800 former federal prosecutors: Trump should face 'multiple felony charges'

A group of more than 800 former federal prosecutors signed a letter saying they believe the only thing that saved Trump from being indicted on “multiple felony charges for obstruction of justice” is the fact that he’s president.

The letter contradicts Attorney General William Barr’s absurd determination that the actions special counsel Robert Mueller laid out in his report do not amount to obstruction because, as Barr put it, the president has the right to shut down an investigation he believes is unfair and would hamper his administration.

In the letter, published on Monday, the group of prosecutors who served under both Democratic and Republican presidents wrote: “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 former federal prosecutors — many of whom had high-ranking titles, including a former inspector general of the Department of Justice, a former deputy attorney general and a former deputy assistant attorney general — go on to lay out the multiple instances of obstruction of justice they believe would warrant indictments.

Those instances include Trump’s attempt to fire Mueller and then lie about it, Trump’s attempt to narrow the parameters of Mueller’s investigation, and Trump’s attempt to tamper with key witnesses to stop them from cooperating with Mueller’s investigators.

“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 former prosecutors wrote in the letter. “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.”

Mueller himself wrote in his report that he felt he could not make a determination to charge Trump because Trump is president. Instead, he wrote that he could not exonerate Trump of obstruction charges, and said it was up to Congress to determine whether to impeach and remove him from office.

Based on the expert opinions of these career prosecutors, it’s no wonder Trump wants to shut down talk of the Mueller report and move on: Trump would face charges if he were a regular citizen and not president.

Post has been updated with as the list grows.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.