On Thursday morning, Attorney General William Barr gave yet another explanation of his handling of the special counsel Robert Mueller’s report. Over the roughly 30 minutes of prepared remarks and the handful of questions that followed, Barr made clear that whatever happened with the report was his decision to make.
In response to a question from a reporter about why Mueller wasn’t there himself, Barr, with more than a hint of frustration, asserted that the Mueller report was a confidential document for him alone. As he put it, “It’s a report he did for me as attorney general. … I’m here to discuss my response.”
[WATCH: William Barr’s press conference on Mueller report release]
In his prepared remarks, Barr also reiterated that it was his responsibility to make the call on bringing obstruction of justice charges against the president. Echoing his conclusions printed in his public letters to Congress, he explained, “I concluded that the evidence developed by the Special Counsel is not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense.”
Moreover, he cast this decision as a matter of responsibility. “Because the special counsel did not make that decision, we felt the Department had to,” even though he admitted that he had not discussed that decision with Robert Mueller.
As to why the decision on obstruction of justice charges was not left up to Congress, Barr again defended his response dismissively, saying, “Special Counsel Mueller did not indicate that his purpose was to leave the decision to Congress,” adding, “I hope that was not his view.”
In those comments, Barr established that what mattered was not Mueller’s report but his decision on what to do with it. Not only did he establish his right to decide if President Trump was guilty of obstruction of justice, but, more importantly, he has already made his decision: President Trump is innocent. That means that for everyone scrambling to read the redacted report this afternoon, regardless of what disheartening details they might find, the case is already closed.
Of course, despite his stated commitment to transparency, Barr’s own decision will not be subject to public review — yet.
