THIS IS THE END FOR MUELLER PROBE! FINALLY! THEY CONFIRMED HIS BIGGEST FEAR
new reports tonight that Special Counsel Robert Muller will be finishing up his investigation
as early as February now Muller would then submit his report to
the Attorney General Muller has presented no evidence to suggest president Trump colluded
with Russia after a nearly two-year probe our next guest says with respect to the
president inclusion Muller does not have a crime he is investigating he is investigating
in hopes of finding am crime which is a very different thing
joining me now is Andy McCarthy the former chief assistant US attorney in the Southern
District of New York he worked in that office for 18 years Andy
is now a National Review contributing editor Fox Business contributes those
articles in national route that I really look forward to and read voraciously every time
I get him Andy first of all you know there are a lot of people who
think our friend Rush Limbaugh has said this on air that that as long as President Trump
is president Muller will be around to investigate something
because he is searching for a crime to get this president out of office to which you
say what well I think Rush is right that there are no parameters to
the investigation and that as long as it goes on it will be an unlimited hunt for something
but where I disagree with Russia's that to the extent he thinks it'll
go it'll go on as long as the
trump presidency goes on I think that what we're seeing is Muller winding down I think
he's right that the conventional wisdom in Washington that this is about
to come down any second is overblown I think that there are still cars for Muller play
but I but I do think Dave that if he were planning to extend this you
would not be seeing people start to get sentenced now and I've always
thought that if he was building to a larger investigation the way you build a
larger investigation as you get the main guy or you get your co-operators to come in and
plead guilty to the big crime that you're trying to pin on the big guy
instead what he's done is pleadeverybody guilty to false statements and you don't want to
build a case by showing the jury that all your Witnesses are liars but that's exactly
what
doing about it well that indicates that he doesn't have a big case at the end of the
rainbow that's my point yeah well one of one of the things that
he's working on his obstruction and you you write a terrific piece in the in NASH review
that suggests he doesn't exactly understand obstruction as a
charge can you explain well I I didn't say I'm not so much saying he doesn't understand
it what I the article was about a memo that president Trump's nominee
to be the next Attorney General
Bill Barr who was the Attorney General by the way in the Bush 41 administration so he's
a very accomplished guy formerly head of the Justice Department's Office
a legal counsel which it'll lawyers lawyers in the in the Justice Department so he writes
a very lawyerly scholarly memo to rod Rosen Stein the Deputy
Attorney General saying that if the public reports of Muller's theory of obstruction
are true then that obstruction theory is not viable under federal
law because it's an extravagant
extension of it what it would what it would say is that instead of traditional obstruction
which is things like tampering with witnesses tampering with
evidence destroying evidence things that are innately corrupt evil acts to try to undermine
a proceeding Muller's theory would apply to any act of the president even
legitimate exercises of his constitutional prerogatives if a prosecutor decided that
they were improperly motivated and what Barr says
and I think he's correct about this is that is not a viable extension or
expansion of the obstruction statute and II it just seems like Muller is stretching so
far stretching the law in so many different directions in order to make a case against
this president it's like his entire reputation hinges now upon making a charge against the
president that will stick instead of the search the blind search for the truthnthis
is this is trying to find something that you know he said she put on the president file
- he's fine
two indictments against groups of Russians that seem to preclude the possibility of complicity
by President Trump he hasn't charged anyone in any
case that even hinted that President Trump did anything wrong I know people are impatient
with the investigation I'm impatient with the investigation but at
the same time you know you can only look at the bottom line of what he's done and what
he's done so far as he hasn't even hinted the president Trump did anything wrong at
least criminally wrong by the
way bill Barr who again has been nominated to be the next Attorney General by the president
he wrote this piece it's somehow the media is trying
to turn it into an accusatory some kind of evidence against him as being the next Attorney
General when in fact it was an offer it was an 18-page memoranda
memorandum to kind of help the Justice Department through understanding what
the Muller investigation was about did you think it was a good exercise yeah I
really did I thought it was a very good exercise and if I were on the other side of this argument
I would take comfort in the fact that bar comes out expressly and says that we all know
that a president can be cited for obstruction he
doesn't take the extreme position that the president is above the law or
the president can't be guilty of obstruction and he never comes out comes close to saying
that Muller's investigation is not legitimate this is
strictly an article that is about a very narrow but important legal issue which is is the
obstruction theory as we understand it that the mahler
investigation is pursuing one that is viable under federal law and under the canons of
construction of statutes that the Justice Department traditionally employs incredible
let's gone on this
long though and you think it is wrapping up you think maybe by the end of February we
may have the end of the Moller investigation Dave one thing I would say is that Muller
is not on anybody's time clock but his owns for sure
and I think he's gonna finish when he's good and ready there's good reason to think he's
winding down but he's also still got a grand jury open so I wouldn't
I wouldn't put a clock on it right now Andy McCarthy great to see you
my friend thank you very much for being here good afternoon Melissa the best indication
that that Mullis is finishing up his investigation of Russia influence
is that he is now in the sentencing phase we saw that with a Michael Flynn this week
now postponed until springm after Flynn rejected the judge's request
about whether he wanted to withdraw his plea he continues to cooperate though we saw it
with Michael Cohen in New York and his offer of continued cooperation
and with Paul Manafort now accused of lying after his agreement to cooperate his sentencing
set for March 5th in Virginia but that's far there's been no evidence
released by Muller just a guest president Trump colluded with Russia the president remains
in the crosshairs though of Democrats convinced he is assembling
a team at justice to impede his investigation Democrats also criticizing Trump's permanent
pick for
Attorney General William Barr who in a recently uncovered memo criticized the special prosecution
but Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said yesterday it
doesn't matter who's running justice theminvestigation will proceed now moving on writing in The
Wall Street Journal now Kim Strasser says the crowning
achievement of the 150th Congress is the House Republican investigation of FBI onduct in
the investigation she said
and I quote here the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's campaign ired fusion
GPS which retained a British gun for hire to compile a so-called
dossier part of the FBI' decision to launch an unprecedented
counterintelligence investigation she's urging the president now to declassify portions of
the House GOP investigation which she calls one of the greatest dirty tricks of our political
times
Hill Bar will be an outstanding Attorney General when he's confirmed next year the memo that
you may reference to reflects mr. Barnes personal opinion has
shared his personal opinion with the department lots of people offer opinions to the Department
of Justice but they don't influence our own decision-making
alright that was a soft on the back atn big support from rod Rosenstein for the guide
the president wants to make his next Attorney General a bill bar but
there is according to bars critics a problem with all of this and a certain memo that raises
questions whether there's an instant conflict of interest towards Washington University
constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley on that what's the issue right now Jonathan
well individuals like Senator Schumer have argued that because bar
in this memo questions the basis for
the obstruction allegation against President Trump and firing a former FBI director Comey
that he's in some way conflicted because he established in advance that he opposes the
investigation that's simply not true Schumer goes further and says it shows that he believes
the president is above the law that last statement is
remarkably reckless and unfair it's a bill bar he says in the memo that there are various
grounds upon which the president can be charged with a crime he
lays out that he believes that now that those types of investigations should go forward
he is primarily addressing a small provision that he believes would
have to be used to make out a case involving the Comey firing and Barr is a lawyers lawyer
you know he he doesn't get into all of the spin he's interested in
how you make a prosecution case andbwhat it would do to the Justice Department in terms
of its previous
policies that's what this memo goes ton and he's saying that this type of theory would
stretch this provision to its breaking point I'm just wondering it
would be the ultimate irony if if he would have to recuse himself on he matters having
to do with this that would the devil lobbyists well first of all the same ethics people that
suggested correctly in my view that Jeff session should recuse himself came
to the opposite conclusion on this memo the ethics experts at the Justice Department said
that this is not disqualifying I for four bar to serve in
this position but it's just facially ridiculous to suggest that what bar is raising in great
detail is the type of problem that some of us have been talking
about for over a year that people keep on referring to obstruction like
it's obvious that a criminal case could be made because you fire James
Comey it's not obstruction is a crime that has elements it has cases of precedent and
what what really bar is addressing a nineteen single-spaced
in a nineteen page single-spaced letter is that there is a disconnect between that theory
and the history and purpose of this provision so the configuration
the new Senate will be a fifty to forty eight Senate ostensibly with Republicans
picking up right so as things stand now is there anything that would get in the
way assuming the president sticks by and of his getting the votes to be the next Attorney
General well you know as you know in this city it's dangerous to make
any predictions but I would be flabbergasted if bill Barr we did not get through easily
he is the perfect nominee for these times he's the agents love
him he's a stabilizing force and
he's not going to be any one stooge he's not gonna have spent his entire career in prestigious
celebrated positions to throw it all away his interest in going
the Justice Department is to try to bring greater stability to that department he's
a really profound connection to the Justice Department
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