Wednesday morning, in one of his patented everyone-thinks-its-a-bad-idea-but-I’ll-show-them tweetstorms (a genre in which no one can deny President Donald Trump is peerless in), the president kind of casually admitted to possibly committing a crime.
“No Collusion or Obstruction (other than I fight back), so now they do the Unthinkable, and RAID a lawyers office for information! BAD!” the president wrote. No obstruction (other than I commit obstruction), is an interesting defense against committing obstruction.
So much Fake News about what is going on in the White House. Very calm and calculated with a big focus on open and fair trade with China, the coming North Korea meeting and, of course, the vicious gas attack in Syria. Feels great to have Bolton & Larry K on board. I (we) are
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 11, 2018
….doing things that nobody thought possible, despite the never ending and corrupt Russia Investigation, which takes tremendous time and focus. No Collusion or Obstruction (other than I fight back), so now they do the Unthinkable, and RAID a lawyers office for information! BAD!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 11, 2018
Trump’s most prominent attempt at fighting back came when he fired the person investigating his ties to Russia for, and he admitted this on national television, investigating his ties to Russia.
Naturally, the internet thought this was a tacit admission guilt.
So according to President Trump, there was no "Obstruction (other than I fight back)" against the Russia investigation. What does he think obstruction of justice is? He knows that's a crime, right? https://t.co/TjksAauvZA
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) April 11, 2018
I only engage in obstruction of justice when I fight back, the President says. When I'm not fighting back, I don't engage in obstruction of justice at all. https://t.co/bLuIFWiiIQ
— Orin Kerr (@OrinKerr) April 11, 2018
By saying "I fight back" in the context of "obstruction," Trump just confirmed that *actions* on his part that constitute potential obstruction have been deliberately intended as a response to the Russia probe. https://t.co/nMnYmnulk5
— Greg Sargent (@GregTSargent) April 11, 2018
https://twitter.com/Zac_Petkanas/status/984036762262663168
But then again, maybe he’s just seeing many moves ahead.