800 Former Federal Prosecutors Believe Trump Would Have Been Indicted If He Wasn’t The Sitting President

Nearly 800 former federal prosecutors jointly signed a statement that asserts President Donald Trump would have been charged with obstruction of justice if not for the Justice Department, which prohibits an incumbent president from being indicted. This is because of the Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) policy.

The letter begins by affirming it is a bipartisan effort, one written by people who served in the Democratic and Republican parties. All of them assert that Trump, if not for the OLC policy, would have been charged with “multiple felony charges for obstruction of justice” according to the findings of Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

As of this writing, 799 former federal prosecutors have signed their name on the letter, and the number has steadily increased since its initial publication.

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In his report, Mueller outlined ten instances of Trump attempting to obstruct justice directly or indirectly, often unsuccessfully. Mueller, however, did not accuse Trump of the crime himself, partially owing to the Justice Department’s aforementioned standard.

Attorney General William Barr, who initially released a four-page summary of the report before releasing a redacted copy of it, cleared Trump of obstruction charges, actions that have angered Democrats. The House Judiciary Committee had subpoenaed the Justice Department for a release of the full Mueller report and, on Wednesday, the committee held a hearing on whether to hold Barr in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with them.