Holder: ‘Technical’ case of obstruction of justice could be made against Trump

Former Attorney General Eric Holder said Wednesday that a “technical” case for obstruction of justice charges could be made against President Trump, but cautioned that he didn’t know if enough evidence existed to bring a case against the president.

In an interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, the Obama-era attorney general pointed to Trump’s decision to fire former FBI Director James Comey, as well as other actions the president had taken, as an impetus for a possible case.

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“You’re talking about a technical case as opposed to one you might bring now,” Holder said.

“If one looks at the dismissal of James Comey and the reasons why the president told Lester Holt he did that, if you look at the president’s attempts to try to get people who were the heads of the intelligence agencies to get involved in this matter, if you look at the president’s actions on the airplane with regards to that statement, and a variety of other things, I think you technically have a case of obstruction of justice.”

But Holder went on to caution that special counsel Robert Mueller may not be ready or able to bring such a case to a court yet.

“I’m not saying that this is a case that you would necessarily bring at this point, and I don’t know what other evidence the special counsel has, but I think just from the basis of what has been reported in the media, and assuming that those reports are accurate, I do think that you have a technical case of obstruction of justice,” he added.

Holder’s comments about the president’s alleged lawbreaking are some of the sharpest criticism of Trump yet from former members of the Obama administration. Holder served as Obama’s attorney general from 2009-2015.

Mueller’s special counsel investigation has ensnared four people connected to the Trump campaign or administration, including former national security adviser Michael Flynn, former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort and his business associate Richard Gates, and former Trump campaign foreign policy aide George Papadopoulos.

Mueller is reportedly interested in questioning the president about his decision to fire Comey last year, as well as his interactions with Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to investigators last year.