8-18-2022
Court orders release of memo on Trump obstruction into Russia probe.
An internal Justice Department memorandum sorting out whether former President Donald Trump obstructed the department’s investigation of Russian election interference in 2016 must be released,
a federal appeals court has ruled.
From Politico first on Friday:
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued the decision unanimously.
The department’s position was that the internal memo—which assessed whether Trump should be charged with obstruction of the Russia probe—be kept secret.
But when the matter was before U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson prior to appeal, she disagreed.
The DOJ could not prove that the memo was part of guidance relied on by former Attorney General William Barr, Judge Jackson and the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals have agreed.
And as Politico put it succinctly on Friday:
this ruling concludes that the department “botched” its handling of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that initially sought to unseal the memo.
That request was filed by the oversight group known as Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW.
A redacted version of the memo arguing there was not sufficient evidence of a crime committed by Trump was released last
Upon news of the appeals court ruling on Friday, CREW said it would now set itself upon the task of obtaining the full memo Barr used to determine that Trump did not criminally obstruct justice.
For a more in-depth breakdown, check out the CREW report here.
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