Federal law prevents witness tampering, a crime defined in 18 U.S. Code § 1512 as having been committed by a person who “knowingly uses intimidation, threatens, or corruptly persuades another person, or attempts to do so, or engages in misleading conduct toward another person, with intent to influence, delay, or prevent the testimony of any person in an official proceeding.’
In an earlier hearing held by the Jan. 6 committee, news that subpoenaed individuals for the committee had received phone calls urging them to “do the right thing” and withhold any damning information about the twice-impeached ex-president who lost the popular vote twice and tried to steal an election. That is illegal under federal law, but it appears it’s also just the tip of the iceberg.
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), vice chair of the House Select Committee in charge of investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection incited and led by Donald Trump, told viewers during the hearing on Tuesday that the ex-president tried to contact one of the witnesses for the committee. The witness did not take the call, instead calling their lawyer and reporting the attempted contact. Attorney General Merrick Garland has been notified about the illegal call.
Although it isn’t as if the committee needed much more proof that the ex-president is a criminal for whom justice cannot come soon enough, the news is just one more reason that Trump cannot be allowed to simply get away with what he has done. No one is above the law and Donald Trump is about to find that out for himself.
Twitter was outraged by the latest report of yet another crime committed by the man holed up in Florida at Mar-a-lago. Read some of their comments below:
