As of now, there is no proof that President Trump obstructed justice, argues Andrew C. McCarthy of National Review. Firing former FBI chief Comey happened in a context where he was refusing to tell the public what he told the president, namely that he wasn’t under investigation. Importantly, this termination didn’t happen to stop the Russia investigation, which Trump could have done. To begin with, the special counsel into Russian meddling was done on the foundation of highly questionable information. It came from a Clinton-backed effort to undermine Trump. Ultimately, no charges have been brought against the president; he is innocent until proven guilty.

President Trump has taken many decisions which suggest that he was trying to obstruct justice, asserts Adam Serwer of The Atlantic. Most significantly, he sought to fire Robert Mueller and only backed down when one of his staff members threatened to resign. This was one of many attempts to stifle the Russia investigation. He also attempted to pressure James Comey to stop the probe into Michael Flynn, who later pled guilty to misleading the FBI. Admitting that firing Comey took “great pressure” off of him showed Trump’s real motivations. He attempted to halt the Russia investigation in several ways that indicate he was trying to prevent it getting closer to the truth.