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Trump’s latest tweets cross clear lines, experts say: Obstruction of justice and witness tampering
The Washington Compost ^ | December 3 at 7:29 PM | Deanna Paul

Posted on 12/03/2018 4:56:11 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum

President Trump took to Twitter Monday morning, haranguing special counsel Robert S. Mueller III and witnesses to his ongoing Russia investigation. His tweets have become a common morning occurrence, particularly in recent weeks. But legal experts are calling Monday’s missives a newsworthy development that amounts to evidence of obstructing justice.

Trump’s first statement went out after Michael Cohen, his former personal attorney who pleaded guilty last week for lying to Congress about the president’s real estate project in Russia. In his tweet, Trump alleged that Cohen lied to Mueller and called for a severe penalty, demanding that his former fixer “serve a full and complete sentence.”

After the overt attack on Cohen came a tweet encouraging Roger Stone, a longtime adviser to Trump, not to become a witness against him:

“’I will never testify against Trump.’ This statement was recently made by Roger Stone, essentially stating that he will not be forced by a rogue and out of control prosecutor to make up lies and stories about ‘President Trump.’ Nice to know that some people still have ‘guts!’”

Norman Eisen, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said that the most striking thing about Monday was that there were two statements in proximity.

“It comes very close to the statutory definition of witness tampering,” he said. “It’s a mirror image of the first tweet, only he’s praising a witness for not cooperating with the implication of reward,” he said, adding that Trump has pardon power over Stone.

“We’re so used to President Trump transgressing norms in his public declarations,” Eisen said, “but he may have crossed the legal line.”

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Editorial; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: amazoncompost; brookingsinstitution; deannapaul; districtofcolumbia; dnctalkingpoint; dnctalkingpoints; fakenews; mediawingofthednc; michaelcohen; mueller; normaneisen; notnews; obstruction; partisanmediashills; presstitutes; rehash; rogerstone; russiancollusion; smearmachine; tds; trump; tweet; washcompostfakenews; washingtoncompost; washingtonpost; witchhunt
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Lots of laws are going to need to be rewritten due to social media. Are you really purposely communicating with someone through Twitter. An email shows a direct contact. Twitter is just thinking out loud. How can it be proven if Stone saw the tweet? Or that Stone understood the tweet was directed to him


61 posted on 12/03/2018 7:51:52 PM PST by Terry Mross (On some threads it's best to go jst inraight up his seat. to the comments..)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Let’s remember how Ken Starr was treated by Clinton and Co.


62 posted on 12/03/2018 7:57:36 PM PST by upsdriver
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Yes it is illegal for e republican to fight back that’s why all we hear from the media about GHWB now is how decent he was. This same media called him racist and he never caught back so therefore they say now his legacy is decency. Trump fights and he can’t be spared.


63 posted on 12/03/2018 8:15:32 PM PST by inchworm
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

“It comes very close to the statutory definition of witness tampering,” he said. “It’s a mirror image of the first tweet, only he’s praising a witness for not cooperating with the implication of reward,” he said, adding that Trump has pardon power over Stone.

These leftscum are literally insane.


64 posted on 12/03/2018 8:21:49 PM PST by piytar (If it was not for double standards, the Democrats and the left would have NO standards.)
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To: piytar

The washingtonpest crosses every line of decency by publishing .


65 posted on 12/03/2018 8:24:15 PM PST by hal ogen (First Amendment or Reeducation Camp?)
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To: Logical me

Bull
Shiite
He’s got WAAY more smarts and way better lawyers.
And control of the DOJ


66 posted on 12/03/2018 9:20:29 PM PST by Truthoverpower (The guvmint you get is the Trump winning express !)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Obstruction of Justice is what every democratic presidents Attorney General does when they refuse to charge members of his administration with crimes like Hillary committed. In fact every time the Justice Department refuses to bring charges because they might not win it is obstruction of justice. It is what they have been doing all my life.


67 posted on 12/03/2018 9:29:28 PM PST by itsahoot (Welcome to the New USA where Islam is a religion of peace and Christianity is a mental disorder.)
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To: Popman

What legal experts ?

The ones sitting next to the Compost’s “sources in the administration”.


68 posted on 12/03/2018 11:46:52 PM PST by gnickgnack2 ( Another bad day for Trump, he only got seven major things accomplished .)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Bombshell! The walls are closing in. The beginning of the end.


69 posted on 12/04/2018 1:18:25 AM PST by monkeyshine
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To: Logical me

I will disagree to an extent. Yes the House will do what it does but so far Trump has taken all the hits. Maybe it was a mistake as it may have cost him the House in delaying. But he hasn’t fired a shot yet. When he feels he has an open field, he’s going to do some damage. Just my opinion, of course. But he’s been playing possum, or rope-a-doping his enemies. IMO he was either waiting to see just what Mueller was going to get before punching back - clues he obtained by the cooperative defense agreements and the questions Mueller asked in writing, or, he calculated that waiting for the lead up to his re-election for the timing would be the best strategy.

But IMO he’s running out of time and has to take the offensive soon. And IMO again, he will. Releasing the redacted FISA warrant applications is only the tip of the iceberg. We all know there is a pile of evidence against so many of his opponents; it’s in the public domain, and they are already boxed in by their sworn statements to the House and to the Inspector General.

So Mueller raided the office of one of his Chicago accountants, and the home of a Clinton Foundation whistleblower. (John Solomon of The Hill also hinted last Friday that Huber has interviewed a different CF whistleblower). This is a big clue (again, imo). Mueller’s job was to mop up the abuse inside the DOJ/FBI/Intel community and provide misdirection and distraction. But these raids could be a clue that Mueller is indeed playing defense, he wants to know what Trump knows and what Trump’s moves might include. Again suggestive of what Mueller’s real motives are. Yes he is prosecuting the moon and the stars but it’s all unrelated to any Russia or Election issues. Red meat for the left, but nothing of any substance against Trump. Just innuendo.

But we all know, and they know, and the media knows, the real dirt is sitting there. It is unavoidable, it will come out. Too many people involved in too many crimes. It cannot be covered up. I think it’s worth investing in a popcorn machine this holiday. I got mine back before the election, and it’s gonna be Orville Redenbacher time real soon!


70 posted on 12/04/2018 1:34:24 AM PST by monkeyshine
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

So many ex-spurts...would have been much better off if they had been protein supplements instead of fertilized eggs....


71 posted on 12/04/2018 3:31:42 AM PST by trebb (Those who don't donate anything tend to be empty gasbags...no-value-added types)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
Trump’s latest tweets cross clear lines, experts say:
72 posted on 12/04/2018 5:04:12 AM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Even since the Garden of Eden, evil has always begun by redefining the transgression.


73 posted on 12/04/2018 5:15:26 AM PST by papertyger (Trump, A president so great, that Democrats who said they would leave America if he won, stayed!)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

So go ahead and try to impeach him over Tweets.

I’m sure THAT is gonna go well. /sarc


74 posted on 12/04/2018 6:11:24 AM PST by Buckeye McFrog
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To: trebb

First, Trump has not been charged with any crimes, so he can’t be “witness tampering”. Every lame-stream pundit has either criticized or praised Cohen or Corsi or Stone, but that doesn’t make them witness tamperers. The author of this article is witness tampering as much as Trump is.
Second, Mueller is trying to convince these people to make false statements. That is clearly witness tampering!


75 posted on 12/04/2018 6:17:02 AM PST by brookwood (Obama said you could keep your plan - now says higher taxes will improve the weather)
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