Politics

Trump’s Personal Lawyer: ‘The President Cannot Obstruct Justice’

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President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer responded to obstruction of justice accusations Monday by arguing that the president is immune from such charges by virtue of his position as the nation’s “chief law enforcement office.”

The “President cannot obstruct justice because he is the chief law enforcement officer under [the Constitution’s Article II] and has every right to express his view of any case,” Trump’s longtime private attorney, John Dowd told Axios.

Dowd’s rebuttal was presumably directed at the many presidential critics who claim that Trump’s Friday tweet, in which he said he fired former national security advisor Michael Flynn because he lied to the FBI, amounts to an admission of obstruction of justice.

These critics, a number of Democratic lawmakers and legal experts among them, base their argument on the implication that Trump knew about Flynn’s false statements when, according to former FBI Director James Comey’s July testimony, he asked Comey to drop the investigation into Flynn’s contacts with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

Dowd claims that he crafted the Flynn tweet and passed it to White House social media director Dan Scavino unbeknownst to the president. He conceded that tweet was a “mistake” and “sloppy” but pushed back against claims that it amounts to evidence of obstruction.

“The tweet did not admit obstruction. That is an ignorant and arrogant assertion,” Dowd told Axios Saturday.

Trump’s tweet came hours after Flynn plead guilty to making false statements to the FBI and revealed he is cooperating with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office.

While Democrats will undoubtedly mount a defense against Dowd’s argument regarding Trump’s immunity, the success or failure of any potential impeachment proceedings will turn on the will of the Republican majority in the House.

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