Rachel Maddow Busts Trump On A Second Obstruction Of Justice

Rachel Maddow put Trump’s call for an investigation into the Russia investigation into clear terms by noting that it is the second time that Trump has taken action to interfere with the Russia investigation.

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Maddow said:

You know, there’s been a lot of complaining, public complaining by the president. There’s been a lot of all capital letters misspelled tweeting by the president. There’s been a lot of cheerleading by the president for people who go on the Fox News Channel and make arguments disparaging the FBI or Robert Mueller or the special counsel’s investigation into the Russia issue. There’s been a lot of noise. A lot of complaining. A lot of yelling. But if you clear aside all that noise, if you treat this president and this administration as a silent movie and you pay no attention to what they say and you only observe what they do, it really is twice now that the president has taken official action as president to try to thwart the Russia investigation.

The first was a year ago when he fired James Comey. The president later explaining it was the Russia investigation what THA was on his mind when he made the decision to do that. That was the first time he didn’t just complain or sort of squawk about the investigation, he actually did something. That was a year ago. Now a year later for a second time he has acted. This time he ordered a Justice Department investigation of the Russia investigation. He wants the people investigating him to themselves be subject to a DOJ investigation which he is demanding. The president has made a lot of noise. He’s expressed a lot of opinions. He has taunted and derided people about the Russia investigation in his usual way. But when we’re talking about action, we’re talking about overt actions he’s taken as president using the power of the presidency to effect some sort of change when it comes to the Russia investigation, what happened with him yesterday, with him demanding this investigation, that’s basically only the second time he’s acted overtly and officially to interfere with the justice department to try to affect that inquiry.

When a president uses his powers to interfere in an ongoing investigation, that is obstruction of justice, and make no mistake about it. Trump is actively interfering in the Russia investigation. The president is trying to destroy the investigation into his campaign. He is trying to derail the investigation into himself, his family, and his associates. Maddow went on to debate whether the DOJ is caving to Trump or playing some sort of long-term strategy to buy time for the investigation, but no matter what DOJ is trying to do, Donald Trump obstructed justice a year ago, and he did it again today.

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Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association