Trump's pick for attorney general warns Mueller's obstruction inquiry 'fatally misconceived' in memo to DOJ
https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/19/politics/bill-barr-comey-obstruction/index.html
Trump's presidency, concluding that while he's "in the dark about many facts," Mueller's obstruction inquiry was "fatally misconceived." Barr adds that Trump asking Comey to let go of the investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn and later firing Comey were within his powers as head of the executive branch.
"Mueller should not be able to demand that the President submit to an interrogation about alleged obstruction," Barr wrote. "If embraced by the Department, this theory would have potentially disastrous implications, not just for the Presidency, but for the Executive branch as a whole and the Department in particular."
The full repercussions of the President's behavior toward Comey are yet to be resolved, as the matter is still under investigation by Mueller.
Barr's memo to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Assistant Attorney General Steven Engel, who leads the Office of Legal Counsel, was unsolicited, according to a Justice Department official. The official said Barr had "no non-public information about the Special Counsel's investigation when preparing the memorandum (and still has none)," which he wrote as a "former official" when he was a law firm partner and private citizen.
Mueller knew the jig was up on obstruction as soon as Barr was nominated.
He probably felt he had Trump on it but didn't want to get into a fight with Barr so he remained uncommitted in his report.
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