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One thing was crystal clear from Barr's press conference on Thursday and before the Mueller Report was released: No collusion! Barr's willingness to echo Trump's favorite two-word mantra was evident throughout his remarks.
"The special counsel confirmed that the Russian government sponsored efforts to illegally interfere with the 2016 presidential election but did not find that the Trump campaign or other Americans colluded in those schemes," Barr said.
It's true: Mueller did not establish that there was a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russian government to influence the 2016 presidential election. But Mueller uncovered "multiple links" connecting Trump aides to Russian officials and that there was at least some willingness to collaborate -- like Donald Trump Jr. and the Trump Tower meeting. Mueller could not prove conspiracy beyond a reasonable doubt.
Also, Barr's use of the word "collusion," which he repeated multiple times, raised some eyebrows in the legal community. In the report, Mueller intentionally steered clear of that political phrase because it "is not a specific offense" under US law, "nor is it a term used in federal criminal law." Strange Barr would use it.
Barr cleared Trump of obstruction."After carefully reviewing the facts and legal theories outlined in the report... the deputy attorney general and I concluded that the evidence developed by the special counsel is not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction of justice offense," Barr said.
Mueller did not struggle with whether there was enough evidence to bring a case of obstruction of justice. The challenge was that they amassed compelling evidence but couldn't indict a President even if they wanted to, DOJ rules.
Here's what the report actually said: "...if we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state. Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, however, we are unable to reach that judgment. The evidence we obtained about the President's actions and intent presents difficult issues that prevent us from conclusively determining that no criminal conduct occurred."
Barr downplayed the role that DOJ guidelines played when Mueller considered whether Trump violated the law. Internal DOJ policies say that a sitting president cannot be indicted. The policy comes from the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC).
"We specifically asked him about the OLC opinion and whether or not he was taking the position that he would have found a crime but for the existence of the OLC opinion," Barr said at his press conference. "And he made it very clear several times that that was not his position."
The OLC opinion had a major impact on Mueller's internal deliberations. In effect, Mueller framed his entire obstruction investigation around the notion that he couldn't bring any charges against Trump even if he found ironclad evidence against him, because of the OLC opinion. He specifically left the matter up to Congress.
"Special Counsel Mueller did not indicate that his purpose was to leave the decision to Congress," Barr said.
"With respect to whether the President can be found to have obstructed justice by exercising his powers under Article II of the Constitution, we concluded that Congress has authority to prohibit a President's corrupt use of his authority in order to protect the integrity of the administration of justice," Mueller said.
Barr became a Trump lackey. It is difficult understand why this proud professional lowered himself to this role, sacrificing every bit of his self-esteem.
4 times Barr twisted and cherry-picked Mueller's report - CNNPolitics
One thing was crystal clear from Barr's press conference on Thursday and before the Mueller Report was released: No collusion! Barr's willingness to echo Trump's favorite two-word mantra was evident throughout his remarks.
"The special counsel confirmed that the Russian government sponsored efforts to illegally interfere with the 2016 presidential election but did not find that the Trump campaign or other Americans colluded in those schemes," Barr said.
It's true: Mueller did not establish that there was a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russian government to influence the 2016 presidential election. But Mueller uncovered "multiple links" connecting Trump aides to Russian officials and that there was at least some willingness to collaborate -- like Donald Trump Jr. and the Trump Tower meeting. Mueller could not prove conspiracy beyond a reasonable doubt.
Also, Barr's use of the word "collusion," which he repeated multiple times, raised some eyebrows in the legal community. In the report, Mueller intentionally steered clear of that political phrase because it "is not a specific offense" under US law, "nor is it a term used in federal criminal law." Strange Barr would use it.
Barr cleared Trump of obstruction."After carefully reviewing the facts and legal theories outlined in the report... the deputy attorney general and I concluded that the evidence developed by the special counsel is not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction of justice offense," Barr said.
Mueller did not struggle with whether there was enough evidence to bring a case of obstruction of justice. The challenge was that they amassed compelling evidence but couldn't indict a President even if they wanted to, DOJ rules.
Here's what the report actually said: "...if we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state. Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, however, we are unable to reach that judgment. The evidence we obtained about the President's actions and intent presents difficult issues that prevent us from conclusively determining that no criminal conduct occurred."
Barr downplayed the role that DOJ guidelines played when Mueller considered whether Trump violated the law. Internal DOJ policies say that a sitting president cannot be indicted. The policy comes from the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC).
"We specifically asked him about the OLC opinion and whether or not he was taking the position that he would have found a crime but for the existence of the OLC opinion," Barr said at his press conference. "And he made it very clear several times that that was not his position."
The OLC opinion had a major impact on Mueller's internal deliberations. In effect, Mueller framed his entire obstruction investigation around the notion that he couldn't bring any charges against Trump even if he found ironclad evidence against him, because of the OLC opinion. He specifically left the matter up to Congress.
"Special Counsel Mueller did not indicate that his purpose was to leave the decision to Congress," Barr said.
"With respect to whether the President can be found to have obstructed justice by exercising his powers under Article II of the Constitution, we concluded that Congress has authority to prohibit a President's corrupt use of his authority in order to protect the integrity of the administration of justice," Mueller said.
Barr became a Trump lackey. It is difficult understand why this proud professional lowered himself to this role, sacrificing every bit of his self-esteem.
4 times Barr twisted and cherry-picked Mueller's report - CNNPolitics
Watch next Thursday testimony by Barr in front of the House Judiciary Committee......If the Dems are smart, they will have in front of them what Mueller actually WROTE.....and Barr's "I love Trump" Summary........
That testimony should prove to be a lot of fun to watch.........maybe Barr will "sweat" a few pounds off his fat ass.
Trump refuses to allow an unredacted version of the Mueller Report to be given to Congress.
Trump will fight a subpoena issued by the House Judiciary Committee for former White House counsel Donald McGahn to testify.
Trump is breaking the law by not turning over six years of tax returns to the House Ways and Means Committee. The chairmen, Richard Neal, is relying on invoking an authority enshrined in the tax code granted only to the tax-writing committees in Congress that gives the chairmen of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee the power to request tax information on any filer. It says that the Treasury secretary “shall” furnish the information. Mnuchin, following Trump's orders, flew through today's deadline.
The White House has instructed a former official who was in charge of the security clearance process to not comply with a House subpoena demanding his appearance for an interview. The White House told the former official, Carl Kline, who now works at the Defense Department, to not appear at Tuesday's deposition.
"I'm having a good day," Trump said at a White House event for the Wounded Warrior Project. "It’s called no collusion, no obstruction.”
For an innocent man, Trump is acting quite guilty. He is giving every indication that he is very guilty. Innocent Presidents do not try to hide the truth from Congress and the American people.
At issue today is executive privilege and Trump's position that he will refuse all access to White House documents, staffers, and former staffers (McGahn, for example). That access is being submitted by a co-equal branch of our government. The question becomes, can Trump hide from our representatives in Congress?
He can try, but it is political suicide. So is hiding from Americans. The White House has not had a press conference in 48 days. In the 28 months of his Presidency, Trump has held two press conferences. Both were utter disasters and it is expected he will not hold another. A secret Presidency is also political suicide.
Also, he is destined to lose in the courts. The Supreme Court has already ruled on this issue in United States v. Nixon.
Trump has asserted a generalized need for confidentiality. In other words, he is banning everything -- he even said so -- as opposed to forbidding access to a specific document or the testimony of a specific White House staffer or former staffer. In U.S. vs. Nixon, the Court ruled "because Nixon had asserted only a generalized need for confidentiality, the Court held that the larger public interest in obtaining the truth in the context of a criminal prosecution took precedence.
So, Trump can try, but all he is doing is delaying the inevitable and that will become a political liability in an election year as slowly, but surely, the courts will rule against him.
Trump can't use executive privilege to obstruct justice where he is the subject of the investigation.
Executive privilege - Wikipedia
Here's the "bottom line" as interpreted by Trump CULT members.......
Never mind what Mueller ACTUALLY wrote ......we MUST believe what a STOOGE, like Barr, tells us to believe.
(Barr auditioned to Trump for the AG job.....and is now also auditioning for a SCOTUS slot were it to open up.)
Like most of you, you ignore the fact that you and I and we people have no direct access to what happened. You parrot the media source you agree with as fact, and that makes you dangerous to truth and freedom.What it comes down to is CNN and others told me what to think for over two years if I do not hold on to this little bit of lie then I will have to admit that I was led around by the nose and could not think for myself. That would be just wrong.
Typical of a Trumper. Avoid all the issues and attack the source ... or the investigators. It is a typical Trump-like reaction because the reality is so awful for Trump's fans.
What did I get wrong?
Yes, I know. I will never get a straight answer.
Here's the "bottom line" as interpreted by Trump CULT members.......
Never mind what Mueller ACTUALLY wrote ......we MUST believe what a STOOGE, like Barr, tells us to believe.
(Barr auditioned to Trump for the AG job.....and is now also auditioning for a SCOTUS slot were it to open up.)
