Attorney General William Barr held a news conference Thursday morning, ostensibly to explain his reasoning and methods in dealing with special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on his investigation.
But Barr made no secret of his position: he stands solidly with President Trump.
Barr emphasized that Mueller’s investigators found no evidence that the 2016 Trump campaign colluded with Russia in its Trump-supporting interference in the election.
He added that investigtators looked at 10 occasions when the president might have obstructed justice, but Barr decided they didn’t amount to a crime.
Barr “at times sounded like a defense lawyer, making no criticism of the president and instead offering an understanding interpretation of actions that Mr. Trump’s critics have said amounted to obstruction of justice,” reports the New York Times. It said Barr believes the president “had no corrupt intent.”
Barr said he found it understandable that Trump became “frustrated and angered by his sincere belief that the investigation was undermining his presidency.”
“Even if the Trump campaign colluded with WikiLeaks” to release information harmful to the Hillary Clinton campaign, Barr decided “that was not a crime,” says the Times.
Barr said White House lawyers asked to see the redacted Mueller report earlier this week, and he let them read it. He said they asked for no additional redactions.
