Professor Jed Shugerman says Vice President Mike Pence may be “in legal jeopardy” for impeachment due to knowledge of the original memo by President Trump on his reasons for firing of FBI Director James Comey.
Appearing on “The Last Word” on MSNBC, Professor Shugerman explained:
“This letter … was read in a room of people, including Vice President Pence, and … it identified all of these other connections to the Russian probe for why … Trump had decided to fire Jim Comey.
“Then after this letter is edited, Mike Pence then tells the media that the Comey firing was not connected to the Russia probe, and he said it was due to [Deputy Attorney General] Rob Rosenstein’s recommendation. …
“Those statements are untrue, and it implicates Mike Pence now in a combination of conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice, aiding and abetting obstruction of justice, and also a relatively less-known felony called misprision of a felony, which is 18 U.S.C. Section 4. … When one has knowledge of a felony and if one conceals and does not make it known to the legal authorities, one can be guilty of misprision of a felony.
“And also, let’s keep in mind that the Nixon Articles of Impeachment included a provision blaming Nixon for misleading or false statements to the public. Now that’s not a felony, but it was grounds for impeaching President Nixon. It may be grounds for an impeachment of Vice President Pence.”
Regarding President Trump’s original memo outlining why he was firing Comey, Professor Shugerman observed:
“We find out, with the letter … President Trump wanted Jim Comey to tell the public that Trump was not under investigation — and really what Trump wanted was to stay not under investigation — and that’s why he fired Jim Comey.
“There’s another news event … that President Trump’s lawyers had met with Robert Mueller and tried to make the argument that because a president has the power to fire an FBI director, this can’t be obstruction of justice. That basic argument is so wrong that it shows why there is so little that the Trump lawyers have to argue.
“Just because the president has the power to do something, it doesn’t mean that it excuses any exercise of that power because intent matters.”
Watch the full segment on MSNBC.
