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Legal Experts: Comey Memo Reaction Overblown, Story Oversold
Legal experts on the right and left say reaction to the alleged Comey memo leaked to The New York Times was overblown and the story was oversold. Further, even if true, the memo raises more questions about the actions of former FBI director James Comey than President Donald J. Trump.
The New York Times story claimed President Trump asked Comey to drop the investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. But the Times quoted the memo as saying he “hoped” Lt. Gen. Flynn wasn’t prosecuted because he was a “good man,” to which Comey replied he agreed he was a good man.
The Times and other media outlets widely interpreted the remarks as obstruction of justice, or as the AP put it, President Trump “tried to get Comey to shut down the investigation.”
Legal experts disagree.
In an op-ed in The Hill, liberal law professor Jonathan Turley said the wording still leaves “the need to show that the effort was to influence ‘corruptly’ when Trump could say that he did little but express concern for a longtime associate.” He specifically cited 18 U.S.C. 1503, the criminal code that “demands more than what Comey reportedly describes in his memo.”
Legal Experts: Comey Memo Reaction Overblown, Story Oversold | People's Pundit Daily
Legal experts on the right and left say reaction to the alleged Comey memo leaked to The New York Times was overblown and the story was oversold. Further, even if true, the memo raises more questions about the actions of former FBI director James Comey than President Donald J. Trump.
The New York Times story claimed President Trump asked Comey to drop the investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. But the Times quoted the memo as saying he “hoped” Lt. Gen. Flynn wasn’t prosecuted because he was a “good man,” to which Comey replied he agreed he was a good man.
The Times and other media outlets widely interpreted the remarks as obstruction of justice, or as the AP put it, President Trump “tried to get Comey to shut down the investigation.”
Legal experts disagree.
In an op-ed in The Hill, liberal law professor Jonathan Turley said the wording still leaves “the need to show that the effort was to influence ‘corruptly’ when Trump could say that he did little but express concern for a longtime associate.” He specifically cited 18 U.S.C. 1503, the criminal code that “demands more than what Comey reportedly describes in his memo.”
Legal Experts: Comey Memo Reaction Overblown, Story Oversold | People's Pundit Daily