Judge orders release of memo on Russia probe Updated May 4, 2021, 5:28 p.m. Email to a Friend Former attorney general William Barr.DOUG MILLS/NYT WASHINGTON â 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 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.