By Aaron Miller
Barr, the Top U.S. law enforcement official and a Trump appointee, has delivered a full on defence of U.S President Trump, as he held a press conference this morning about The Mueller report.
Bar said Trump was facing an unprecedented situation in which his conduct was being scrutinized even before he had taken office. The contents of the report details the findings of a 22-month investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S presidential election. In an investigation that has lasted 2 years, U.S president Trump has emerged the victor after a torrid time of intense scrutiny and suspicion that potentially threatened his presidency.
“We now know that the Russian operatives who perpetrated these schemes did not have the cooperation of President Trump or the Trump campaign,” Mr Barr said of Russian interference. He added: “That is something all Americans can and should be grateful to have confirmed.” The comments underlined a four-page summary Mr Barr had published last month about the top-line findings from the Mueller report.
The investigation had focused on the alleged interference, such as the hacking and leaking of emails of senior Democrats as well as disinformation operations over social media and by Kremlin-funded news outlets. Many of Trumps critics had expected a damning report, but instead Mueller delivered a report that was more sympathetic to Trump as he provided explanations for Trump’s conduct during various stages of the investigation.
Attorney General William Barr’s release of the principle conclusions of the investigation, said of the Trump campaign, that “conspired or co-ordinated” with Moscow in its election interference. One of the incidences critics believed should easily have amounted to a guilty finding , was the possible obstruction of justice that Mueller is known to have investigated is Trump’s 2017 firing of FBI Director James Comey. Barr began by providing a defence for this:
“Apart from whether the acts were obstructive, this evidence of non-corrupt motives weighs heavily against any allegation that the president had a corrupt intent to obstruct the investigation,” Barr said. He gave not more details of the possible obstruction incidents.
UNPRECEDENTED
“President Trump faced an unprecedented situation. As he entered into office and sought to perform his responsibilities as president, federal agents and prosecutors were scrutinizing his conduct before and after taking office and the conduct of some of his associates.”
“At the same time, there was relentless speculation in the news media about the president’s personal culpability. Yet, as he said from the beginning, there was in fact no collusion,” added Barr. Shortly after, he sent the report to Congress.
Mr Barr and his team at the Justice Department have been criticized for their acquittal of the president , which they believe was influenced by suspected intimidation from The White House. Some are particularly critical of the decision to give the Trump administration a preview of the report before its release. Democrats have demanded the entire release of the document and a very cynical of its legitimacy.
However , Barr has said there is insufficient evidence to amount to any finding of guilt against the U.S president, making his position final on the matter if his statement is accurate. Only the full release of the report can conclusively satisfy Trump’s many critics. Barr and his team at the Justice Department have spent the past month reviewing the document to decide what to make public
There will be redactions under four categories – each given a different colour code.
The categories are: material from the grand jury; material that could reveal methods or sources of US or other foreign intelligence services.
However, there will be redactions under four categories – each given a different colour code.
The categories are: material from the grand jury; material that could reveal methods or sources of US or other foreign intelligence services. ouse of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Twitter the attorney general “has confirmed the staggering partisan effort” by the Trump administration to mould public opinion on the report and blasted him for offering Trump’s lawyers “a sneak preview” to help them respond to the findings.
President Trump is in good spirits with the report, and tweeted ”I’m having a good day.