Barr: Trump Not Invoking Executive Privilege

Attorney General William Barr says President Donald Trump did not exert executive privilege over any information included in special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.

He said the White House counsel reviewed a redacted version of the report before Trump decided not to invoke executive privilege.

Barr said “no material has been redacted based on executive privilege.”

Barr spoke Thursday at a news conference with reporters. This was the president’s first Tweet after the conference:

Barr also said special counsel Robert Mueller’s report recounts 10 episodes involving President Donald Trump that were investigated as potential acts of criminal obstruction of justice.

Barr said Mueller did not reach a “prosecutorial judgment” and that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein concluded the evidence was not sufficient to establish the president committed an offense.

Attorney General William Barr also said he will give Congress a redacted copy of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigative report at 11 a.m.

He told reporters at the Justice Department that he would transmit to Congress copies of the public version of Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference during the 2016 election and President Donald Trump’s campaign.

Democrats complained that Barr’s news conference was an effort to influence reaction to the report ahead of its release.

President Donald Trump has blasted the investigation into Russian election meddling as “The Greatest Political Hoax of all time!” hours before the long-awaited released of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report Thursday.

Trump’s first tweet of the day blasted investigators.

Trump tweeted, “Crimes were committed by Crooked, Dirty Cops and DNC/The Democrats,” although there is no evidence of that. Trump frequently calls the probe into contacts between his 2016 campaign and Russia a “witch hunt.”

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.  PHOTO: AP

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