,
14 tweets,
2 min read
Read on Twitter
Barr says the DOJ will post the report online after it is delivered at 11 AM to congressional committees.
Barr says that, thanks to Mueller, "we now know that the Russian operatives who perpetrated these schemes did not have the cooperation of President Trump or the Trump campaign." (Caveat with all of these statements: we haven't seen what the report does say.)
Barr, paraphrasing, says Mueller found "no collusion" by any American with any of the Russian Internet Research Agency's troll-disinformation effort.
Barr: The obstruction section recounts "10 episodes" related to Trump.
Barr: "The bottom line" on collusion is that "the special counsel confirmed that the Russian government sponsored efforts to illegally interfere with the 2016 presidential election, but did not find that the Trump campaign or other Americans colluded."
Barr: "The president was frustrated and angered by a sincere belief that the investigation was undermining his presidency, propelled by his political opponents, and fueled by illegal leaks."
Barr says Trump took "no act" to deprive Mueller of the documents or witnesses he needed in his investigation. He says, of his no-obstruction decision, that there was good evidence showing Trump had "non-corrupt motives."
Barr has sounded like a Trump spokesperson at various points of his statement.
Asked how Mueller explained why he didn't make a call on obstruction, Barr says he'll leave it to the report, but when they met, Mueller "made it very clear several times" that it wasn't because of the government position that says a sitting president can't be indicted.
Barr says Mueller didn't indicate his intention was to leave the obstruction call "to Congress." He says he didn't talk to Mueller directly about his decision to make his own call, but he's been "told" that Mueller thought it was "my prerogative."
Asked why Mueller isn't here, given that it's his report we're discussing, Barr says, "No it's not. It's a report he did for me as the attorney general. He is required under the regulation to provide me with a confidential report. I'm here to discuss my response to that report."
Asked about his words that are "generous" to the president, Barr said, "The statements about his sincere beliefs are recognized in the report, that there was substantial evidence for that, so I'm not sure what your basis is for saying that I'm being generous to the president."
The press conference ended after Barr was asked if there was any impropriety in him pre-spinning the report. (An aide announced mid-question that it'd be the last question.) Barr simply said "no."
