President Donald Trump demanded that Attorney General Jeff Sessions shut down Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into his campaign on Wednesday. (Photo: AP)
Aug 01, 2018
Watchdog groups and government ethics experts on Wednesday called President Donald Trump's latest tweeted attack on Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation --in which he flat-out stated, "Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now"--possibly new evidence that Trump has obstructed justice and a declaration that could potentially be used against the president in the ongoing probe.
\u201cThis is the President of the United States, in an official statement, directing his Attorney General to end an investigation into him. Nixon at least tried to be subtle about these kind of things.\u201d— Citizens for Ethics (@Citizens for Ethics) 1533133174
After suggesting that anti-Trump text messages sent by FBI agent Peter Strzok provide evidence that the entire investigation was biased against the president, Trump demanded that Attorney General Jeff Sessions shut down the probe.
\u201c..This is a terrible situation and Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further. Bob Mueller is totally conflicted, and his 17 Angry Democrats that are doing his dirty work are a disgrace to USA!\u201d— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1533129843
The president's demand came on the second day of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort's trial for charges of money laundering and tax fraud related to work he did for pro-Russia Ukrainian politicians.
In September, another trial is scheduled to begin regarding the nature of Manafort's work in Ukraine.
Manafort--who the president announced was being treated worse than notorious mobster Al Capone--"worked for me for a very short time," Trump wrote in a subsequent tweet.
"Why didn't government tell me that he was under investigation," he added. "These old charges have nothing to do with Collusion--a Hoax!"
The tweeted diatribe amounted to what chair of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) Norm Eisen called "the latest in a long line of obstructive acts by Trump."
"Efforts to stop an investigation fall squarely within the plain meaning of Sections 1503, 1505, and 1512(c)(2)," wrote the Brookings Institution in its report "Presidential Obstruction of Justice: The Case of Donald J. Trump" last year, referring to the U.S. federal Code of Laws.
Trump's call also did not go unnoticed by the public advocacy group Public Citizen, which issued a reminder that 350,000 Americans have pledged to join nearly 1,000 protests across the country, should the president take direct action to end Mueller's investigation.
\u201cReminder as Trump urges Sessions to end the Mueller probe: Trump's obstruction will be met with mass protests nationwide as the number of people signing up at https://t.co/gXgUYMfs6v has swelled to 350K at 900+ locations.\u201d— Public Citizen (@Public Citizen) 1533135692
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Watchdog groups and government ethics experts on Wednesday called President Donald Trump's latest tweeted attack on Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation --in which he flat-out stated, "Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now"--possibly new evidence that Trump has obstructed justice and a declaration that could potentially be used against the president in the ongoing probe.
\u201cThis is the President of the United States, in an official statement, directing his Attorney General to end an investigation into him. Nixon at least tried to be subtle about these kind of things.\u201d— Citizens for Ethics (@Citizens for Ethics) 1533133174
After suggesting that anti-Trump text messages sent by FBI agent Peter Strzok provide evidence that the entire investigation was biased against the president, Trump demanded that Attorney General Jeff Sessions shut down the probe.
\u201c..This is a terrible situation and Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further. Bob Mueller is totally conflicted, and his 17 Angry Democrats that are doing his dirty work are a disgrace to USA!\u201d— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1533129843
The president's demand came on the second day of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort's trial for charges of money laundering and tax fraud related to work he did for pro-Russia Ukrainian politicians.
In September, another trial is scheduled to begin regarding the nature of Manafort's work in Ukraine.
Manafort--who the president announced was being treated worse than notorious mobster Al Capone--"worked for me for a very short time," Trump wrote in a subsequent tweet.
"Why didn't government tell me that he was under investigation," he added. "These old charges have nothing to do with Collusion--a Hoax!"
The tweeted diatribe amounted to what chair of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) Norm Eisen called "the latest in a long line of obstructive acts by Trump."
"Efforts to stop an investigation fall squarely within the plain meaning of Sections 1503, 1505, and 1512(c)(2)," wrote the Brookings Institution in its report "Presidential Obstruction of Justice: The Case of Donald J. Trump" last year, referring to the U.S. federal Code of Laws.
Trump's call also did not go unnoticed by the public advocacy group Public Citizen, which issued a reminder that 350,000 Americans have pledged to join nearly 1,000 protests across the country, should the president take direct action to end Mueller's investigation.
\u201cReminder as Trump urges Sessions to end the Mueller probe: Trump's obstruction will be met with mass protests nationwide as the number of people signing up at https://t.co/gXgUYMfs6v has swelled to 350K at 900+ locations.\u201d— Public Citizen (@Public Citizen) 1533135692
Watchdog groups and government ethics experts on Wednesday called President Donald Trump's latest tweeted attack on Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation --in which he flat-out stated, "Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now"--possibly new evidence that Trump has obstructed justice and a declaration that could potentially be used against the president in the ongoing probe.
\u201cThis is the President of the United States, in an official statement, directing his Attorney General to end an investigation into him. Nixon at least tried to be subtle about these kind of things.\u201d— Citizens for Ethics (@Citizens for Ethics) 1533133174
After suggesting that anti-Trump text messages sent by FBI agent Peter Strzok provide evidence that the entire investigation was biased against the president, Trump demanded that Attorney General Jeff Sessions shut down the probe.
\u201c..This is a terrible situation and Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further. Bob Mueller is totally conflicted, and his 17 Angry Democrats that are doing his dirty work are a disgrace to USA!\u201d— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1533129843
The president's demand came on the second day of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort's trial for charges of money laundering and tax fraud related to work he did for pro-Russia Ukrainian politicians.
In September, another trial is scheduled to begin regarding the nature of Manafort's work in Ukraine.
Manafort--who the president announced was being treated worse than notorious mobster Al Capone--"worked for me for a very short time," Trump wrote in a subsequent tweet.
"Why didn't government tell me that he was under investigation," he added. "These old charges have nothing to do with Collusion--a Hoax!"
The tweeted diatribe amounted to what chair of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) Norm Eisen called "the latest in a long line of obstructive acts by Trump."
"Efforts to stop an investigation fall squarely within the plain meaning of Sections 1503, 1505, and 1512(c)(2)," wrote the Brookings Institution in its report "Presidential Obstruction of Justice: The Case of Donald J. Trump" last year, referring to the U.S. federal Code of Laws.
Trump's call also did not go unnoticed by the public advocacy group Public Citizen, which issued a reminder that 350,000 Americans have pledged to join nearly 1,000 protests across the country, should the president take direct action to end Mueller's investigation.
\u201cReminder as Trump urges Sessions to end the Mueller probe: Trump's obstruction will be met with mass protests nationwide as the number of people signing up at https://t.co/gXgUYMfs6v has swelled to 350K at 900+ locations.\u201d— Public Citizen (@Public Citizen) 1533135692
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.