05/05/2021

Judge Says Barr Misled on How DOJ Viewed Trump’s Actions

She called the action 'obfuscation'

A federal judge in Washington accused the Justice Department under Attorney General William Barr of misleading her and Congress about advice he had received from top department officials on whether President Donald Trump should have been charged with obstructing the Russia investigation and ordered that a related memo be released.

Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the United States District Court in Washington said in a ruling late Monday that the Justice Department’s obfuscation appeared to be part of a pattern in which top officials like Mr. Barr were untruthful to Congress and the public about the investigation.

The department had argued that the memo was exempt from public records laws because it consisted of private advice from lawyers whom Mr. Barr had relied on to make the call on prosecuting Mr. Trump. But Judge Jackson ruled that it contained strategic advice, and that Mr. Barr and his aides already understood what his decision would be.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The New York Times.