s firing the FBI director, involved facially lawful acts
within his Article II authority, which raises constitutional issues discussed below.
At the same time, the President&#x2019;s position as the head of the Executive Branch
provided him with unique and powerful means of influencing official proceedings,
subordinate officers, and potential witnesses—all of which is relevant to a potential
obstruction-of-justice analysis. Second, unlike cases in which a subject engages in
obstruction of justice to cover