gisambards wrote:And the correct legal term for a "failed" crime is an attempted crime, which can often be prosecuted, although I'll admit I'm not sure about the specifics here.
Allow me to provide the specifics: The federal statute on obstruction of justice (18 U.S. Code § 1505) makes it illegal to "influence, obstruct, or impede, or endeavor to influence, obstruct, or impede" law enforcement by any federal department or agency, "corruptly, by threats or force, or by any threatening letter or communication."
In other words, the law is explicitly clear that trying and failing to obstruct justice still a crime, and in fact it makes no legal difference whether the attempt succeeded or not (or whether the obstructing party was actually innocent of the underlying crime being investigated, or whether they were really upset about it, or whatever other nonsense Rudy Giuliani is peddling this week).