News

In trying to defend himself Trump just made himself more vulnerable to impeachment

Picture:
Picture:
Shawn Thew-Pool/Getty Images

On Saturday, Donald Trump tried to defend himself after it was revealed that his former National Security Advisor lied to the FBI.

Michael Flynn is reported to have acknowledged the fact that he met with Russian envoys just three weeks before Trump entered the White House.

Furthermore, it has been reported that Flynn contacted the Russians upon the request of the Trump campaign.

Over the weekend Trump attempted to distance himself from this story and tweeted the following:

Experts now believe that although this tweet might look like Trump is trying to confess his innocence, it actually does the opposite.

Representatives from Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Duke and the University of Texas have all reportedly told The Star that this tweet is likely to help the investigation against Trump.

Firstly, Trump seems to be suggesting in this tweet that he knew Flynn had not only lied to the Vice President but also the FBI, the latter of which has only just come to light.

In addition, it should be noted that shortly after Trump fired Flynn he asked former FBI director James Comey to cease the investigation.

Why would Trump want an investigation into a man who he had just fired to be halted so abruptly and how did he know that Flynn was lying to the FBI if he knew nothing about the Russia connection?

The Star quote Harvard law professor, Alex Whiting on the issue as saying:

The question of whether Trump committed obstruction of justice when he asked Comey to drop the investigation on Valentine’s Day will largely turn on Trump’s intent: was he just trying to put in a good word for Flynn, or was he, in fact, trying to end a criminal investigation?

If he genuinely believed that Flynn did nothing wrong, that tends to support the former interpretation.

But if, as he now admits, he knew that Flynn had lied to the FBI, a federal crime, then he knew that by asking Comey to drop the investigation, he was seeking to end a meritorious criminal investigation.

HT The Star

More: America just got one step closer to impeaching Donald Trump​

The Conversation (0)
x