That is very stark and not very persuasive.”The constitutional theory Mr. Trump’s team has put forward is not his first line of defense. They also have mustered factual claims, denying wrongdoing and arguing that as a technical matter, a particular obstruction statute did not apply to his actions. (The memo, however, appeared to be focused on the wrong statute, rendering the statutory arguments beside the point.) But the Trump team is invoking its aggressive constitutional theory to backstop its other arguments. But the actions those presidents were accused of — like witness tampering or suborning perjury — were not an exercise of their official powers as president.

Source: New York Times June 05, 2018 00:06 UTC