Appendix to Presidential Obstruction of Justice: The
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APPENDIX TO PRESIDENTIAL OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE: THE CASE OF DONALD J. TRUMP OCTOBER 10, 2017 BARRY H. BERKE, NOAH BOOKBINDER, AND NORMAN L. EISEN* * Barry H. Berke is co-chair of the litigation department at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP (Kramer Levin) and a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has represented public officials, professionals and other clients in matters involving all aspects of white collar crime, including obstruction of justice. Noah Bookbinder is the Executive Director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). Previously, Noah has served as Chief Counsel for Criminal Justice for the United States Senate Judiciary Committee and as a corruption prosecutor in the United States Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section. Ambassador (ret.) Norman L. Eisen, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, was the chief White House ethics lawyer from 2009 to 2011 and before that, defended obstruction and other criminal cases for almost two decades in a D.C. law firm specializing in white-collar matters. He is the chair and co-founder of CREW. We are grateful to Jeff Dunlap, Sam Koch, and Conor Shaw for their invaluable assistance in preparing this paper. The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit organization devoted to independent research and policy solutions. Its mission is to conduct high-quality, independent research and, based on that research, to provide innovative, practical recommendations for policymakers and the public. The conclusions and recommendations of any Brookings publication are solely those of its author(s), and do not reflect the views of the Institution, its management, or its other scholars. CREW is a party (and is providing representation to other parties) in active litigation involving President Trump and the administration. More details can be found at https://www.citizensforethics.org/. Barry Berke and Kramer Levin are outside pro bono counsel to CREW. The authors have no other relevant interests to disclose. Table of Contents A. Facts A.1 Factual Chronology ........................................................................................................... 3 A.2 James Comey’s June 8, 2017 Statement for the Record ................................................. 53 A.3 Donald Trump Jr.’s Email Exchange with Rob Goldstone ................................................ 61 B. Applicable Federal Statutes B.1 18 U.S.C. § 1503 ............................................................................................................. 67 B.2 18 U.S.C. § 1505 ............................................................................................................. 70 B.3 18 U.S.C. § 1512 ............................................................................................................. 73 B.4 18 U.S.C. § 371 ............................................................................................................... 78 C. The Authority of the Special Counsel C.1 Department of Justice Regulations, 28 C.F.R. § 600.1-600.10 ........................................ 80 C.2 Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein’s Order No. 3915-2017 ......................................... 84 D. Articles of Impeachment D.1 Against President Andrew Johnson ................................................................................. 86 D.2 Against President Richard M. Nixon .............................................................................. 101 D.3 Against President Willian J. Clinton ............................................................................... 105 D.4 Against Judge Harry E. Claiborne ................................................................................. 112 D.5 Against Judge Samuel B. Kent ...................................................................................... 119 2 Appendix A.1 Factual Chronology Factual Chronology This document lists in chronological order facts relating to the case against President Trump for obstruction of justice. The items in this chronology are drawn from public sources, including newspaper articles, congressional testimony, social media posts, and transcripts of media interviews that were available at the date of publication. 2015 June 16, 2015: Donald J. Trump announces his candidacy for president.1 June, 2015: Lt. General (Ret.) Michael Flynn travels to Egypt and Israel on behalf of X-Co Dynamics Inc./Iron Bridge Group to advocate for a U.S.-Russia partnership to build and operate nuclear plants in the Middle East.2 Late summer, 2015: Lt. General (Ret.) Michael Flynn first meets with candidate Donald Trump.3 September, 2015: Opposition research firm Fusion GPS is hired by Republican opponents of Mr. Trump.4 October 28, 2015: Trump signs a letter of intent to develop a Trump-branded real estate project in Moscow with I.C. Expert Investment Co. 5 1 Jose A. DelReal, Donald Trump Announces Presidential Bid, Washington Post, Jun 16, 2015, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/06/16/donald-trump-to-announce-his- presidential-plans-today/?utm_term=.094ea71896f7. 2 Jeff Stein, Michael Flynn, Russia, and a Grand Scheme to Build Nuclear Power Plants in Saudi Arabia and the Arab World, Newsweek, Jun. 9, 2017, available at http://www.newsweek.com/2017/06/23/flynn- russia-nuclear-energy-middle-east-iran-saudi-arabia-qatar-israel-donald-623396.html. 3 Dana Priest, Trump Adviser Michael T. Flynn on His Dinner with Putin and Why Russia Today Is Just Like CNN, Washington Post, Aug. 15, 2016, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/08/15/trump-adviser-michael-t-flynn-on-his- dinner-with-putin-and-why-russia-today-is-just-like-cnn/?utm_term=.b55b6f01d9eb. 4 Kim Sengupta, Former MI6 Agent Christopher Steele’s Frustration as FBI Sat on Donald Trump Russia File for Months, Independent, Jan. 13, 2017, available at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-russia-dossier-file-investigation- hacking-christopher-steele-mi6-a7526901.html. 5 Rosalind S. Helderman, Carol D. Leonnig, and Tom Hamburger, Top Trump Organization Executive Asked Putin Aide for Help on Business Deal, Washington Post, Aug. 28, 2017, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/top-trump-organization-executive-reached-out-to-putin-aide-for- help-on-business-deal/2017/08/28/095aebac-8c16-11e7-84c0- 02cc069f2c37_story.html?utm_term=.1522a967c563. November 3, 2015: Felix Sater, a New York real estate mogul who has been convicted of racketeering and has ties to the mafia, law enforcement, and a variety of foreign oligarchs,6 sends an email to Michael Cohen, executive vice president of the Trump Organization, in which he offers to broker a real estate deal in Russia with the help of Russian President Vladimir Putin.7 December, 2015: Lt. General (Ret.) Michael Flynn participates in celebration of Russia Today, Russia’s state-financed television network. Flynn receives $45,000 in compensation for speaking at an event in Moscow.8 2016 Mid-January, 2016: Michael Cohen sends an email to Dmitry Peskov, the personal spokesman of Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which Cohen asks for help with a stalled development in Moscow. Cohen writes, “As this project is too important, I am hereby requesting your assistance. I respectfully request someone, preferably you, contact me so that I might discuss the specifics as well as arranging meetings with the appropriate individuals. I thank you in advance for your assistance and look forward to hearing from you soon.”9 February 26, 2016: Reuters reports that Trump is receiving foreign policy advice from Flynn.10 March 3, 2016: Trump names Senator Jeff Sessions as chairman of his campaign’s national security advisory committee.11 March 21, 2016: Trump names Carter Page as a member of his foreign policy team in an interview with the Washington Post.12 6 Andrew Rice, The Original Russia Connection, NY Magazine, Aug. 3, 2017, available at http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/08/felix-sater-donald-trump-russia-investigation.html. 7 Matt Apuzzo & Maggie Haberman, Trump Associate Boasted That Moscow Business Deal ‘Will Get Donald Elected’, New York Times, Aug. 28, 2017, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/28/us/politics/trump-tower-putin-felix-sater.html?_r=1. 8 Polina Devitt, Putin's Dinner with Michael Flynn: 'I Didn't Even Really Talk to Him', Reuters, June 4, 2017, available at http://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-usa-putin-idUSKBN18V0XZ; Robert Windrem, Guess Who Came to Dinner with Flynn and Putin, NBC News, Apr. 18, 2017, available at http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/guess-who-came-dinner-flynn-putin-n742696. 9 Helderman, Leonnig, & Hamburger, Washington Post, Aug. 28, 2017, supra n. 5. 10 Mark Hosenball & Steve Holland, Trump Being Advised by Ex-U.S. Lieutenant General Who Favors Closer Russia Ties, Reuters, Feb. 26, 2016, available at http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election- trump-advisor-idUSMTZSAPEC2Q6G3JRH. 11 Tom LoBianco, Trump Taps Sessions to Lead National Security Efforts, CNN, Mar. 3, 2016, available at http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/03/politics/donald-trump-jeff-sessions-national-security/index.html. 12 Post Opinions Staff, A Transcript of Donald Trump’s Meeting with the Washington Post Editorial Board, Washington Post, Mar. 21, 2016, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post- partisan/wp/2016/03/21/a-transcript-of-donald-trumps-meeting-with-the-washington-post-editorial- 2 March 29, 2016: Paul Manafort joins the Trump campaign. He is eventually