I like the idea of "accountability." In theory. As a prosecutor who practiced at the city, state and federal level I'm aware, though, of the tremendous difficulty in proving "intent" beyond a reasonable doubt in cases such as these. Each of the Obama officials mentioned can avail themselves of some version of the "irrational good faith" defense. They may not actually get a jury instruction to this effect [unless their cases are tried in Washington D. C. ---where the judge will practically direct a verdict in their favor] but, in some form or another, the jury will be exposed to the notion all involved parties gullibly & foolishly believed they were pursuing justice: they were simply confused and over their heads. Most juries, however carefully picked, lack the moral confidence to reject this defense. As a result, they hang.
Once a criminal case begins it will necessarily wind up in one of the following ways: a very public dismissal or a very public not guilty or guilty verdict. Trump will own whichever of these outcomes materializes ---whether it is pursued by a Special Prosecutor or not. And that's a big risk.
148765 Steve is one of the few willing to speak the truth- his conclusions are right on!
I like the idea of "accountability." In theory. As a prosecutor who practiced at the city, state and federal level I'm aware, though, of the tremendous difficulty in proving "intent" beyond a reasonable doubt in cases such as these. Each of the Obama officials mentioned can avail themselves of some version of the "irrational good faith" defense. They may not actually get a jury instruction to this effect [unless their cases are tried in Washington D. C. ---where the judge will practically direct a verdict in their favor] but, in some form or another, the jury will be exposed to the notion all involved parties gullibly & foolishly believed they were pursuing justice: they were simply confused and over their heads. Most juries, however carefully picked, lack the moral confidence to reject this defense. As a result, they hang.
Once a criminal case begins it will necessarily wind up in one of the following ways: a very public dismissal or a very public not guilty or guilty verdict. Trump will own whichever of these outcomes materializes ---whether it is pursued by a Special Prosecutor or not. And that's a big risk.