Attorney general nominee sent memo on Mueller probe to Trump’s lawyers
President Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general sent White House lawyers a memo arguing that the president could not have obstructed justice by firing ex-FBI Director James Comey, describing a critical prong of the special counsel’s Russia investigation as “fatally misconceived,” a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Monday.
The development, revealed the night before William Barr’s confirmation hearing, raises questions about Barr’s communications with Trump’s atcommitments torneys ahead of his nomination and is likely to prompt questions about his ability to impartially oversee special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
Democrats were already seeking to question Barr about the memo, which he sent, unsolicited, to the Justice Department in June.
Barr will tell senators “it is vitally important” that Mueller be allowed to complete his Russia investigation, and said he believes Congress and the public should learn the results, according to remarks prepared for his confirmation hearing. Barr also insisted in testimony he’ll deliver to the Senate Judiciary Committee that Trump never sought any promises, assurances, or before selecting him to be the country’s chief law-enforcement officer.
Barr stopped short of directly pledging to release Mueller’s conclusions but expressed general support for disclosing the findings.
Barr said: “I can assure you that, where judgments are to be made by me, I will make those judgments based solely on the law and will let no personal, political, or other improper interests influence my decisions.”
Barr sent a letter Monday to Sen. Lindsey Graham, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, detailing that he sent the memo to White House lawyer Emmet Flood, Solicitor General Noel Francisco, and Pat Cipollone, who is now White House counsel, according to the person familiar with the matter. Barr also discussed the contents of the memo with Trump’s attorneys, Jay Sekulow and Jane and Martin Raskin, the person said.
The person wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Barr sent the memo while he was in private practice and months before he was selected by Trump for the top Justice Department job. On Tuesday, Barr will seek to assure lawmakers that the memo was narrowly focused on a single theory of obstruction that media reports suggested Mueller might be considering, according to a copy of his prepared remarks provided by the Justice Department.
Barr is expected to tell senators he wrote it as a former attorney general “who has often weighed in on legal issues of public importance.”
In the memo, Barr argues that it could be disastrous for the presidency and the Justice Department if Mueller concludes that actions the president is legally permitted to take — including firing an FBI director or granting a pardon — could constitute obstruction because of a subjective determination that they were done with corrupt intent.
Barr acknowledged a president can commit obstruction of justice by destroying evidence or tampering with witnesses. But, he said, he wasn’t aware of any accusation like that.
Barr’s role overseeing the Russia probe might be especially important since Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller and has overseen his work, expects to leave the Justice Department soon after Barr is confirmed.
CNN first reported that Barr sent the memo to White House officials.
Trump administration rules that allow more employers to opt out of providing women with no-cost birth control cannot be enforced anywhere in the nation, a federal judge wrote Monday in a decision blocking the rules from taking effect.
U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone in Philadelphia agreed with a lawsuit filed by Pennsylvania, citing the potential harm to states should the rules be enforced.
Many citizens could lose contraceptive coverage, Beetlestone wrote, resulting in the increased use of statefunded contraceptive services, as well as increased costs associated with unintended pregnancies.
The rules would have allowed more employers, including publicly traded companies, to opt out of providing no-cost contraceptive coverage to women by claiming religious objections. Some private employers could also object on moral grounds.
The rules had been scheduled to take effect Monday.
Pennsylvania’s attorney general, Josh Shapiro, called the ruling a “victory for the health and economic independence of women.”
“Women need contraception for their health because contraception is medicine, pure and simple,” Shapiro said in a statement.
On Sunday, a federal judge in California blocked the rules from taking effect in the jurisdictions in the lawsuit before him. Those included California, New York, and 11 other states along with Washington, D.C.
At issue is a requirement that birth-control services be covered at no additional cost. The requirement is part of ex-President Barack Obama’s healthcare law
Obama officials included exemptions for religious organizations. But the administration of President Donald Trump expanded those exemptions and added “moral convictions” as a basis to opt out of providing birth-control services.
The Department of Justice has argued that the new rules “protect a narrow class of sincere religious and moral objectors from being forced to facilitate practices that conflict with their beliefs.”