President possibly a criminal

To the Editor

There are a couple of significant errors of fact in Mr. Stoppelman’s letter of March 27. First, contrary to Mr. Stoppelman’s assertion, it is a crime to obstruct a federal investigation, whether or not the subject of the investigation is ever convicted of, or even charged with, a crime.

Second, contrary to Mr. Stoppelman’s and Mr. Trump’s assertions, Mr. Trump has not been “completely and totally exonerated” of conspiracy and obstruction of justice.

What Mueller conducted was not a trial.

Mr. Trump was not charged with a crime and found innocent.

This was an investigation that concluded the evidence uncovered did not rise to the level required for conviction of a crime – guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Was there probable cause for the investigation in the first place? Absolutely.

And if new evidence comes to light, the case could be reopened, although unless that evidence includes a hot smoking gun that can’t be waved away, there is zero chance Mr. Trump’s man in the Department of Justice will go down that path.

Fortunately, numerous other investigations in other jurisdictions are still underway (so much winning!), and eventually justice may prevail. Obviously, that is out of our hands. But the 2020 elections, 20 months away, are not.

Jim Airy

La Conner