Joe Conason: No Collusion? Perhaps, But Certainly No Exoneration

[babylonsister]

March 24, 2019 10:36 pm / 0 Comments / Campaign 2016, Editor's Blog, Featured Post, Law Enforcement,
No Collusion? Perhaps, But Certainly No Exoneration
Joe Conason


Even in a moment of triumph, Donald Trump could not help but lie.

Exulting over the summary findings of the Mueller Report — as interpreted and transmitted by his Attorney General William Barr — Trump declared that the investigation had found “no obstruction” and resulted in “complete and total exoneration.” But according to Mueller’s own words, that boast is utterly false, in particular with respect to a conspiracy to obstruct justice.

To quote directly from Barr’s memorandum to Congress, “the Special Counsel states that ‘while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.’”

Exactly what that partially-quoted sentence means remains to be seen — assuming that someday, the Justice Department or the Congress will disclose the rest of Mueller’s findings and evidence. Why was Robert Mueller unable to clear the president of obstruction of justice — the crime that led to the ouster of Richard Nixon — and how did he approach that question?

What we do know is that the ultimate decision on whether to charge Trump with obstruction was left to Barr and Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general. But that result undermines the entire purpose of the Special Counsel Act, which was to ensure that conflicted Justice Department officials didn’t make prosecution decisions about the president who appointed them.

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