What the Hell Is an Obstacle to Justice?
The phrase “obstruction of justice” is often used these days, especially if you are watching or reading the news. President Trump has been accused of obstruction of justice in connection with Robert Mueller’s investigation of a possible collusion with Russia, and now Devin Nunez, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, points the finger at him for creating his own alternative news site . But what does obstruction of justice mean?
Under US federal law , obstruction of justice is when someone “… is corrupt, through threats or force, or through any threatening letter or message, influences, obstructs or obstructs, or attempts to influence, obstruct or obstruct the proper the administration of justice … ”It is essentially a federal crime whereby someone willfully interfere with or interfere with prosecutors or other government officials during a formal trial or pending congressional or federal agency proceeding — for example, investigating a possible collusion, for example. The penalties for this felony charge may include a heavy fine or travel to prison for up to five years, or both.
It may sound simple, but it all comes down to proving the intentions of the accused. Obstruction of justice is an incredibly widespread crime by definition that has not changed much since the statute was written in 1789, and often makes it difficult to prove the crime because the accused must have acted with “corrupt intent.” When all is said and done to accuse someone of obstructing the course of justice, you must have strong evidence that they had a specific intent to obstruct an ongoing investigation or investigation.
So what does obstruction of justice usually look like? As former federal attorney Barack Cohen explained to the Washington Post , obstruction of justice can take many forms. This could be an attempt to prevent a witness from testifying before a federal grand jury, certain types of bribery, preventing people from testifying, or preventing certain types of evidence from appearing or being used in a Congressional investigation, or it could be very simple. someone does not say or do certain things as part of a federal investigation. Other examples include when a person interrogated during an investigation who is not a suspect lies to investigators; when someone changes, destroys or hides evidence; and sometimes refusal to help a police officer. On a broader scale, obstruction of justice charges were used in attempts to impeach Presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton.