Special counsel Robert Mueller could have declared whether President Trump broke the law if Mueller had wanted — albeit still without the ability to bring…
Special counsel Robert Mueller could have declared whether President Trump broke the law if Mueller had wanted — albeit still without the ability to bring any indictment, Attorney General William Barr says in a new TV interview.
Barr told CBS News in an interview scheduled to air on Thursday evening and Friday morning that he believed Mueller had more latitude to state his views than the special counsel may have permitted himself.
« I personally felt he could’ve reached a decision. He could’ve reached a conclusion, » Barr said.
The discrepancy between the Justice Department’s leaders is over its long-standing legal opinion that forbids the indictment of a sitting president.
Mueller said on Wednesday that in his view, that policy meant he could never have considered the option of bringing criminal charges against Trump.
Barr, in excerpts of his CBS interview, said he concurred with respect to charges but said he thought Mueller nonetheless could have declared whether he believed they were necessary.
In other words, Barr is saying Mueller could have said that he believed Trump should be charged — if he thought so — without the ability to actually ask a grand jury for an indictment.
