Fox News' Judge Andrew Napolitano says new report could show evidence of 'corrupt intent' by Trump

Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano says that if a bombshell New York Times report about President Trump asking then-Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker to put one of his allies in charge of the Michael Cohen investigation is correct, this was "an attempt to obstruct justice."

Trump wanted Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, to take the Cohen case, the Times reports; because of a conflict of interest, he had recused himself. While discussing the report with anchor Shepard Smith on Tuesday, Napolitano said such a phone call shows "corrupt intent. That is an effort to use the levers of power of the government for a corrupt purpose, to deflect an investigation into himself or his allies."

Smith asked if this was obstruction of justice, and Napolitano explained it was "attempted obstruction. It would only be obstruction if it succeeded. If you tried to interfere with a criminal prosecution that may knock at your own door by putting your ally in there, that is clearly an attempt to obstruct justice." He also warned that Whitaker, who testified to Congress that the White House never asked for "promises or commitments" about any investigations, could face his own legal issues. "There's two potential crimes here for Matt Whitaker," Napolitano said. "One is actual perjury, lying to the Congress. The other is misleading. Remember, you can be truthful but still misleading." Catherine Garcia

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up