Is Donald Trump attempting to sabotage the Jan. 6 committee’s efforts? There is no doubt that Wyoming Republican Rep. Liz Cheney has made that implication. This week, Cheney disclosed, “After our previous hearing, President Trump wanted to summon a witness in our investigation—a witness you have not yet seen in these proceedings.” “Instead of picking up or responding to President Trump’s call, the person informed their attorney about the contact. Our attorney informed them.”
Later, CNN learned the individual worked as a support staff member for Trump’s White House. And that has caused alarm among researchers who are looking into the uprising. Rep. Jamie Raskin stated, “This has been a trend, and we’re trying to deliver the message that witness tampering is a felony in the United States of America” (D-Md.).
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Trump has been questioned for tampering with several investigations into his actions in the past, so this is not the first time. Here is all the information you require:
James Comey’s dismissal
James Comey, the FBI director, was sacked by Trump early in his tenure as president. Why? Simply enough, he wasn’t doing well, he told reporters. He was not performing well. However, Trump appeared to imply in an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt that the termination was motivated by resentment over ongoing inquiries into his campaign’s potential collaboration with Russia in the 2016 election. In reality, Trump added to Holt, “When I finally made the decision to simply do it, I thought to myself, You know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up narrative, it’s an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should have won.”
During a meal on Valentine’s Day in 2017, Comey said that Trump had urged him to be lenient in the FBI’s investigation of Mike Flynn, the former national security adviser who ultimately pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about his contacts with the Russian ambassador. Trump responded, according to Comey’s testimony: “I’m hoping you can see clearly how to let this go and how to let Flynn go. He is a decent man. I hope you can move on from this.” Comey seemed uneasy with the request. He informed the Senate Intelligence Committee in June 2017 that “I had interpreted the president to be requesting that we terminate any investigation of Flynn in connection with misleading statements regarding his contacts with the Russian ambassador in December.”
Although Flynn was found guilty, Trump pardoned him after the 2020 presidential election. In a video appearance before the committee on January 6, he took the Fifth when asked if he believed in the peaceful transfer of power, which is what got him most recently in the press.
Pressuring Daniel Cohen
As Trump’s longtime attorney and fixer, Cohen was in a unique position to monitor Trump’s actions, including payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels, with whom Trump had a fleeting sexual encounter. According to CNN’s Marshall Cohen (not related to Cohen), Cohen’s involvement in the payments was under investigation: “Trump openly backed Cohen after the FBI searched his home and office, saying he didn’t believe Cohen would “flip.” Cohen received an email from a lawyer linked to Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani telling him to “sleep easy” because “you have friends in high places.” Cohen told investigators that a different Trump attorney had assured him that if he kept on topic, he would be OK and might even receive a pardon.”
But Cohen eventually changed his mind, appearing before Congress in 2019 and stating bluntly: “I fear that if he loses the election in 2020 that there will never be a peaceful transition of power.” Only after Trump and Rudy Giuliani made public remarks implying that Cohen’s father-in-law may be the subject of a federal investigation did that testimony take place, raising concerns about whether their actions constituted obstruction of justice. Reps. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) issued a joint statement in which they said, “We hear that Mr. Cohen’s wife and other family members fear for their safety in the wake of these threats.” After being found guilty of breaking campaign finance rules and lying to Congress during an earlier hearing, Cohen later received a jail sentence.
Mueller’s report
Robert Mueller’s investigation into Trump’s interactions with Russia produced no charges at any point. But Mueller, the former FBI director, clearly implied that if Trump had not been president, he may have been charged with obstruction. In reality, Mueller’s final report listed 10 instances as likely times when Trump attempted to obstruct his investigation, including the Michael Cohen episodes and the firing of Comey. Other instances were his attempts to get Mueller removed from the probe as the special counsel.
Mueller’s findings about impediments likely seemed to a layperson as a double-negative fog: The investigators did not accuse Trump of obstructing justice, but they also did not refute the accusation. According to Mueller’s final report, “If we had confidence after a comprehensive examination of the facts that the president definitely did not conduct obstruction of justice, we would so say.” We are unable to make that decision, however, given the circumstances and the relevant legal requirements. The Department of Justice’s policy against prosecuting the president in office, however, is the legal norm. Mueller, though, didn’t want to give the impression that Trump had been exonerated of the charges. “Although this assessment did not reach the conclusion that the president broke the law, it
