Trump would have 'multiple charges for obstruction' if he wasn't president, hundreds of former prosecutors say

Donald Trump would have been charged with obstruction of justice were it not for his position as the leader of the free world, according to a letter signed by hundreds of former federal prosecutors.

The prosecutors — who have worked in both Republican and Democratic administrations — rebuked Attorney General William Barr’s decision to clear the president of wrongdoing after Special Counsel Robert Mueller concluded his report on Russian interference in the 2016 election.

“Each of us believes that the conduct of President Trump described in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report would, in the case of any other person not covered by the Office of Legal Counsel policy against indicting a sitting President, result in multiple felony charges for obstruction of justice,” the letter read Monday.

“We emphasise that these are not matters of close professional judgment,” it continued. “Of course, there are potential defences or arguments that could be raised in response to an indictment of the nature we describe here … But, to look at these facts and say that a prosecutor could not probably sustain a conviction for obstruction of justice — the standard set out in Principles of Federal Prosecution — runs counter to logic and our experience.”

The special counsel’s investigation found at least ten possible cases of obstruction of justice on the part of the president, as well as “sweeping and systemic” interference operations Russia carried out throughout the election in favour of Mr Trump and in opposition to the Democratic Party and its candidate, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Still, Mr Trump’s attorney general sought to clear the president’s name of any wrongdoing in a four-page summary released shortly after Mr Mueller concluded his probe, effectively stating the Justice Department would not issue charges against him.

At least 375 former prosecutors had signed onto the letter by Monday afternoon.

“The Mueller report describes several acts that satisfy all of the elements for an obstruction charge: conduct that obstructed or attempted to obstruct the truth-finding process, as to which the evidence of corrupt intent and connection to pending proceedings is overwhelming,” it reads.

The letter arrived hours after members of the House Judiciary Committee announced plans to conduct a vote Wednesday on whether to hold Mr Barr in contempt of Congress for failing to meet a second deadline to provide a copy of the full, unredacted report and its underlying evidence.

Democrats have also said the attorney general lied during his public testimony on Capitol Hill last week, in which he claimed not to be aware that members of the special counsel’s team were “frustrated” by confusion that had been caused due to Mr Barr’s four-page analysis released after the conclusion of their report.

A letter from Mr Mueller’s office to Mr Barr now appears to dispute his lack of knowledge about the issue at the time of his questioning. He then failed to appear for a second day of questioning Thursday.