On Oct. 4, 2017, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-NC) said that all issues relating to the investigation into Russian interference with the election remain open. But with respect to the firing of FBI Director James Comey, the committee had gone as far as it could and was passing the baton: “Future questions surrounding Comey’s firing are better answered by the [special] counsel or by the Justice Department,” Burr said.

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Special counsel Robert Mueller is reportedly investigating whether Trump’s interactions with Comey amount to obstruction of justice. The charge can be leveled at anyone, including the president, who attempts to influence, obstruct or impede a federal investigation or a judicial process.

Most people assume that Comey’s firing is the linchpin of any obstruction of justice case against Donald Trump. And while it’s certainly important, it’s just one brick in a longer road. The BillMoyers.com Trump-Russia Timeline reveals that Trump’s Comey predicament is far worse than wherever the act of firing him takes Mueller. Long before he dismissed the FBI director — and for months thereafter — Trump took numerous actions that could now support an obstruction of justice charge. Consider:

FBI Director Comey was the best thing that ever happened to Hillary Clinton in that he gave her a free pass for many bad deeds! The phony… — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2017



After Comey’s Senate appearance, Trump fumed about his testimony. Over the weekend of May 6-7 at his Bedminster Golf Club, he and aide Stephen Miller drafted a four-page letter directed to Comey, outlining Trump’s reasons for firing him.

After Comey’s Senate appearance, Trump fumed about his testimony. Over the weekend of May 6-7 at his Bedminster Golf Club, he and aide Stephen Miller drafted a four-page letter directed to Comey, outlining Trump’s reasons for firing him. On Monday, May 8, Sally Yates was preparing to testify about her January conversations with Don McGahn concerning Mike Flynn, and Trump unleashed another tweet smacking of witness intimidation:

Ask Sally Yates, under oath, if she knows how classified information got into the newspapers soon after she explained it to W.H. Counsel. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 8, 2017

Later that morning, Trump read his draft Comey termination letter aloud to several advisers, including White House counsel Don McGahn and Vice President Mike Pence. Together with Kushner and then-chief of staff Reince Priebus, McGahn and Pence drafted talking points about Comey’s planned firing. Meanwhile, Trump asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein for a memo outlining their problems with Comey. They complied, and Trump cited their recommendations as his reason for firing the FBI director. On May 9, Trump fires Comey.

Trump’s subordinates — including Pence, who went to Capitol Hill — then took to the airwaves and peddled the lie that Rosenstein had been the impetus for Comey’s termination.

All of that went for naught when Trump confessed, first, on May 10, to Russians in the Oval Office and then, on May 11, to the world on NBC, that he made the decision to fire Comey because of “Russia.”

The next day — as The New York Times reported on Trump’s Jan. 27 “loyalty dinner” with Comey — Trump again used Twitter to intimidate a key witness:

James Comey better hope that there are no “tapes” of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2017

Why has Trump tried to shut down the Russia investigation, lied about Comey’s firing, persisted in efforts to intimidate key witnesses, inserted himself into misleading statements about his campaign advisers’ meetings with Russians offering to help him win the election, and held the sword of Damocles over the special counsel investigating him? Behind any effort to obstruct justice is a fear of the truth.

In a thorough 108-page factual and legal analysis for the Brookings Institution, Barry H. Berke, Noah Bookbinder and Norman Eisen outline in great detail the case against Trump. People lie for a reason, and Trump is no exception. What he feared — and apparently still fears — continues to seep out.

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Trump erratic behavior has many questioning his mental fitness to remain in office. But throughout his life, Trump’s actions have always been rational in a key respect: Trump does what is best for Trump, regardless of the consequences. If that means obstructing justice, so be it.