President Trump launched a bizarre tweet Wednesday morning quoting one of the attorneys who frequently appear on Fox News, to defend his right to fire anyone.
Presumably “the questions” refer to those The New York Times published this week that are believed to have been written by Jay Sekulow, the president’s attorney, after a meeting with Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
Trump’s misquoting of DeGenova appears to be from remarks he made on Tuesday:
“The questions are an intrusion into the president’s Article II powers under the Constitution, to fire any executive branch employee. To ask questions, as Mr. Mueller apparently proposes to do, about what the president was thinking when he fired Comey, or Flynn, or anybody else, is an outrageous, sophomoric, juvenile intrusion into the president’s unfettered power to fire anyone in the executive branch. It is a symptom of how ridiculous this appointment was by Rod Rosenstein when he made the appointment with no evidence of a crime.”
DiGenova is the attorney Sekulow announced he had hired before Trump met him and his wife, who work together and frequently appear together on Fox News. Trump rejected them after meeting them.
DiGenova is incorrect. Intent is a key criteria in deciding if acts like obstruction of justice are criminal.