Did Trump Engage in Witness Tampering by Calling for Investigations into Michael Cohen's Family?

What’s the story?

• Lawyers and lawmakers are accusing President Donald Trump and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani of “witness tampering” after both made comments about Michael Cohen’s father-in-law (and, in one instance, Cohen’s wife).
• Cohen announced on Wednesday that he was postponing his congressional testimony because of “ongoing threats against his family.”
• “Due to ongoing threats against his family from President Trump and Mr. Giuliani, as recently as this weekend, as well as Mr. Cohen's continued cooperation with ongoing investigations, by advice of counsel, Mr. Cohen’s appearance will be postponed to a later date,” Cohen’s attorney, Lanny Davis, said.

“This is a time where Mr. Cohen had to put his family and their safety first.”

What are the alleged “ongoing threats”?

• Last Friday, Trump took to twitter to suggest that Cohen’s father-in-law,  Fima Shusterman, should be investigated.

• Shusterman pleaded guilty in the 1990s to tax fraud charges in connection with his New York taxi business.
• In a follow-up interview with Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, Trump said:

"But [Cohen] should give information maybe on his father-in-law, because that’s the one that people want to look at. Because where does that money — that’s the money in the family. And I guess he didn’t want to talk about his father — he’s trying to get his sentence reduced."

• Last Sunday, Giuliani told CNN that Shusterman, "a Ukrainian," "may have ties to something called organized crime."

Is it “witness tampering”?

• Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) says yes.

• Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) concurs, saying on Wednesday that Trump is “clearly” violating law against intimidating witnesses with his comments about Cohen.
• “Clearly there’s a violation here of Title 18 United States Code 1512 which stops and protects against intimidation of witnesses," Blumenthal said on CNN's "The Situation Room." "He would be prosecutable, but for his being president.”

“I believe a sitting president can be indicted… to stop ongoing criminal activity," he added. 

• "Calling out a man's father-in-law and wife in order to intimidate the witness is not fair game and it needs to be investigated," Davis told George Stephanopoulos in an interview Thursday on "Good Morning America."

"The House of Representatives now has an obligation. A resolution of censure when the president of the United States indisputably intimidates and obstructs justice to prevent a witness from testifying is an order. So is a federal criminal investigation of Rudy Giuliani for witness tampering."

• Seemingly in response to Davis’ interview, Trump tweeted Thursday morning:

What do you think?

Did Trump and Giuliani engage in witness tampering? Or, as Giuliani claimed, is it “defending yourself”? Take action and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.

—Josh Herman