attempting to obstruct the russia probe. could it all hinge on the definition of should? and we ll break down rudy giuliani s defense of the president, whether it could it would hold up in court. this whole obstruction of justice thing is nonsense. if he wanted to obstruct it, he d obstruct it. he could just end it.
sessions to end robert mueller s russia investigation right away is an opinion, not an order. let s dig deeper with our correspondents and our analysts. joey jackson, our you re legal analyst. he was very clear in that tweet. let me read the sentence specifically. attorney general jeff sessions should stop this rigged witch hunt right now. in your view is that obstruction of justice? you know, wolf, i am of the view that it is not at all obstruction of justice. i don t think there s any reasonable view of this tweet that could be construed that way. and i say that for three primary reasons. number one, i do agree that it s an expression of an opinion. now, we may not like each other s opinion but because you re the president you have the right to an opinion too. we have this thing called the first amendment. we re all entitled to exercise, that whether we agree or disagree. so yes, number one, it s an opinion. number two, i see no corrupt intent there. i see anger. i see disdain. i
campaign, the re-election in november, and apparently, wolf, does not want to say anything that could infuriate the president. perhaps one reason he did not want to answer that question. but no doubt about it, wolf, republicans did not want to embrace these concerns today perhaps because the president is so about the mueller probe. manu raju on capitol hill. joining us now, republican congressman chris stewart. he s a member of the house intelligence committee. congressman, thanks so much for joining us. good afternoon. the president has told his attorney general, jeff sessions, to stop the russia investigation right away. is that in your opinion obstruction of justice? i think it would be very, very difficult as a prosecutor to make the case. i m not an attorney but common sense would tell me it s going to take much more than that to prove any kind of case towards what you ve indicated there. the president can voice his opinion. i don t deny him that ability. but in this cas
the prosecutors, he was witness tampering. that s why he s in jail right now as opposed to being out on bail. well, and i m not here to defend paul manafort. i don t know him at all. and i followed the case actually not very closely. it s outside of my purview in congress and the responsibilities i have. i think most americans would be uncomfortable if they feel like someone for political reasons was treated differently than someone else who s accused of very similar crimes. and i think that s what the president is saying. let s let the prosecution go forward. let s see the trial and what the jury decides. i will say it s pretty unusual for a sitting president of the united states to be weighing in pro or con with opinions as far as a federal trial is under way right now, especially day two. but congressman, i m grateful to you for joining us. chris stewart of utah. thanks very much. thank you. just ahead, is it an opinion or is it obstruction of justice? i ll ask the former u.
about direction, as you sit at the top of government and you have underneath you a cabinet secretary to whom who reports to. so for example, would it be first amendment free speech if at a meeting he directed the attorney general, that speech too, directed the attorney general to prosecute an adversary or let go of someone who s an ally? the mere fact that someone is using their mouth and expressing themselves in english does not necessarily mean you re implicating first amendment rights. mueller is investigating if the president is obstructing justice or tampering with witnesses through his tweets. how do you think he s going to view this latest tweet? as i said before, i think it s part of the picture. and over time a portrait is developing that the president wants the russia investigation to be ended. and by the way, the president doesn t distinguish between and among which parts of the russia investigation he wants to end. he says in blanket form stop all