The U.S. Department of Justice has released a legal memo that examined the actions of former President Donald Trump during the time special counsel Robert Mueller carried out an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections.
What Happened: The memo, first noted on Politico, was sent by Steven Engel, assistant attorney general, and Edward O'Callaghan, principal associate deputy attorney general. The document gave advice to then-Attorney General William Barr.
Engel and O'Callaghan said in the memo, dated March 24, 2019, that they evaluated the second volume of Mueller’s report and concluded that the evidence was not sufficient “beyond a reasonable doubt” that Trump violated the obstruction-of-justice statutes.
“We believe that certain of the conduct examined by the Special Counsel could not, as a matter of law, support an obstruction charge under the circumstances,” the two DoJ officials wrote.
The authors of the nine-page memo said, to their knowledge, Mueller’s investigation of the potential obstruction was not similar to any reported case the department had previously charged for obstruction of justice.
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Why It Matters: The Justice Department fought the release of the memo for many years and argued that it was part of deliberations in advising Barr on what to do in relation to Mueller’s report, according to Politico.
Washington-based liberal watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act three years ago to try to make the memo public, according to the report.
Last week, a D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals panel dismissed the argument that the memo was part of deliberations around a communication effort as belated.
Engel testified before the Jan. 6 select committee probing violence on Capitol Hill ahead of President Joe Biden’s inauguration. He reportedly discussed a threat to resign if Trump had gone through with plans to change leadership at the Justice Department to support his attempts to stay in power.
Trump labeled the committee as being comprised of “political hacks and thugs” and hoped for its dissolution recently on Truth Social, a social media platform owned by Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG).
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