Latest in Bill Barr
When he was first appointed, many, including me, were willing to give Attorney General Barr the benefit of the doubt. His recent performance raises significant questions about his fidelity to the rule of law.
Mueller did not find a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia, and he did not conclude that President Trump had obstructed justice. But he did not exonerate the president either.
Editor’s Note: Below are the executive summaries of the two volumes of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's final report. Volume I deals with links between Russia and the Trump campaign, while Volume II deals with potential obstruction of justice by President Trump. This article is available in audio format on the Lawfare Podcast: Special Edition:
Congress has managed twice to obtain federal grand jury information in prior special counsel investigations, but the legal and factual landscape surrounding those situations is distinct from the landscape surrounding the Mueller report.
The attorney general’s comments on supposed FBI “spying on a political campaign” were reckless and will feed gross conspiracy theories.
On Thursday, Justice Department Spokesperson Kerri Kupec released a statement, included in full below, regarding Attorney General Bill Barr's letter concerning the Mueller report.
Today, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed an application in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for an order authorizing the public release of grand jury material “cited, quoted, or referenced” in Special Counsel Mueller's report to Attorney General Bill Barr.
On Friday, Attorney General Bill Barr sent a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Senate Judiciary Commitee Chairman Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) responding to their earlier inquiries regarding Barr's Mar. 24 letter on the Mueller report's conclusions.
The attorney general’s letter suggests the possibility that, rather than “no evidence” of collusion, Special Counsel Robert Mueller did find such evidence—but did not conclude it warranted a criminal prosecution.
The completion of the Mueller investigation is no small democratic accomplishment and was not a foregone conclusion in an environment in which the president has repeatedly sought to smear and frustrate the investigation.