White House

The president ‘cannot obstruct justice,’ Trump’s lawyer says

Key Points
  • A U.S. president "cannot obstruct justice," Donald Trump's personal lawyer John Dowd says.
  • Dowd's statement may be part of a new defense against the investigation by Justice Department special counselor Robert Mueller.
  • This comes after Dowd said he dictated the tweet about former security adviser Michael Flynn from Trump's account on Sunday.
The president 'cannot obstruct justice,' Trump's lawyer says
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The president 'cannot obstruct justice,' Trump's lawyer says

President Donald Trump's legal team may be preparing a new defense against Justice Department special counselor Robert Mueller, Axios reported Monday.

A "president cannot obstruct justice because he is the chief law enforcement officer under [the Constitution's Article II] and has every right to express his view of any case," Trump's personal lawyer John Dowd told Axios. He later made similar comments to NBC News.

This new statement comes after Dowd told NBC he dictated the tweet from Trump's account on Sunday that implied the president knew former security adviser Michael Flynn had lied to the FBI.

Trump tweet: I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!

Dowd told NBC "the tweet did not admit obstruction."

"That is an ignorant and arrogant assertion," Dowd added.

Trump's tweet — and a series of others about the investigation into contacts between his 2016 campaign and Russia — prompted concerns on Sunday among both Democratic and Republican lawmakers.

"I would just say this with the president: There's an ongoing criminal investigation," Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said on CBS' "Face the Nation."

"You tweet and comment regarding ongoing criminal investigations at your own peril," he added.

Read the full report from Axios. Reuters contributed to this report.

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