05/25/2021

DOJ Releases Part of Internal Memo on not Charging Trump in Russia Probe

It also signaled it would fight a judge’s effort to make the entire document public

Late Monday night, the Department of Justice (DOJ) released part of a key internal document used in 2019 to justify not charging then-President Donald Trump with obstruction, but also signaled it would fight a judge's effort to make the entire document public.

The filing comes after a federal judge excoriated former U.S. attorney general William P. Barr — and the DOJ more broadly — for their explanations of how and why it decided not to pursue a criminal case against Trump over possible obstruction of the investigation by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.

The DOJ filing is likely to both fuel and frustrate Trump's biggest critics, particularly Democrats who have long argued that Barr stage-managed an exoneration of Trump after Mueller submitted a 448-page report into his findings about his investigation into whether the 2016 Trump campaign conspired with Russia to interfere in the election, and whether Trump tried to obstruct that investigation.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.