Before Trump started his tweet storm against the #whistleblower, 3 federal appeals court judges considered the constitutionality of the obstruction of justice law designed to protect #whistleblowers & witnesses. They upheld the criminal conviction.
thehill.com/blogs/congress…
thehill.com/blogs/congress…
Our opinion column was published on Dec. 17, but it’s even more timely now following President Trump’s recent use of twitter to retweet posts by his campaign & supporters that attempt to “out” & harass the #Whistleblower.
3 federal judges on the 6th Circuit affirmed the conviction and they agreed that the defendant’s social media postings attacking the #Whistleblower violated 18 USC §1513(g).
The defendant revealed the identity of a confidential informant, or #Whistleblower, and called him, among other things, a “snitch” in social media posts. The defendant was convicted for retaliating against the confidential Whistleblower in violation of 18 U.S.C § 1513(e).
It’s a federal crime for President Trump or anyone else to use social media to harass, threaten or reveal the identity of a confidential informant or #Whistleblower. 18 USC §1513(g) is one of several criminal statutes that make it a crime to obstruct justice.
* 18 USC §1513(e).
