Does Presidential Office Trump protect you from prosecution? More than 500 ex-prosecutors claim this in an open letter. In doing so, they contradict US Attorney General Barr’s interpretation of the Mueller report.
US President Donald Trump would have been charged with judicial disability by hundreds of former prosecutors if he were not protected from prosecution by his office. This is clear from an open letter written by more than 500 former prosecutors in response to FBI special investigator Robert Mueller’s report on the Russia affair.
In it, they argue that the report describes several actions Trumps who met all the conditions for such a lawsuit. This included Trump’s attempts to dismiss Mueller, limit the scope of the investigation, and prevent witnesses from collaborating with the investigators.
No charges against incumbent president
The authors of the open letter refer to an internal directive of the Ministry of Justice from 1973. In this the US Constitution is interpreted as meaning that an incumbent president can not be charged. Ex-prosecutors argue that Trump’s behavior described in the Mueller report would have led to charges of obstruction of justice in the case of any other person who does not enjoy such protection.
Mueller had not determined in his report whether Trump had obstructed the judiciary, but had submitted evidence for and against. Justice Secretary William Barr had come to the conclusion that there was insufficient evidence to blame the President on this point.
Barr had stated that he had come to his exonerating conclusion, irrespective of the 1973 directive. He had also given the impression at a hearing before the Senate last week that the directive also played no role in the fact that Mueller did not want to commit himself to the allegation of judicial disability. However, Mueller’s report states that his office has accepted the interpretation of the relevant directive.
Democrats criticize Barr’s discharge in the Senate
The Democrats in Congress have sharply criticized Barr’s discharge of the Republican president, especially in this point of judicial obstruction. The signers of the open letter have reportedly worked under both democratic and republican governments as prosecutors. First, the Washington Post reported on the letter released by the organization Protect Democracy. This group is critical of Trump’s government.
