Former Attorney General under President Obama Eric Holder believes special counsel Robert Mueller could pursue an obstruction of justice case against President Donald Trump if he so chose. “Is there a technical case there now?” Holder said. “I think so. Now.”
There is an ongoing debate in legal circles as to whether a sitting president could be charged with such a crime. Some say the law prohibits a charge. Others believe he cannot be indicted at all.
Holder disagrees, saying a sitting president could be charged. He cites legal examinations that were done on the issue when he was the deputy attorney general under former President Clinton. But, Holder emphasized, the case would be a difficult one for prosecutors to make.
“If you’re a prosecutor, you make sure that you are building the best case. Not a technical case, but the best case, you know, that you can,” Holder said. “You know, the Comey firing. The outreaches to Coats and the other intel guys,” Holder said, referring to Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, who says Trump pressured him many times to state publicly that there was no evidence of collusion between Trump and Russia.
Holder has become a vocal critic of President Trump in recent months. Trump’s repeated criticisms of the FBI and the Justice Department, he says, will have “long-term collateral negative consequences” on the criminal justice system.