Mueller says Barr did not accurately relay his report

WASHINGTON: No one really expected US Attorney General William Barr, a Trump appointee, to allow an FBI Special Counsel probe report on Russia’s interference in the US elections to nail the President of the United States in any way, shape, or form, given his past views on executive privilege. But in a communication that has further roiled the already agitated atmosphere in Washington, that Special Counsel, Robert Mueller, has complained that his (Barr’s) four-page memo to Congress describing the principal conclusions of the investigation into President Trump “did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance” of Mueller’s work.
The leaked letter formed the backdrop a Senate hearing on Wednesday – going on at the time of writing -- where Barr is being grilled by Democrats, who are essentially accusing him of manipulating the conclusions of the Mueller report to shield the President. Although the report explicitly said it did not exonerate the President and suggested it was up the Congress to take further action since it was mandated to do so, Barr maintained that in his opinion there was no case against the President while underplaying its suggestion that it was up to the Congress to act further.
Barr told Democratic lawmakers that once Mueller turned in the report, it was his “baby” and since Mueller was essentially his subordinate, it was up to him when to release the report. "He is part of the Department of Justice. His work concluded when he sent his work to the attorney general," the Attorney General said. "At that point, it was my baby, and I was making a decision as to whether or not to make it public, and I effectively overrode the regulations, used discretion, to lean as far forward as I could to make that public. And it was my decision how and when to make it public, not Bob Mueller’s.”
In his letter, Mueller also complained that “There is now public confusion about critical aspects of the results of our investigation. This 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.”
Barr also claimed during his testimony that the President fully cooperated with the probe, although the report says otherwise and notes that Trump repeatedly declined requests for a sitdown interview.
Barr, however, said he would have no problems if lawmakers summoned Mueller to testify before Congress, ensuring that the political fight in Washington on the Russian interference in U.S elections will stretch further. The criminality issue has now receded to the background and it has become political dogfight with hardline Democrats intent on impeachment proceedings against Trump leading into the 2020 elections.
Impeachment by the House of Representatives (controlled by Democrats) alone is not sufficient to remove Trump from office since it requires the Senate (where Republicans have control) to approve the House measure.
Trump meanwhile kept up his relentless tirade on Twitter, hammering out the “NO COLLUSION, NO OBSTRUCTION” message that he has employed ad nauseum even though the Mueller report did not take a clear view or conclusion on the matter. He has also tried to turn the tables on Democrats and what he and his supporters are calling the “deep state,” suggesting they were the ones who were collaborating with outsides forces to essentially plot a coup against him.
In a new line of attack against Democrats on Wednesday, Trump asked, “Why didn’t President Obama do something about Russia in September (before November Election) when told by the FBI? He did NOTHING, and had no intention of doing anything!”