Judge: DOJ memo saying not to charge Trump with obstruction must be released

essentialsaltes · May 4, 2021

LINK

A federal judge this week rejected the Justice Department's attempts to keep secret a departmental opinion to not charge former President Donald Trump with obstruction at the end of the Mueller investigation, calling the administration's lawyers "disingenuous."

The department had argued in court that the largely redacted March 2019 memo was legal reasoning that helped then-Attorney General William Barr make a decision about Trump. But federal Judge Amy Berman Jackson said she believed Barr and his advisers had already decided they wouldn't charge the President with a crime before he got the written advice, and the memo was partly strategic planning instead of legal reasoning -- and therefore could be made public.

The judge said the redacted pages offer "strategic, as opposed to legal advice" to Barr. By not mentioning that in court, Jackson wrote that the DOJ was pretending the strategy discussion didn't exist.

The way the Justice Department has handled the dispute over public access to the document "served to obscure the true purpose of the memorandum," Jackson added.

"The fact that [Trump] would not be prosecuted was a given," she added.

public hermit · May 4, 2021

Justice Department officials' "affidavits [in court about the memo] are so inconsistent with evidence in the record, they are not worthy of credence," Jackson wrote

Same old song and dance. I'm once again grateful we have judges with integrity.

Fantine · May 4, 2021

What if the truth is revealed and 40% of Americans don't believe it?

Therein lies the problem. It's divisive either way. Another 50% or so want the truth to be revealed and the wrongdoers held accountable so that history will never repeat itself. I'm in that group.

We don't want anyone to think that 2016-2020 was a "new normal." Much of what took place was seriously aberrant, including the obstruction.

We need to shine a light on the Mueller Report and why America covered up a two-year $45 million dollar investigation.

But there will be blowback, and the AG will need courage and determination.

disciple Clint · May 5, 2021

Fantine said:
What if the truth is revealed and 40% of Americans don't believe it?

Therein lies the problem. It's divisive either way. Another 50% or so want the truth to be revealed and the wrongdoers held accountable so that history will never repeat itself. I'm in that group.

We don't want anyone to think that 2016-2020 was a "new normal." Much of what took place was seriously aberrant, including the obstruction.

We need to shine a light on the Mueller Report and why America covered up a two-year $45 million dollar investigation.

But there will be blowback, and the AG will need courage and determination.

That is a excellent Idea, while we are at it lets find out just how much involvement Obama and his administration had in illegal activities and using various government departments to go after their political enemies and protect Hillary from prosecution. Everyone needs to be accountable not just those who are not popular with the powers behind the government.

SimplyMe · May 5, 2021

disciple Clint said:
That is a excellent Idea, while we are at it lets find out just how much involvement Obama and his administration had in illegal activities and using various government departments to go after their political enemies and protect Hillary from prosecution. Everyone needs to be accountable not just those who are not popular with the powers behind the government.

I'm not quite sure what you are talking about. The FBI did investigate Hillary -- and either AG Sessions or AG Barr could have accessed all the information from those investigations, not to mention create new ones. On top of that, they could have held Grand Juries (and we can't show they didn't, since Grand Juries are secret) to indict her -- but they never did (at least they never got a Grand Jury to indict). There is nothing that Obama or "his administration" could have done to stop it.

Additionally, I thought that was the whole point of the Durham investigation, to investigate, "how much involvement Obama and his administration had in illegal activities and using various government departments to go after their political enemies". Allegedly, according to Trump supporters, he was going to release his report and have massive numbers of indictments against the Obama administration "any day now" for the last year. Instead, his investigation is still ongoing and the Biden administration has done nothing to attempt to stop Durham's investigation.

I know you can't accept the fact that Hillary has been investigated heavily and, even AG Barr and AG Sessions, have never found anything that they felt they could get a conviction for; much less that the Obama administration did nothing to attempt to obstruct justice. By contrast, we know that, per the Mueller Report, Pres. Trump did appear to obstruct justice -- and the hope with this document is that it will show if AG Barr was part of that obstruction.

disciple Clint · May 5, 2021

SimplyMe said:
I'm not quite sure what you are talking about. The FBI did investigate Hillary -- and either AG Sessions or AG Barr could have accessed all the information from those investigations, not to mention create new ones. On top of that, they could have held Grand Juries (and we can't show they didn't, since Grand Juries are secret) to indict her -- but they never did (at least they never got a Grand Jury to indict). There is nothing that Obama or "his administration" could have done to stop it.

Additionally, I thought that was the whole point of the Durham investigation, to investigate, "how much involvement Obama and his administration had in illegal activities and using various government departments to go after their political enemies". Allegedly, according to Trump supporters, he was going to release his report and have massive numbers of indictments against the Obama administration "any day now" for the last year. Instead, his investigation is still ongoing and the Biden administration has done nothing to attempt to stop Durham's investigation.

I know you can't accept the fact that Hillary has been investigated heavily and, even AG Barr and AG Sessions, have never found anything that they felt they could get a conviction for; much less that the Obama administration did nothing to attempt to obstruct justice. By contrast, we know that, per the Mueller Report, Pres. Trump did appear to obstruct justice -- and the hope with this document is that it will show if AG Barr was part of that obstruction.

SimplyMe said:
the Biden administration has done nothing to attempt to stop Durham's investigation

Do you know that as a fact? The Obama administration did obstruct justice, Holder was even held in contempt of congress for refusing to answer questions. The head of the IRS also failed to cooperate, Brennen lied under oath.

Albion · May 5, 2021

Fantine said:
We need to shine a light on the Mueller Report and why America covered up a two-year $45 million dollar investigation.

The light was already "shined" on the Mueller Report, and what was shown was that it was a $45 million dollar waste launched in order to overthrow the election of 2016 and even Mueller himself, in sworn testimony, admitted that it turned up nothing.

So from here on out, that whole saga belongs to the category of Conspiracy Theorizing...but I'm sure that there are people on the far left who will carry that torch for a long time.

Fantine · May 5, 2021

You forget, Albion, that the $45 million investigation yielded an equal amount of fines from the conviction of Paul Manafort.

You think that eleventh hour pardon got him his money back? Uh-uh.

What a bargain! A free investigation--and, a few years later, the opportunity to uncover unprecedented malfeasance in the previous administration so that, sadder and wiser, we can say, "Never again." California's law that all presidential candidates running in that state must show their tax returns is a good beginning at weeding out candidates unfit to be president.

Albion · May 5, 2021

Fantine said:
You forget, Albion, that the $45 million investigation yielded an equal amount of fines from the conviction of Paul Manafort.

I'm not forgetting, but neither can any objective observer think that that exercise of covering their own backsides by the prosecutors excuses the great wrong that the whole Mueller episode represents.

Fantine · May 5, 2021

I understand that Trump supporters sincerely believe the Mueller investigation is a great wrong.

The judge, along with a majority of Americans, believe its cover-up was a great wrong.

Albion · May 5, 2021

The Mueller investigation was not covered up. It was conducted and it was ended with Mueller testifying to Congress that it had uncovered no collusion between President Trump and Russia as had been charged.

Fantine · May 5, 2021

But that there were at least 8 incidents of obstruction.

Pommer · May 5, 2021

Albion said:
The Mueller investigation was not covered up. It was conducted and it was ended with Mueller testifying to Congress that it had uncovered no collusion between President Trump and Russia as had been charged.

Trump wasn’t investigated.

Belk · May 5, 2021

Albion said:
The light was already "shined" on the Mueller Report, and what was shown was that it was a $45 million dollar waste launched in order to overthrow the election of 2016

Your claim is the Republican party tried to "overthrow" an election they won?

Albion said:
and even Mueller himself, in sworn testimony, admitted that it turned up nothing.

Quote him please.

Albion said:
So from here on out, that whole saga belongs to the category of Conspiracy Theorizing...but I'm sure that there are people on the far left who will carry that torch for a long time.

Certainly your alternate history version of it does.

KCfromNC · May 6, 2021

Albion said:
The Mueller investigation was not covered up. It was conducted and it was ended with Mueller testifying to Congress that it had uncovered no collusion between President Trump and Russia as had been charged.

Wait, in which courts had Trump been charged with colluding with Russia? I'm pretty sure that isn't an accurate representation of reality, like many other claims in this post.

disciple Clint · May 6, 2021

Fantine said:
You forget, Albion, that the $45 million investigation yielded an equal amount of fines from the conviction of Paul Manafort.

You think that eleventh hour pardon got him his money back? Uh-uh.

What a bargain! A free investigation--and, a few years later, the opportunity to uncover unprecedented malfeasance in the previous administration so that, sadder and wiser, we can say, "Never again." California's law that all presidential candidates running in that state must show their tax returns is a good beginning at weeding out candidates unfit to be president.

Fantine said:
a few years later, the opportunity to uncover unprecedented malfeasance in the previous administration

They have about as much of chance of uncovering unprecedented malfeasance in the previous administration as I have of winning the lotto without buying a ticket.

TLK Valentine · May 6, 2021

disciple Clint said:
They have about as much of chance of uncovering unprecedented malfeasance in the previous administration as I have of winning the lotto without buying a ticket.

You think they covered their tracks that well?

Fantine · May 6, 2021

The files retrieved from Rudy Giuliani's office might shed a lot of light on the events of the 2016 election and its aftermath.

What difference a year--and a new attorney general--makes.

stevil · May 6, 2021

disciple Clint said:
Do you know that as a fact? The Obama administration did obstruct justice, Holder was even held in contempt of congress for refusing to answer questions. The head of the IRS also failed to cooperate, Brennen lied under oath.

This would be a great topic for another thread. But this thread is about Barr's memo to not charge Trump with obstuction.

hislegacy · May 6, 2021

essentialsaltes said:
But federal Judge Amy Berman Jackson said she believed Barr and his advisers had already decided they wouldn't charge the President with a crime before he got the written advice, and the memo was partly strategic planning instead of legal reasoning -- and therefore could be made public.

What she personally believes mean nothing in a court of law - she should present this thing called proof.

Judge: DOJ memo saying not to charge Trump with obstruction must be released

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