John Dowd, President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, claims a president cannot be guilty of obstruction of justice, Axios is reporting.
The "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," Dowd claimed.
Dowd has said he drafted this tweet from Trump that was posted on Saturday:
Axios noted many believed that tweet strengthened the case for obstruction by suggesting the president knew Flynn had lied to the FBI when he was dismissed. It brought up new questions about the firing of FBI Director James Comey.
"The tweet did not admit obstruction," Dowd claimed. "That is an ignorant and arrogant assertion."
Trump's lawyers appear to be setting the stage to say the president cannot be charged with collusion and obstruction — the core crimes discussed in the Russia probe, according to Axios.
But not everyone agreed with Dowd's obstruction theory.
"It is certainly possible for a president to obstruct justice," Bob Bauer, an NYU law professor and former White House counsel to President Barack Obama, told Axios.
"The case for immunity has its adherents, but they based their position largely on the consideration that a president subject to prosecution would be unable to perform the duties of the office, a result that they see as constitutionally intolerable."
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