MSNBC's Rachel Maddow shows how Nixon precedents could render some of Trump's lies legally perilous

Matthew Chapman
and
AlterNet
28 November 2018

With a series of new revelations about President Donald Trump and his associates' ties to Russia, Trump's lies are looking increasingly desperate and scattershot.

But as MSNBC's Rachel Maddow pointed out in a segment on Wednesday night, however accustomed we may be to Trump's serial lying, the kinds of lies he's getting into trouble for now could expose him to serious legal jeopardy.

"The president has also personally participated in concocting false public statements about key issues that are a part of the investigation," said Maddow, "including the false statement that he drafted in the name of his eldest son, claiming that a meeting with Russians to obtain damaging information about Hillary Clinton was really a meeting about Russian adoptions."

"And I know you're like, 'oh Maddow, that's cute, news flash, the news that the president lied about a thing isn't news anymore,'" Maddow continued. "I know, I know, I can hear you through the TV. That may be so. President lies. You know, like Dog bites man. It may be so that that's no longer news, god rest our souls for that. But in the context of a key matter that is actively under criminal investigation, concocting a false public statement to mislead investigators about the nature of that incident — that isn't just your average, run-of-the-mill presidential lie. Legally, that could be a problem."

"I mean, go back to '74, go back to the summer of '74, for what Nixon got in trouble with, right? 'The president joined an ongoing criminal conspiracy to obstruct justice, obstruct a criminal investigation, and commit perjury...' including 'making and causing to be made false statements and declarations,'" she said.

Watch below: