Holder: Trump Wouldn’t Have Been Charged if He Returned Material, Obstruction Was ‘Tipping Point’

On Thursday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “All In,” former Attorney General Eric Holder said that — based on what he has heard in media reports on the reported indictment of former President Donald Trump — the case is ultimately based on obstruction and if Trump “had taken that material from the Justice Department and had done so improperly, but had given the material back once requested, my guess is that we probably would not have a case.”

Holder said, “The obstruction thing is the tipping point. If he had taken that material from the Justice Department and had done so improperly, but had given the material back once requested, my guess is that we probably would not have a case. But the fact that he frustrated attempts to get back information that he did not have the ability to possess, the obstruction is what makes this case one that you would ultimately bring. This is not an easy decision, in the sense that this will be something that the country will be talking about, potentially may divide the country. But if this is to be a nation of laws, if no one is truly above the law, and if you look at the history of these kinds of cases, where people who had almost clerical positions have been criminally charged, how do you give a pass to a President, to a former President of the United States, especially given the obstructive behavior?”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett