Re: Barry Bonds indicted
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Hiding information from an investigation to avoid prosecution of yourself or others is obstruction of justice.
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Refusing to identify the leak is contempt (not obstruction) and they were held in contempt. You can always be quiet -- sometimes the law protects your silence (Fifth Amendment) and sometimes it does not (contempt).
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Seems like six of one, half a dozen of the other to me. I appreciate the legal distinction, but in reality, seems like they could be charged with either one. I'm not saying they committed a crime by publishing it, I'm saying they solicited and conspired towards a crime in obtaining the information. They actively pursued a leak that they knew to be in violation of the law, and used it for profit.
If conspiring in secret to obtain testimony illegally isn't obstruction, isn't it conspiracy to obstruct or something? I mean it's clearly more than contempt. Contempt would be if it just fell into their laps and they said, "Naw, sorry, can't help ya."
Again IANAL but to me it seems like people are ignoring the fact that soliciting and conspiring to commit a crime are, well, against the law, and they're not merely contempt.
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