Briefly Noted: Confirmed - No 371 Conspiracy To Defraud The US Government
Is it OK to give myself a pat on the back every blue moon or so? Over a year ago I laid out what I believed to be the two most likely prosecutive theories that the Russia Hoax was predicated on (More On Mueller's Theory Of The Case ). I returned to that theme just this week, with the difference that I was urging that this same prosecutive theory be considered by AG Bill Barr in bringing the Russia Hoax coup plotters to justice: Is There A Prosecutive Theory To Fit The Russia Hoax? The prosecutive theory in question would rely upon 18 USC 371 to establish a conspiracy "for the purpose of impairing, obstructing or defeating the lawful function of any department of government."
Well, today Paul Sperry confirmed that I had read Team Mueller's intentions correcting. Sperry tweeted (and his feed today is HOT) that buried in the Mueller Dossier is a passage that provides further exoneration for President Trump:
Paul Sperry
@paulsperry
Further exoneration buried in Mueller report: "The investigation did not establish any agreement among [Trump] Campaign officials--or b/t such officials & Russia-linked individuals--to interfere w or obstruct a lawful function of a gov't agency during the campaign or transition."
10:36 AM - 22 May 2019
Sperry is referencing 18 USC 371, Conspiracy to Defraud the US Government. A follower of Sperry helpfully added this image from p. 181 of the Mueller Dossier, which shows the several references to 371:
So there we have confirmed that Team Mueller was, indeed, pursuing that prosecutive theory. Team Mueller came up dry but that definitely doesn't mean that Team Barr wouldn't be able to turn this prosecutive theory to excellent use. The advantage of this theory is that acts that aren't in themselves criminal can become steps in furtherance of the conspiracy to "interfere with or obstruct a lawful function of a gov't agency during the campaign or transition"--and during the following two years .