WASHINGTON — A federal judge has ordered the release of a legal memorandum the Trump-era Justice Department prepared for then-Attorney General William Barr before he announced his conclusion that President Donald Trump had not obstructed justice during the Russia investigation.
But U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said the Justice Department had obscured “the true purpose of the memorandum” when it withheld the document. She said the memo from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel contained “strategic, as opposed to legal advice” and that both the writers and the recipients already had a shared understanding as to what the prosecutorial decision would be.
The decision by Barr and senior Justice Department leaders to clear Trump of obstruction, even though special counsel Robert Mueller and his team pointedly did not reach that conclusion, was a significant moment for the president. The announcement, and a four-page summary of Mueller's report, preceded the release of the 448-page document and helped shape public perception of the investigation's conclusions.
But she ordered the release of the other memo, which was prepared for Barr by the then-head of the Office of Legal Counsel and another senior Justice Department official and which concludes that the evidence assembled by Mueller's team would not support an obstruction prosecution of Trump.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:
Law Law Latest News, Law Law Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Judge Orders Justice Dept. To Release Trump Obstruction MemoU.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said the Justice Department had obscured “the true purpose of the memorandum” when it withheld the document.
Source: HuffPostWomen - 🏆 27. / 68 Read more »
Judge orders Justice Dept. to release Trump obstruction memoWASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has ordered the release of a legal memorandum the Trump-era Justice Department prepared for then-Attorney General William Barr before he announced his conclusion that President Donald Trump had not obstructed justice during the Russia investigation... Technically nobody concluded that there was no collusion and he's innocent. The conclusion was that A) There was insufficient evidence to prove collusion due to B) Certain investigations couldn't be done until Trump left the office of President & wasn't protected by his position Anybody else hearing the Cops theme song in their head? BadBoys How can it hold client privilege when the DOJ does not represent the potus?
Source: AP - 🏆 728. / 51 Read more »
Judge orders Justice Department to release Trump obstruction memoA federal judge has ordered the release of a legal memorandum the Trump-era Justice Department prepared for then-Attorney General William Barr before he announced his conclusion that Trump had not obstructed justice during the Russia investigation. 'Republicans can blame Trump and his refusal to accept the fact of his defeat, on top of his apparent inability to leave a possible fight unfought. But really, they should be blaming themselves,' GOP leaders add own fuel to Trump's fire: The Note - Is it possible to find a good guy on Twitter?
Source: latimes - 🏆 11. / 82 Read more »
Trump Justice Department Obstruction Memo Must Be Released, Judge OrdersA federal judge ordered the Justice Department to release a 2019 legal memo recommending that former President Donald Trump not be prosecuted for obstruction of justice in connection with the special counsel’s Russia investigation BIG WIN 💪 Good we will continue to find out things that were done in the dark while Trump was president for yrs. to come .
Source: WSJ - 🏆 98. / 63 Read more »