Barr Clears Trump On Obstruction After Writing Memo Attacking Case On Obstruction
President Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr – February 14, 2019 (Department of Justice)
Attorney General William Barr has sent a very brief 4-page summary of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation to Congress. The letter claims that Mueller did not find a “tacit agreement” of coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia, in spite of all of the contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia. When it comes to obstruction of justice, the letter claims that Mueller’s report says “‘while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.’”
Mueller did not reach a conclusion, so Attorney General took it upon himself to decide. Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein cleared President Trump on obstruction of justice within 48 hours of getting the report. But when it comes to that, the choice was conflicted given Barr had already attacked the obstruction case before he was appointed and Rosenstein was part of the conduct being investigated.
This is a complicated and problematic decision for both of them. Before he took office, Barr wrote a memo preemptively attacking the obstruction component of Mueller’s investigation. Rosenstein was part of the conduct (firing Comey) that the investigation would have examined.
— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) March 24, 2019
Mueller was not consulted on this letter.
Context as you read: am told Special Counsel Robert Mueller was not consulted on this letter. This was the product of the Attorney General Bill Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, per DOJ official.
— Laura Jarrett (@LauraAJarrett) March 24, 2019
You can read the full summary. Democrats are already calling the full report to be released. Other corruption probes are ongoing.
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