Fox News Anchor Gregg Jarrett appeared on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” to explain why if then-FBI Direct James Comey believed his memo detailing the ways in which he believed President Trump acted improperly to influence an investigation would be a smoking gun it was one without powder.
If Comey believed the memo would incriminate Trump, he “put himself in a legal box,” Jarrett told Carlson.
“Under law Comey is required to notify his superiors at the Department of Justice if anybody including the president attempts to obstruct justice. It is a crime for Comey to fail to do so,” he explained. “So the question is, did he notify DOJ? There’s no evidence that he did. It’s more likely … that Comey will say it was an uncomfortable, disconcerting conversation but it didn’t rise to the level of the specific intent required by obstruction of justice.”
If that’s the case, and he says so when he testifies, Trump is cleared. If he says he believed it was obstruction and didn’t report it, “he’s looking at charges criminally and time behind prison,” Jarrett said.
“That is fascinating,” Carlson replied.
Jarrett also explained his reasoning further in an op-ed he wrote earlier this week on Fox News.