March 1, 2018
The Call – #TrumpRussia #StateAGs As Special Counsel Robert Mueller gets closer to Trump, his family and his inner circle, Trump is getting more and more desperate. While his attacks on the investigation haven’t succeeded yet, it is predictable that he will ultimately take steps to seriously obstruct Mueller’s investigation. He could issue federal pardons or he could fire Mueller/Rosentein and replace either with a loyalist who will kneecap the investigation. If Trump succeeds in obstructing Mueller, the GOP-controlled Congress isn’t likely to remedy it, by either re-hiring Mueller or impeaching Trump. The states may be our only hope to prosecute and bring to justice any Americans who may have helped Russia attack our election. Trump can pardon anyone for any federal crime, but he cannot pardon state crimes. Moreover, acceptance of a pardon from Trump legally constitutes an admission by the person pardoned that they are guilty – and that admission can be used against the defendant in a related state prosecution. States typically defer to a federal investigation, but if that investigation is obstructed, many states will have jurisdiction to investigate aspects of Russia’s interference and the involvement of Americans in that interference, or in other state crimes. For instance, if Michael Flynn were pardoned, the Pennsylvania AG would have jurisdiction to investigate his alleged role in a plan to kidnap a Turkish cleric living in Pennsylvania. Many other states would also have jurisdiction to investigate attempted hacks into their state voting infrastructure or emails of residents, tax fraud, money-laundering, witness tampering, conspiracy and many other state crimes that Americans assisting the Russian attack may have committed. Mueller is already working with New York AG Eric Schneiderman on the Manafort investigation and can legally work with other state AGs on relevant crimes. An announcement by state AGs that they will aggressively pick up the investigation if Trump obstructs Mueller could delay or deter Trump from obstructing, and when he does, ensure that the guilty are brought to justice. Your Action Call your state’s Attorney General and tell him/her to announce now that if Trump obstructs Mueller’s investigation, he/she will investigate and prosecute related crimes within their jurisdiction. Talking Points
This is [NAME] and I live in [CITY].
I am worried that Trump will obstruct Mueller’s investigation.
If Trump obstructs Mueller’s investigation, it will be up to states to determine if crimes were committed by Americans in connection with Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and bring them to justice.
I urge AG [____ ] to publicly announce that if Trump obstructs Mueller’s investigation, he/she will aggressively investigate and prosecute any related crimes within his/her jurisdiction.