Attorney General William Barr was questioned in a breaking CBS interview tonight. He discussed Robert Mueller’s Wednesday press conference where Mueller said he couldn’t make a decision on obstruction. AG Barr said Mueller “could have reached a decision” on obstruction but he failed to do so:
Jan Crawford: “We saw the special counsel yesterday make that statement… He then said he really couldn’t make a decision. Do you agree with that interpretation?”
AG Barr: “I personally feel he could’ve reached a decision… He could’ve reached a conclusion. The opinion says that you can’t indict a President while he’s in office. But he could have reached a decision as to whether it was criminal activity.”
“I’m going to make the decisions based on the law and the facts and I realize that’s in tension with the political climate we live in because people are more interested in getting their way politically.” — AG Barr
“I’m going to make the decisions based on the law and the facts and I realize that's in tension with the political climate we live in because people are more interested in getting their way politically." — AG Barr tells @JanCBS
More on @CBSEveningNews & @CBSThisMorning Friday. pic.twitter.com/h1zG8NLaGG
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) May 30, 2019
After Mueller’s Wednesday press conference a joint statement was released by Barr and Mueller only adding to the confusion:
“The Attorney General has previously stated that the Special Counsel repeatedly affirmed that he was not saying that, but for the OLC opinion, he would have found the President obstructed justice. The Special Counsel’s report and his statement today made clear that the office concluded it would not reach a determination -one way or the other- about whether the President committed a crime. There is no conflict between these statements.”
Attorney General Barr’s office and Special Counsel clarify on OLC guidance re: charging a sitting president. Both say no discrepancy. pic.twitter.com/OVsjHGdzVi
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) May 29, 2019