US attorney-general Barr defends clearing Trump on obstruction of justice
Trump appointee in his first congressional testimony since releasing a redacted version of the Mueller report
Washington — Under pressure from Democrats, attorney-general William Barr on Wednesday defended his decision to clear President Donald Trump of criminal obstruction of justice by attempting to impede special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia inquiry and criticised Mueller for not reaching a conclusion of his own on the issue. In his first congressional testimony since releasing a redacted version of the 448-page report on April 18, Barr also deflected complaints made by Mueller in a letter to him over how the attorney-general had handled the disclosure of the special counsel's conclusions. During the sometimes testy hearing, Barr faced sharp questions from Senate judiciary committee Democrats on why he decided after receiving the document from Mueller in March to conclude that the president had not unlawfully sought to obstruct the 22-month investigation. "I don't think the government had a prosecutable case," Barr, the top US law enforcement official and a Trump appointee, testified....
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