An open letter from Department of Justice alumni with more than 550 signatures argues that Trump would be indicted for obstruction of justice if he wasn't president. More than 550 former federal prosecutors have signed on to a growing list of Justice Department alumni asserting that Donald Trump would be indicted were he not president. An open letter from the prosecutors, published on Medium, counters Attorney General William Barr’s assertion that Special Counsel Robert Mueller found no case for charges. “In our system, every accused person is presumed innocent and it is always the government’s burden to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt,” the letter reads. “But, to look at these facts and say that a prosecutor could not probably sustain a conviction for obstruction of justice — the standard set out in Principles of Federal Prosecution — runs counter to logic and our experience.” The nonprofit group Protect Democracy organized the massive, bipartisan list of former federal prosecutors to serve as signatories. The Washington Post noted numerous names on the list were prominent Republican prosecutors, office holders, and conservative Trump critics, such as former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, who is challenging Trump for the Republican nomination in 2020. As well as Paul Rosenzweig, a senior counsel to Kenneth Starr, the independent counsel whose own investigation made the case for impeachment against President Bill Clinton. Other Bush and Reagan administration alumni appear on the list as well It also includes countless Democrats, including sitting U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who signed on after the letter was initially published. The letter details a case against Trump, noting Mueller uncovered the creation of false evidence and outward threats to fire investigators mid-investigation. “Firing Mueller would have seriously impeded the investigation of the President and his associates — obstruction in its most literal sense. Directing the creation of false government records in order to prevent or discredit truthful testimony is similarly unlawful,” the letter reads. “The Special Counsel’s report states: 'Substantial evidence indicates that in repeatedly urging McGahn to dispute that he was ordered to have the Special Counsel terminated, the President acted for the purpose of influencing McGahn’s account in order to deflect or prevent scrutiny of the President’s conduct toward the investigation. '” Further attempts to limit the investigation by pressuring former officials like Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, and White House Counsel Don McGahn raised further alarm.<doc-sep>A letter posted on the web site Medium on Monday by former federal prosecutors issued a damning assessment of the conduct of President Donald Trump following their review of the Mueller Report. More than 800 former federal prosecutors have so far signed on to the online letter that says the president’s behavior toward the Russia investigation more than justified another indictment — for obstruction of justice. The letter was absolutely clear, its second paragraph stating, “Each of us believes that the conduct of President Trump described in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report would, in the case of any other person not covered by the Office of Legal Counsel policy against indicting a sitting president, result in multiple felony charges for obstruction of justice.” Some 350 former federal prosecutors, career justice department officials, had signed on when the letter went live. But by Wednesday evening, May 7, the number had grown to more than 800. The signatories were appointed by both Democratic and Republican administrations, a number of Republican lawyers and prosecutors had also signed up, including former governor of Massachusetts Bill Weld who is challenging Trump in the Republican Presidential Primary. Most significant perhaps is Donald Ayer, who served as Deputy Attorney General in the Administration of George H. W. Bush, prior to then, and current, Attorney General William Barr. The letter pointed out that of the 10 documented cases of clear obstruction of justice outlined in the Mueller Report, three are particularly serious. They include Trump’s effort to get then White House Counsel Don McGahn to fire the special counsel: “Trump directed McGahn on multiple occasions to fire Mueller or to gin up false conflicts of interest as a pretext for getting rid of the Special Counsel.” Trump attempted to limit the scope of the inquiry through a message to be delivered by former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski to then Attorney General Jeff Sessions. In a third instance, he exhibited repeated efforts to tamper with witnesses, including Cohen and Paul Manafort through several avenues, including suggesting the prospect of pardons. The letter does not mince words. It says that Trump’s actions “satisfy all of the elements for an obstruction charge” and asserts that the evidence of “corrupt intent” — a key element of any obstruction case — is overwhelming. “We emphasize that these are not matters of close professional judgment,” the letter’s authors note. “Of course, there are potential defenses or arguments that could be raised in response to an indictment of the nature we describe here. In our system, every accused person is presumed innocent and it is always the government’s burden to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. But, to look at these facts and say that a prosecutor could not probably sustain a conviction for obstruction of justice — the standard set out in Principles of Federal Prosecution — runs counter to logic and our experience.” The list of signators is broad, including career people who worked for many different parts of the Justice Department, in many parts of the country, at many different levels. This includes division heads, former U.S. Attorneys and countless trial attorneys, appellate attorneys, and assistant U.S. Attorneys. These are not people prone to hyperbole. They all agree on one thing: that if Trump were sitting anywhere except the Oval Office, he would be facing sentencing. Trump’s response to the letter has been a Tweetstorm, insisting that any questioning of his motives constitutes a ‘witch hunt’ and that the Mueller Report exonerates him.<doc-sep>During the Russia probe, US President Donald Trump acted in a way that would result in "multiple felony charges for obstruction of justice," former US federal prosecutors said in a letter published on Monday. Over 500 ex-prosecutors had signed the letter posted by advocacy group Protect Democracy by early Tuesday, and the number was expected to keep growing. The signatories base their conclusions on the report issued by Special Counsel Robert Mueller that details, among other things, Trump's efforts to influence the probe into the relationship between his campaign and Russia. "The Mueller report describes several acts that satisfy all of the elements for an obstruction charge," the former prosecutors say, adding that evidence of "corrupt intent" was "overwhelming." Trump tried to "fire Mueller and to falsify evidence about that effort," as well as limit the scope of his probe and prevent witnesses from coming forward, according to the ex-prosecutors. Trump wanted false documents made The Mueller probe found no evidence of collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia. Mueller was also authorized to investigate attempts of tampering with his probe, but — in his report — he did not state a conclusion as to whether Trump had criminally obstructed justice. Mueller also said the reason, at least in part, was an opinion from Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) that says a sitting US president cannot be indicted. Attorney General William Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein subsequently decided that Mueller's evidence was not enough for an obstruction charge. Barr also said the OLC opinion played no role in his conclusion. US Attorney General William Barr has refused to release the unredacted version of the Mueller report In the Monday letter, however, ex-prosecutors say that any person not covered by the OLC decision would face multiple charges based on Mueller's findings. "Despite being advised by then-White House Counsel Don McGahn that he could face legal jeopardy for doing so, Trump directed McGahn on multiple occasions to fire Mueller or to gin up false conflicts of interest as a pretext for getting rid of the Special Counsel," the letter says. "When these acts began to come into public view, Trump made 'repeated efforts to have McGahn deny the story' — going so far as to tell McGahn to write a letter 'for our files' falsely denying that Trump had directed Mueller's termination." Read more: Democrats fire subpoena for full Mueller report 'Counter to logic' Trump also "pressured then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to reverse his legally_mandated decision to recuse himself from the investigation. The President's stated reason was that he wanted an attorney general who would 'protect' him," they say. Also, they claim Mueller's report show Trump tried to influence witnesses Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort. "Some of this tampering and intimidation, including the dangling of pardons, was done in plain sight via tweets and public statements; other such behavior was done via private messages through private attorneys, such as Trump counsel Rudy Giuliani's message to Cohen's lawyer that Cohen should '[s]leep well tonight[], you have friends in high places.'" "In our system, every accused person is presumed innocent and it is always the government's burden to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. But, to look at these facts and say that a prosecutor could not probably sustain a conviction for obstruction of justice — the standard set out in Principles of Federal Prosecution — runs counter to logic and our experience," the letter states. dj/aw (AP, AFP) Every evening, DW sends out a selection of the day's news and features. Sign up here.<doc-sep>More than 500 former federal prosecutors have signed on to an open letter declaring that President Trump appears to have has committed numerous felonies, and would already have been charged if he were not the commander in chief. The open letter, posted to Medium, had been signed by 566 former Justice Department lawyers as of Monday night, including two former chiefs of the criminal division in the Southern District of New York, among other notables. Signers incl "Donald Ayer, a former deputy attorney general in the George H.W. Bush Administration; John S.Martin, a former U.S. attorney and federal judge appointed to his posts by two Republican presidents; Paul Rosenzweig, who served as senior counsel to Kenneth W. Starr"+more — Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) May 6, 2019 The letter states: “We are former federal prosecutors. We served under both Republican and Democratic administrations…. Each of us believes that the conduct of President Trump described in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report would, in the case of any other person not covered by the Office of Legal Counsel policy against indicting a sitting President, result in multiple felony charges for obstruction of justice.” The letter groups Trump’s actionable conduct into three categories: · The President’s efforts to fire Mueller and to falsify evidence about that effort; · The President’s efforts to limit the scope of Mueller’s investigation to exclude his conduct; and · The President’s efforts to prevent witnesses from cooperating with investigators probing him and his campaign. The former prosecutors make clear that charging Trump’s conduct would be an easy call if he were not living in the White House: “We emphasize that these are not matters of close professional judgment,” the lawyers write. They add that “the overwhelming weight of professional judgment would come down in favor of prosecution for the conduct outlined in the Mueller Report.” The letter underscores the severity of Trump’s conduct, as detailed in the redacted report by the special counsel. And it amps up pressure on the House of Representatives to consider the Constitution’s one remedy for lawlessness by a sitting president: impeachment. [interaction id=”5cd0425b2ea93c0d700b6413″]<doc-sep>
Hundreds of former federal prosecutors have signed onto a letter saying President Trump would have been charged with obstruction of justice if he were anyone other than the president. The letter was signed by former Justice Department prosecutors who served under both Democratic and Republican administrations, including ex-U.S. attorneys and public corruption trial lawyers. It was released Monday by Protect Democracy, an advocacy group formed two years ago that is routinely critical of the Trump administration. As of late Monday afternoon, more than 450 ex-prosecutors had signed the letter, which was posted on the website Medium.com. The number of signatories was expected to grow. In the letter, the former prosecutors say special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s report “describes several acts that satisfy all of the elements for an obstruction charge.” Those actions include Trump’s efforts to have Mueller fired and to conceal it after the fact; his attempts to limit the scope of the Russia investigation; and the president’s tweets and public statements aimed at discouraging aides from cooperating with prosecutors. “In our system, every accused person is presumed innocent and it is always the government’s burden to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt,” the letter states. “But, to look at these facts and say that a prosecutor could not probably sustain a conviction for obstruction of justice — the standard set out in Principles of Federal Prosecution — runs counter to logic and our experience.” Mueller examined nearly a dozen acts by the president for potential obstruction of justice. He ultimately reached no conclusion on whether Trump had criminally obstructed justice, citing in part an opinion from the department’s Office of Legal Counsel that says a sitting president cannot be indicted. Atty. Gen. William Barr and Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein then stepped in and determined Mueller’s evidence was insufficient for an obstruction charge. Barr has said the Office of Legal Counsel opinion played no role in his conclusion, and Trump has used the attorney general’s finding to claim that the report found no obstruction. But the ex-prosecutors make clear that in their view the evidence leans heavily in the other direction. “As former federal prosecutors, we recognize that prosecuting obstruction of justice cases is critical because unchecked obstruction — which allows intentional interference with criminal investigations to go unpunished — puts our whole system of justice at risk,” the letter states. “We believe strongly that, but for the OLC memo, the overwhelming weight of professional judgment would come down in favor of prosecution for the conduct outlined in the Mueller Report,” it says.