Why ‘Obstruction of Justice’ Is Echoing in D.C.: QuickTake Q&A
Comey Said to Avoid Saying Trump Obstructed Justice
In parts of the political and legal worlds, the public testimony of former FBI Director James Comey will be scrutinized alongside the definition of obstruction of justice, a federal crime. Though the "high crimes and misdemeanors" that can bring down a U.S. president include acts that don’t trigger a legal indictment, allegations of obstructing justice led to the forced resignation of one president, Richard Nixon, and the attempted removal of another, Bill Clinton. Now there’s a vigorous public debate about whether President Donald Trump obstructed justice by trying to slow, stop or influence the ongoing investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.
Most broadly, it’s the crime of trying to "influence, obstruct or impede the due administration of justice." The U.S. criminal code spells out almost 20 different categories of obstruction of justice, such as assaulting a process server or destroying corporate audit records. Nothing in the code directly addresses a president pressuring or firing the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation -- who serves, after all, at the president’s pleasure -- but a few sections could be read as applying to Trump and Comey.