Professor Jed Shugerman was quoted in a Time article about President Trump’s role in Donald Trump Jr.’s misleading statement about meeting with Russians.
Legal observers have been debating obstruction of justice laws since Trump fired FBI Director James Comey.
The federal obstruction of justice statute provides that “whoever . . . 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 administration of justice, shall be (guilty of an offense).”
“Corruptly” is a crucial word in the clause, and means that prosecutors would need to prove Trump had intent to obstruct. “That’s the key,” says Jed Shugerman, professor at Fordham University School of Law. “There’s a growing mountain of evidence of corrupt intent.”
