Speaking with Bloomberg News, President Donald Trump attacked special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation as illegal. Trump stated, “I view it as an illegal investigation. You read the great scholars, the great legal — there should have never been a special counsel. It shouldn’t have been set up.”
It comes as no surprise that President Trump is critical of the investigation, but is the President justified in his claims? Could he arrest Mueller and his team?
First, let’s take a look at The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly known as RICO. Originally enacted to combat mafia operations, the law has had a far greater impact. RICO has been fundamental in going after all types of organizations, from corrupt police departments to even the Catholic Church. RICO warrants prosecution of all individuals in a corrupt organization, from the leadership to the bottom associates. An individual must engage in a pattern of racketeering associated with an organization in order to violate RICO law.
President Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani is no stranger to RICO prosecution as he is largely credited with reinventing the law’s use from mafia investigations to white collar crime circuits. In his own tenure as a prosecutor, Giuliani took on mafia rings, unions, bankers, and corrupt government officials.
Among the number of violations under RICO statutes is obstruction of justice. Obstruction of justice is not limited to bribery and intimidation but may include “misleading conduct” which may consist of deliberate lies or “material omissions” (leaving out any facts imperative to the case), a broad term that can fit a variety of circumstances.
The sweeping bias and conflicts of interest that riddle the Mueller investigation have been well-documented, from the Peter Strozk anti-Trump text messages to the investigators with ties to the Clinton’s and the Democratic party.
Are we to believe that these investigators can be trusted to uphold justice, or that they will present all the evidence necessary to give a fair trial to Trump and his associates? Could it be that the members of the special counsel could be guilty of obstruction of justice themselves?
Is it time for Trump to turn the tables on this egregious witch hunt and prosecute the corrupt prosecutors?
