The nine-page memo was released Wednesday as part of a public records lawsuit tied to the Mueller investigation. A more redacted version of the memo was previously released in 2021, but
A federal court ordered Department of Justice to make the entire document public.
“Federal prosecutors rarely bring a prohibition case that does not arise from an action related to a separate crime,” then-Justice officials Steven Engel and Ed O’Callaghan wrote in the document, which concludes. Formal recommendation against impeachment against Trump signed and approved by Barr on March 24, 2019.
The memo contains the legal analysis provided to the bar. Two federal courts involved in the public records case have decided that the bar
Not really trusting the memo For legal counsel, who never seriously considered indicting Trump, he made up his mind before the memo was issued and signed the memo after he notified Congress of his decision.
Last week, a federal appeals court described the memo as an “academic exercise” or “thought experiment” in ruling that the entire memo should be released, implying a public release of the bar’s controversial decision against impeaching Trump. The
case Brought by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a government watchdog group.
How Barr broke up with Mueller
In the memo, Barr’s representatives criticized Mueller’s analysis of related obstruction cases and said Trump should not be charged because, among other reasons, there is “no precedent” and that Mueller “could not find a case with even remotely similar circumstances.” ”
“In each of the successful obstruction cases cited in the (Mueller) report, corrupt practices were carried out to prevent the investigation and prosecution of a separate crime,” Barr’s aides argued in their memo. “The existence of such a crime is not a necessary element to prove a barring charge, but the absence of the underlying crime is relevant and powerful evidence.”
Mueller concluded that there were several incidents
Strong evidence of inhibition By Trump. But Barr’s representatives argued that Trump mostly “attempted to change the process under the special counsel’s investigation as it progressed,” but did not try to “deliberately alter evidence,” which is more serious and potentially criminal.
Specifically, Barr’s representatives concluded that Trump did not violate the law in any of the incidents highlighted by Mueller. This includes Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey and his former position
Request to Comey to go easy on the criminal investigation of his former top adviser, Michael Flynn.
“The president’s expression of “confidence” that Comey would ‘let it go’ did not clearly direct a specific course of action in the Flynn investigation, and Comey did not react at the time as if he had received a direct order from the president,” Barr’s representatives wrote in an internal memo.
Bar aides gave some credence to the idea that Trump might have been distracted
Don McCann, his White House counsel, to write a memo saying he’s not trying to fire Mueller. Barr’s aides concede that Trump may have known this was not true, but “there is insufficient evidence to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the President was trying to induce McCain to lie.”
The unredacted memo was released as the Justice Department is again investigating Trump, this time in connection with a criminal investigation.
Did he mishandle confidential documents? He drove from the White House to Mar-a-Lago.
This story has been updated with additional details.
CNN’s Katelyn Polantz, Evan Perez, Hannah Rabinowitz and Holmes Lybrand contributed to this report.
