As Trump and his supporters take a victory lap over Attorney General Bill Barr’s letter summing up the Mueller report, it’s worth noting that claims of “total and complete exoneration” (in the words of press secretary Sarah Sanders) are at odds with what the letter actually says.
In fact, while the Mueller Report, according to Barr’s summary, has decided there was not sufficient evidence of conspiracy or coordination, on the issue of obstruction of justice the letter is much murkier. Barr quotes Mueller as writing, “while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.” Mueller left the decision on obstruction unsettled. It was then taken up by Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
But there’s no reason for Barr and Rosenstein to be the last word on this. The questions of both Russian interference in the 2016 election (which the Mueller report supports) and Trump’s attempts to obstruct the investigation into the same are not just legal matters but also, at core, political matters. The Special Council fulfilled its role, but Congress has a job as well: to assess the evidence gathered and pursue further lines of inquiry.
Greg Sargent of The Washington Post makes the case for further congressional inquiry:
On obstruction, Barr's letter says not just that Mueller declined to make a prosecutorial decision, but also that the report "sets out evidence on both sides of the question." This means Congress *must* pursue the report, so it
can exercise basic oversight and inform the public.— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) March 24, 2019
Also note this footnote. Even those who consider the legal verdict a closed question should support Congress getting the report, as a matter of basic oversight and to fully inform the public as to the complexities and nuances of Mueller''s conclusions. https://t.co/U8Q5iQqVFb
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) March 24, 2019
Final thought: Today's events underscore once again what we've all known, or should have known, to be true all along: The only solution to this rolling disaster will be a political one. Which is to say: Keep working, and leave it all on the field, because there's no other option.
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) March 24, 2019
Fortunately, congressional Democrats seem to be on the same page:
Schumer and Pelosi: "Given Mr. Barr’s public record of bias against the Special Counsel's inquiry, he is not a neutral observer and is not in a position to make objective determinations about the report."
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) March 24, 2019