General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: President Obama and the Michael Brown case [View all]frazzled
(18,402 posts)in his capacity as President.
First, his Justice Department and its Civil Rights Division were sent to conduct an investigation, interviewing witnesses and collecting evidence. Later, he telephoned Governor Jay Nixon, who had done nothing for six days. That night, the operational direction had been shifted from local police forces to the state Highway Patrol. Finally, the Justice Department announced it would conduct its own autopsy investigation.
You are completely correct that it would be dangerous for a president or any other official to say anything that might jeopardize the impartiality of an investigation or trial. He can comment (and he DID) on the situation on the ground--the right of citizens to protest peacefully, the wrongness of arresting reporters. But as a lawyer, he knows that it is completely inappropriate to comment on the presumed guilt or innocence of anyone.