Donald Like, Really Smart Trump May Have Given Prosecutors a Reason to Charge Him With Obstruction – Vanity Fair

As youve no doubt heard by now because there is literally no escaping this man, at a rally last month in Texas, Donald Trump devoted a good portion of his remarks to attacking a trio of prosecutors who are currently investigating him. After referring to Letitia James, Alvin Bragg, and Fani Willis as vicious, horrible people and claiming theyre racists and theyre very sick, theyre mentally sick, the ex-president then encouraged his supporters to launch the biggest protest we have ever had in Washington, D.C., in New York, in Atlanta, and elsewhere, if these radical racist vicious prosecutors do anything wrong or illegal. Note: There is no evidence whatsoever that James, Bragg, or Williswhom Trump was clearly referring to, though didnt directly nameare vicious, horrible, racist, or sick, but Trump is sure acting like someone hugely panicked about the walls closing in on him, throwing anything against the wall he can think of in the hopes of making it stick.

Anyway, given what happened the last time Trump encouraged his followers to fight on his behalf, more than a few people were disturbed by his call to action. Quite reasonably, Willis asked the FBI to provide security around her office and at the courthouse where she is convening a special grand jury to investigate Trumps attempts in Georgia to overturn the 2020 election. But while Trump seems to believe that convincing his supporters the prosecutors investigating him are crooked will help him in the long run, it looks more likely that his comments will put him in even more legal peril.

The Guardian reports that Trumps incendiary callfor his backers to ready massive protests on his behalf could backfire legally and be viewed as grounds for obstruction of justice charges. Former federal prosecutor Dennis Aftergut told the paper he believes the ex-president may have shot himself in the foot, and added: Criminal intent can be hard to prove, but when a potential defendant says something easily seen as intimidating or threatening to those investigating the case it becomes easier. Echoing those comments, Michael Moore, a former U.S. attorney in Georgia, said Trumps demand that people rise up on his behalf could potentially intimidate witnesses and members of a grand jury, and pointed out that thats a felony in the state of Georgia. Trump is essentially calling for vigilante justice against the justice system. Hes not interested in the pursuit of justice but blocking any investigations, Moore told The Guardian. And former DOJ attorney Paul Pelletier made the case via The Guardian that: Trumps history of inciting people to violence demonstrates that his recent remarks are likely to cause a disruption of the pending investigations against him and family members. Should his conduct actually impede any of these investigations, federal and state obstruction statutes could easily compound Mr Trumps criminal exposure.

In other Trump legal news, remember the former presidents habit of shredding presidential legal records, which resulted in the January 6 committee receiving documents that had been torn up and taped back together, and which at least one expert believes could constitute a crime? Turns out it was even more widespread than previously thought!

Per The Washington Post:

The ripping was so relentless that Trumps team implemented protocols to try to ensure that he was abiding by the Presidential Records Act. Typically, aides from either the Office of the Staff Secretary or the Oval Office Operations team would come in behind Trump to retrieve the piles of torn paper he left in his wake, according to one person familiar with the routine. Then, staffers from the White House Office of Records Management were generally responsible for jigsawing the documents back together, using clear tape. One person familiar with the National Archives process said that staff there were stunned at how many papers they received from the Trump administration that were ripped, and described it internally as unprecedented.

[James] Grossman, [executive director of the American Historical Association] said that Trumps chaotic approach to handling physical documents leaves gaping holes in the historical record, not to mention being disrespectful to the archivists and general public. We dont know how much of it was or was not successfully taped back together, Grossman said. Also, how much did the taxpayers pay to have a bunch of highly qualified archivists sit at a desk and tape things back together?

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Donald Like, Really Smart Trump May Have Given Prosecutors a Reason to Charge Him With Obstruction - Vanity Fair