Comment by mexicocitinluez
10 hours ago
If they came to ask questions, then they presumably already think I've committed a crime. This is not the same as randomly stopping someone and asking to see their phone.
10 hours ago
If they came to ask questions, then they presumably already think I've committed a crime. This is not the same as randomly stopping someone and asking to see their phone.
A trucker passes a weigh station and is signaled to pull in. As he's pulling in, he's seen dumping the contents of a bottle onto the ground. Is this destruction of evidence or obstruction of justice? He's not under any investigation (trucks are regularly weighed at weigh stations as a matter of normal procedure).
A company is engaged in some white collar crime. They're tipped off that the DoJ launched an investigation on them. No warrants/subpoenas have been issued, and no investigators have shown up. The company instructs the IT team to scrub their email servers. Is this destruction of evidence or obstruction of justice?
> Is this destruction of evidence or obstruction of justice?
The investigators can (and have) threatened both as a tactic, but when the charges are files, the specifics are what the prosecution thinks they can get a conviction on. I think it's understood that the law is interpreted, which has given great leeway to narrative.