.

robert-mueller-mckelvey_j4wbro.jpegAlex Wong/Getty Images