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Democrats: From Collusion to Obstruction

June 13, 2017

Democrats have gone from alleging that President Donald Trump colluded with the Russian government to insisting that Trump committed obstruction of justice.

Democrats were quick to blame Trump's victory on the Electoral College, former FBI Director James Comey, fake news, and Russian interference. Democratic lawmakers have publicly stated they believe Trump and his campaign colluded with the Russian government, although the FBI's counter-intelligence investigation on Russia's interference in the 2016 election has garnered no evidence of this claim to date.

After months of investigation and no evidence of collusion, Democrats have now turned their attention to obstruction of justice.

Comey testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee last week, and said Trump told him in a February meeting that he hoped Comey could "let go" of the investigation into Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn. Comey also testified that Trump asked him to pledge loyalty, which had caused Comey to be concerned about the independence of the FBI.

Comey's statements have been fueling speculation about whether Trump committed obstruction of justice.

"That points to obstruction of justice," Rep. Rueben Gallego (D., Ariz.) said.

"I think he has laid out the core elements of an obstruction of justice charge," Sen. Chris Coons (D., Del.) said.

"That is obstruction of justice," Rep. Ted Lieu (D., Calif.) said.

"But the obstruction case seems to be clear cut as you can imagine," Sen. Chris Murphy (D., Conn.) said.

Comey declined to answer whether he thought Trump committed obstruction of justice.