WTF Just Happened Today

Thursday, May 2, 2019

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1/ Nancy Pelosi accused Attorney General William Barr of "not telling the truth to the Congress of the United States — that's a crime." At a House Appropriations Committee hearing on April 9th, Charlie Crist asked Barr if Robert Mueller's team believed he had failed to adequately represent their findings in his four-page memo. Barr responded that he was not aware of any concerns from Mueller's team. Mueller, however, had written Barr two weeks earlier, on March 27th, complaining that the attorney general's memo "did not fully capture the context, nature and substance" of his work. "He lied to Congress," Pelosi said. "Nobody is above the law. Not the president of the United States, and not the attorney general." The Justice Department called Pelosi's words "reckless, irresponsible and false." (Associated Press / Politico / CNBC / Washington Post)

• ???? Day 832: Robert Mueller twice objected to Attorney General William Barr's four-page summary to Congress, saying the memo "did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this office's work and conclusions." Barr's summary claimed that the Mueller investigation "did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government" and that Mueller "did not draw a conclusion — one way or the other —as to whether the examined conduct constituted obstruction." Mueller, however, sent a letter to Barr on March 27th – three days after Barr issued his summary – citing "public confusion about critical aspects of the results of our investigation" that "threatens to undermine a central purpose for which the department appointed the special counsel: to assure full public confidence in the outcome of the investigations." Mueller asked the Justice Department to release the 448-page report's introductions and executive summaries, making some initial suggested redactions that Mueller believed would "alleviate the misunderstandings that have arisen and would answer congressional and public questions about the nature and outcome of our investigation." Mueller's office first informed the Justice Department of their concerns on March 25th, the day after Barr released his summary clearing Trump of obstruction of justice. On April 9, Barr testified to Congress that Mueller declined an opportunity to review his summary of "principal conclusions." Barr also previously testified that he did not know if Mueller supported his conclusion on the question of possible obstruction. (Washington Post / New York Times / NBC News / New York Times / Politico / CNN /