Trump may have accidentally admitted to obstruction of justice on Twitter
The investigation into Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election is heating up. And on December 2nd, President Donald Trump’s Michael Flynn tweet added more fuel to the fire when it led to claims that he had accidentally admitted to obstructing justice.
Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI on Friday, December 1st. The following day, a tweet issued from Trump’s official account stated that Trump made the decision to fire Flynn because Flynn had lied. But Trump made no mention of Flynn lying to the FBI when he fired him.
“I had to fire Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI,” the tweet read. “He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!”
Trump had formerly defended Flynn and reportedly tried to convince then-FBI director James Comey to cease his investigation.
I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 2, 2017
Senator Dianne Feinstein said she felt that evidence was building to bring obstruction of justice charges against Trump. And other Congressmen agreed that if the president knew Flynn lied at the time, he could be guilty of obstruction of justice, expressing their beliefs on Twitter.
If that is true, Mr. President, why did you wait so long to fire Flynn? Why did you fail to act until his lies were publicly exposed? And why did you pressure Director Comey to “let this go?” https://t.co/Ea4kOBpWPv
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) December 2, 2017
THIS IS OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE. @POTUS now admits he KNEW Michael Flynn lied to the FBI. Yet Trump tried to influence or stop the FBI investigation on #Flynn. https://t.co/8JqGBxgou0
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) December 2, 2017
But The Washington Post reported on December 2nd that Trump’s lawyer, John Dowd, wrote the tweet, which would mean that the tweet in question wouldn’t necessarily be evidence of Trump’s obstruction of justice. Dowd confirmed to CNN on December 3rd that he had drafted the tweet.
If Trump really did know that Flynn lied to the FBI before firing him, then the obstruction of justice claim could be legitimate. But given the fact that Dowd has taken responsibility, it’s hard to be sure how much Trump knew and when. Trump probably won’t face obstruction of justice charges over this tweet. But for now, we’ll be keeping our eyes on the investigation and hoping that justice is served if necessary.