Obstruction of Justice: Today's News for May 17th

New York Times:

Comey Memo Says Trump Asked Him to End Flynn Investigation

President Trump asked the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, to shut down the federal investigation into Mr. Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, in an Oval Office meeting in February, according to a memo Mr. Comey wrote shortly after the meeting.

“I hope you can let this go,” the president told Mr. Comey, according to the memo.

The documentation of Mr. Trump’s request is the clearest evidence that the president has tried to directly influence the Justice Department and F.B.I. investigation into links between Mr. Trump’s associates and Russia. Late Tuesday, Representative Jason Chaffetz, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, demanded that the F.B.I. turn over all “memoranda, notes, summaries and recordings” of discussions between Mr. Trump and Mr. Comey.

Such documents, Mr. Chaffetz wrote, would “raise questions as to whether the president attempted to influence or impede” the F.B.I.

...Mr. Comey shared the existence of the memo with senior F.B.I. officials and close associates. The New York Times has not viewed a copy of the memo, which is unclassified, but one of Mr. Comey’s associates read parts of it to a Times reporter.

“I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go,” Mr. Trump told Mr. Comey, according to the memo. “He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.” 

If this is true, then it is a possible case of obstruction of justice. This could be an impeachable offense.

There are still a lot of things unconfirmed here. First, the memo has not been made public. Second, Comey has not confirmed the information in the memo. Third, if Trump denies it, it becomes a question of Trump's word versus Comey's word. This is confirmed by the CNN lede:

CNN:

Trump vs. Comey: Who will America trust?

America faces a fateful choice: Does it believe Donald Trump or James Comey?

A theatrical showdown is now looming between the President with a hazy relationship with the truth and the FBI director he fired, whose finely tuned sense of his own integrity has often steered him into rocky political waters.

The FBI director who was glaringly honest about Hillary Clinton's transgressions, even as he said any other government employee would be prosecuted for the same ones? Comey's credibility is impeccable, in spite of what CNN might want to think.

But even if we reach the point of impeaching Trump for obstruction of justice, there is no guaranty the Congress will vote to remove him from office. It is still a Republican-controlled Congress.

Also, there is no telling what the public reaction will be to an impeachment. If the public perceives it as a witch hunt against Trump, much like they did with Bill Clinton's impeachment, then the Congress may have to retreat. Remember, there was a solid case against Clinton for perjury, yet he was not removed from office for it.

Regardless, the Right-leaning media looks downright weak in their lede this morning:

Fox News:

White House disputes explosive report that Trump asked Comey to end Flynn probe

The White House grappled late Tuesday with the political ghost of James Comey, as an explosive new report said a memo written by the ousted FBI chief claimed President Trump once asked him to end the probe into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

The White House sharply disputed the report, as Democrats seized on it as potential proof of "obstruction" of justice.

According to The New York Times the memo quoted Trump as saying he hoped Comey could "let this go" with regard to Flynn.

This is called "burying the lede", and is a sure sign of biased reporting. Starting with the White House denial places more value on that than the accusation of criminal behavior found in the memo.