A view point of Garland we have not talked about.

[BumRushDaShow]

38. "Mueller left 10 counts of Obstruction of Justice against Trump"

Huh?

One of the conclusions in the report was that there could be 10 counts of "obstruction", but there was no follow-up of actually charging for any of it. So there were no "10 fully investigated charges".

The 10 instances of possible obstruction in Mueller report


By MARK SHERMAN April 18, 2019


WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election identified 10 instances of possible obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump. Mueller said in his report that he could not conclusively determine that Trump had committed a crime or that he hadn’t.

A look at the 10 instances:

(snip)

https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-ap-top-news-elections-james-comey-north-america-e0d125d737be4a21a81bec3d9f1dffd8

In that case, since Bill Barr as Attorney General by the time the probe concluded after Sessions was literally fired, he would have had to be the one to direct to "fully investigate and charge" (it wasn't Merrick Garland magically sitting as AG able to do this as he was still on the D.C. Court of Appeals at the time). I need say no more about the chances of Barr going any further as he would and pretty much did declare "obstruction" as outside of the scope of the Special Counsel's mandate.

What needs to happen is for Congress to rewrite and re-implement the "Special Prosecutor" role.

Special counsel vs. special prosecutor: What's the difference?


William Cummings
USA TODAY
Published 10:32 p.m. ET May 17, 2017 | Updated 10:33 a.m. ET May 19, 2017


On Wednesday, former FBI director Robert Mueller was appointed to be a special counsel to oversee the investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election and the possibility of collusion between Russia and President Trump's campaign.

So what is a special counsel? And what is the difference between a special counsel, a special prosecutor, and an independent counsel? The terms are largely interchangeable to refer to someone appointed to investigate allegations that could involve a conflict of interest within the Department of Justice. But the manner in which they are appointed and why has changed over time.

The president has always had the authority to name a special prosecutor. After the crisis brought on by the Watergate scandal, Congress passed a law creating an "independent counsel" who could be appointed by a three-judge panel. After the experiences of the Iran-Contra investigation and the probe into the Clinton's Whitewater land deal, there was bipartisan support to abandon that law. Now, the attorney general, in addition to the president, has the power to appoint a special counsel.

The statute regarding the grounds for appointing a special counsel says the attorney general, or acting attorney general in cases where the attorney general is recused, can appoint a special counsel when a case presents a "conflict of interest" for the Justice Department, or "other extraordinary circumstances." In this case, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was able to appoint Mueller because Attorney General Jeff Sessions has recused himself.

(snip)

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/05/18/special-counsel-vs-special-prosecutor-difference/329016001/