Could Trump's Tweets Be Used As Evidence For Obstruction Of Justice?

White Collar Partner Peter Zeidenberg was a featured guest on NPR’s “All Things Considered” to discuss President Donald Trump’s use of Twitter – and whether they could be used as evidence for obstruction of justice.

NPR’s Mary Louise Kelley asked Peter about a message posted on the president's Twitter account that reads, "I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the vice president and the FBI." NPR reported that the “tweet has prompted an avalanche of questions over whether it could be used as evidence in a potential obstruction of justice case for special counsel Robert Mueller.”

“It's helpful. I don't think it's necessarily a game changer because I think frankly, if I had to guess, the special counsel has other means of establishing the fact that Donald Trump was aware that Michael Flynn had lied to the FBI. Now, that's not public record, so it may be the case that there isn't other means of establishing that.” To listed to the NPR interview, click here.

Peter also spoke with Vanity Fair about the president’s lawyer, John Dowd, attempting to “undo the damage by claiming he, not Trump, had sloppily drafted the tweet and that Trump wasn’t admitting to any wrongdoing.”

“John Dowd is not an idiot,” says Peter. “Why would he feel compelled to draft a tweet, which he’s never done before, commenting on Flynn’s plea agreement? On a Saturday morning? No, I don’t believe Dowd drafted it. And I can’t discern any general legal strategy that the president is following.” To read the Vanity Fair article, click here

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