DOJ memo will 'validate' Barr not charging Trump with obstruction of justice, GOP congressman predicts
A judge ordered the DOJ to turn over the memo this week
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Republican congressman is predicting that the release of an internal memo credited by former Attorney General Bill Barr for his decision not to charge former President Trump with obstruction of justice will "validate" Barr's decision.
Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, told Fox News on Wednesday that he believes the Department of Justice (DOJ) memo from March 2019 will "validate" Barr’s decision to clear Trump from obstruction of justice charges after after a federal judge ordered the memo to be turned over.
The memo concluded that the evidence assembled by special counsel Robert Mueller’s team investigating evidence of Russian meddling in the 2016 election would not support an obstruction prosecution of Trump.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I am confident Attorney General Barr made his determination based on the law and facts present," Sessions said in a statement to Fox News. "In the end, the truth will prevail, and I believe the released memorandum will validate Attorney General Barr's decision."
DOJ ORDERED TO TURN OVER TRUMP OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE MEMO
On Tuesday, District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said it is "time for the public to see" the March 2019 memo.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jackson charged DOJ with hiding the "true purpose of the memorandum" and that the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) document was full of "strategic" advice, not legal advice.
The judge also said the OLC and memo recipients already knew of the decision before the document was dropped and that it was not "predecisional," as stated by the DOJ.
"The review of the document reveals that the Attorney General was not then engaged in making a decision about whether the President should be charged with obstruction of justice; the fact that he would not be prosecuted was a given," Jackson said in an order dated Monday.
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A few excerpts from the memo are already public. Now, DOJ must comply with the directive in the ongoing lawsuit, led by the advocacy group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, and produce the full memo in two weeks.
DOJ previously argued that the memo fell under attorney-client privilege and that public records law did not apply in this situation because it was used as private legal advice.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.