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WASHINGTON – A federal judge blasted the Trump Justice Department for misleading the court about the nature of its internal deliberations before concluding that then-President Donald Trump had not obstructed former special counsel Robert Mueller s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordered the release of a 2019 legal memorandum to a government accountability group, ruling the document prepared for then-Attorney General William Barr as he considered his decision did not qualify as protected attorney-client communications.
In the ruling, Jackson characterized the memo as a strategic document, asserting that Justice Department officials had come to a predetermined conclusion that Trump would not be charged with obstruction of justice.
Bill Barr ordered to release memo on Trump investigation
Updated May 05, 2021;
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A federal judge has ordered the release of a legal memorandum the Trump-era Justice Department prepared for then-Attorney General William Barr before he announced his conclusion that President Donald Trump had not obstructed justice during the Russia investigation.
The Justice Department had refused to give the March 24, 2019, memorandum to a government transparency group that requested it under the Freedom of Information Act, saying the document represented the private advice of lawyers and was produced before any formal decision had been made and was therefore exempt from disclosure under public records law.
Judge orders Justice Dept. to release Trump obstruction memo
Eric Tucker
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FILE - In this Dec. 21, 2020, file photo, Attorney General William Barr speaks during a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington. A federal judge has ordered the release of a legal memorandum the Trump-era Justice Department prepared for then-Attorney General William Barr before he announced his conclusion that President Donald Trump had not obstructed justice during the Russia investigation. (Michael Reynolds/Pool via AP, File)
WASHINGTON – A federal judge has ordered the release of a legal memorandum the Trump-era Justice Department prepared for then-Attorney General William Barr before he announced his conclusion that President Donald Trump had not obstructed justice during the Russia investigation.
Eric Tucker
FILE - In this Dec. 21, 2020, file photo, Attorney General William Barr speaks during a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington. A federal judge has ordered the release of a legal memorandum the Trump-era Justice Department prepared for then-Attorney General William Barr before he announced his conclusion that President Donald Trump had not obstructed justice during the Russia investigation. (Michael Reynolds/Pool via AP, File) May 04, 2021 - 1:38 PM
WASHINGTON - A federal judge has ordered the release of a legal memorandum the Trump-era Justice Department prepared for then-Attorney General William Barr before he announced his conclusion that President Donald Trump had not obstructed justice during the Russia investigation.
DOJ ordered to release memo on why Trump wasn t charged in Mueller probe nydailynews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nydailynews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.