Jed Shugerman was quoted in The Washington Post regarding the Trump-Russia investigation.
Fordham law professor Jed Shugerman tells me that the obstruction statute, 18 U.S. Code Section 1505, requires that the prosecutor show a defendant in an obstruction prosecution “corruptly, or by threats or force, or by any threatening letter or communication influences, obstructs, or impedes or endeavors to influence, obstruct, or impede the due and proper administration of the law.” Shugerman says that for these purposes, the requisite intent boils down to “acting with an improper purpose, personally or by influencing another, including making a false or misleading statement, or withholding, concealing, altering, or destroying a document or other information.”