ThinkProgress – President Donald Trump had the legal authority to fire FBI director James Comey. But if Trump’s intention in so doing was to impede the investigation into his campaign’s alleged collusion with Russia then it could constitute obstruction of justice, an impeachable offense, legal experts told ThinkProgress earlier this week.
But establishing that Comey’s firing was obstruction of justice involves proving Trump’s state of mind. That’s very difficult to do.
If, as Trump claimed in his letter, he fired Comey because of his misconduct during the Clinton email investigation, that would be perfectly legal. If Trump really was trying to protect himself or his allies, that would be a “corrupt purpose.”
That’s why Trump’s interview with NBC’s Lester Holt is so extraordinary.
Trump told Holt that “when I decided to do it, I said to myself… this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made up story.” Here Trump is admitting that his dissatisfaction with Comey was based, at least in part, on Comey’s decision to pursue an investigation into potential collusion between his campaign and Russia.
He is telling Holt his state of mind.
Pres. Trump on firing Comey: “I said, you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made up story.” https://t.co/hxqM1LI6BE
— NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) May 11, 2017
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