The Mueller Report - Volume II - Obstruction

I've just finished reading Volume II of "The Mueller Report". Volume II deals directly with Obstruction of Justice.

I've now read "The Mueller Report" in its entirety. It's a big book, but it's not the biggest book I've ever read. It is, however, the book that has taken me longer to read than any other book I've ever read.

This book should have taken me no more than 2 weeks to complete. It has taken me months. Putting aside my age (73) and the size of the type (tiny), there is no reason it should have taken this long - except for the emotional impact reading it has had on me.

Before I get into my emotional reactions, let me say Volume II clearly documents numerous instances of Obstruction of Justice. If you watched Mueller's testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, you already know this. If you didn't, read the book. There is just too much there to summarize.

Volume II of the Report does not just list and detail instances of Obstruction of Justice. It analyses each instance based upon whether there was an obstructive act, whether there was a nexus to a criminal investigation and whether or not there was intent to obstruct on Trump's part.

It doesn't stop there. It also provides legal citings for each criminal statute that was violated with a full explanation of each citing and a full response to any objections to it raised by Trump's lawyers. For example:

     "Finally, 18 U.S.C. § l 512(b)(3) criminalizes tampering with witnesses to prevent the communication of information about a crime to law enforcement. The nexus inquiry articulated in Aguilar-that an individual has "knowledge that his actions are likely to affect the judicial proceeding," 515 U.S. at 599-does not apply to Section 1512(6)(3). See United States v. Byrne, 435 F .3d I 6, 24-25 (1st Cir. 2006). The nexus inquiry turns instead on the actor's intent to prevent communications to a federal law enforcement official. See Fowler v. United States, 563 U.S. 668, 673-678 (2011 )."

"The Mueller Report" is a thorough and comprehensive examination of some, not all, of Trumps's criminal behavior. It's just a slice of the pie.

Page 157 of Volume II pretty much says it all:

     "In this investigation, the evidence does not establish that the President was involved in an underlying crime related to Russian election interference. But the evidence does point to a range of other possible personal motives animating the President's conduct. These include concerns that continued investigation would call into question the legitimacy of his election and potential uncertainty about whether certain events-such as advance notice of WikiLeaks' s release of hacked information or the June 9, 2016 meeting between senior campaign officials and Russians­ could be seen as criminal activity by the President, his campaign, or his family.
     Third, many of the President's acts directed at witnesses, including discouragement of cooperation with the government and suggestions of possible future pardons, occurred in public view. While it may be more difficult to establish that public-facing acts were motivated by a corrupt intent, the President's power to influence actions, persons, and events is enhanced by his unique ability to attract attention through use of mass communications. And no principle of law excludes public acts from the scope of obstruction statutes. If the likely effect of the acts is to intimidate witnesses or alter their testimony, the justice system's integrity is equally threatened.
     2. Although the events we investigated involved discrete acts-e.g., the President's statement to Corney about the Flynn investigation, his termination of Corney, and his efforts to remove the Special Counsel-it is important to view the President's pattern of conduct as a whole. That pattern sheds light on the nature of the President' s acts and the inferences that can be drawn about his intent."

So why did I find this so emotionally upsetting? Part of that has to do with Barr's attempt to completely cover up Trump's crimes and misdoings.

The fact that the Attorney General of the United States is engaging in a further Obstruction of Justice is both scary and infuriating.

And then there's the fact that I didn't learn anything new. Yeah, I've know about this for months. This has all been reported and written about and rehashed over and over again.

So why hasn't anything been done about this? Why wasn't anything done about this months ago?

It's not just a question of corrupt leadership. It's the whole fucking Congress. It's spineless, corrupt politicians who have put their partisan and personal concerns over our national security.

It's also a question of stupidity on a galactic scale.

"The Mueller Report" is not just an indictment of Trump based upon his criminal activity, it's an indictment of us for our indifference and ignorance.

We've let this happen. Baa, baa, baa!

Donald Trump needs to be Impeached. He was never competent to be president. He should have been Impeached months/years ago. He is a career criminal who has colluded and conspired with our country's enemies. He is an abomination. He needs to be removed from office.

As for the rest of the pie that has not been covered in "The Mueller Report", Trump has to be held accountable for that too. That can be done after he has been removed from office.

Holy Moly!