Dems to challenge Barr on his Trump decision
Concerns resurface after obstruction conclusion
WASHINGTON – Attorney General William Barr’s decision that the special counsel investigation had not turned up “sufficient” evidence that President Donald Trump committed obstruction of justice seemed certain to set up a new clash between the administration and Democratic lawmakers.
On Sunday, two days after receiving the results of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, Barr told Congress that while Mueller’s report “does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him” on whether he obstructed justice. Barr said Mueller did not reach a conclusion about whether Trump committed obstruction.
Instead, Barr said he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, after consulting with other Justice Department officials, concluded that there wasn’t enough evidence to charge Trump with obstructing justice in the investigation.
Barr’s involvement in that decision rekindled concerns among Democratic lawmakers about a 19-page memo he wrote to Rosenstein in June, outlining his opposition to an obstruction investigation of Trump. He shared that memo with White House lawyers.
That memo, written months before Trump selected him as the next attorney general, called the obstruction theory “fatally misconceived” and said that it was based “on a novel and legally insupportable reading of the law.” Barr acknowledged that he did not know what type of case Mueller was pursuing, but argued that Trump’s firing of former FBI Director James Comey didn’t constitute obstruction and that the president shouldn’t be forced to testify to Mueller’s investigators.
Democratic senators challenged Barr on the memo at his confirmation hearing in January and urged him to recuse himself from overseeing Mueller. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-calif. a member of the Judiciary Committee, said Sunday that Barr’s decision came as no surprise and that his summary of Mueller’s findings was “inadequate.”
Now the Democratic leaders of Congress – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York – issued a joint statement Sunday calling Barr biased.
House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said he would call on Barr to testify about his reasons, describing his conclusion as “a hasty, partisan interpretation of the facts.”
Obstruction was a central subject of Barr’s confirmation hearing. Barr had argued in his unsolicited memo that the Constitution permits Trump to make his own personnel choices, and can wield the powers of his office even on subjects in which he has a personal interest.
To conclude that Trump acted “corruptly,” as federal obstruction statutes require, if he tries to influence a proceeding in which his own conduct is scrutinized is “untenable,” Barr said.