Office of Legal Counsel: Difference between revisions

In March 2019, the [[Mueller special counsel investigation|Mueller investigation]] delivered its [[Mueller report|final report]] to attorney general [[Bill Barr]]. Even before reading the report, Barr had already made the decision to clear Trump of [[obstruction of justice]]. Upon receiving the report, Barr tasked the OLC with preparing a memorandum that would pretextually justify Barr's decision, instead of providing candid counsel.<ref>{{cite news |work=[[Washington Examiner]] |url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/justice/justice-department-releases-memo-barr-trump-obstruction-russia |title=DOJ releases memo advising Barr on not pursuing Trump obstruction charges | date=August 24, 2022 |first=Daniel |last=Chaitin |access-date=August 29, 2022 |quote='The court's ... review of the memorandum revealed that the Department in fact never considered bringing a charge,' the panel wrote in its opinion. 'Instead, the memorandum concerned a separate decision that had gone entirely unmentioned by the government in its submissions to the court — what, if anything, to say to Congress and the public about the Mueller Report.' The panel added: 'We affirm the district court.' }}</ref><ref name="Mallin">{{cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/doj-releases-memo-ag-barrs-decision-prosecute-trump/story?id=88808145 |date=August 24, 2022 |title=DOJ releases memo behind Barr's decision not to prosecute Trump for obstruction |work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |first=Alexander |last=Mallin |access-date=August 29, 2022 |quote=DOJ officials previously told the court that the memo should be kept from the public because it involved internal department deliberations and the advice given to Barr about whether Trump should face prosecution. But a district judge ruled that Barr was never engaged in such a process and had already made up his mind to not charge Trump. }}</ref><ref name="backs ruling">{{cite news |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2022/08/19/appeals-court-backs-ruling-to-release-doj-memo-on-trump-prosecution-00052880 |title= Appeals court backs ruling to release DOJ memo on Trump prosecution |work=[[Politico]] |date=August 19, 2022 |first1=Josh |last1=Gerstein |first2=Kyle |last2=Cheney |access-date=August 30, 2022 |quote=Srinivasan said the memo, co-authored by Assistant Attorney General for Legal Counsel Steven Engel and Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Edward O'Callaghan, seemed more like a "thought experiment" because Barr decided before the memo was written that Trump would not be charged with a crime. }}</ref> This memorandum was written in tandem with the [[Barr letter]] over the course of two days;<ref>{{cite web |first=Eric |last=Tucker |date=May 5, 2021 |work=Associated Press |url=https://apnews.com/article/politics-europe-government-and-politics-d1ca64dfd5d69f31a36cd1501d0c1caf |title=Judge orders Justice Dept. To release Trump obstruction memo |quote=In her order, Jackson noted that the memo prepared for Barr, and the letter from Barr to Congress that describes the special counsel's report, are 'being written by the very same people at the very same time. The emails show not only that the authors and the recipients of the memorandum are working hand in hand to craft the advice that is supposedly being delivered by OLC, but that the letter to Congress is the priority, and it is getting completed first,' the judge wrote. |access-date=August 29, 2022 }}</ref> the final version was signed by [[Steven Engel]] and [[Ed O'Callaghan]].<ref name="Mallin"/><ref name="backs ruling"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.citizensforethics.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2019.03.24-Memorandum-to-AG-from-DAG-re-Mueller-Report-Review.pdf |title=Memorandum for the Attorney General: Review of the Special Counsel's Report |via=[[Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington]] |work=[[United States Department of Justice]] |date=March 24, 2019 |access-date=August 30, 2022 |first1=Steven A. |last1=Engel |first2=Edward C. |last2=O'Callaghan |authorlink=Steven Engel |authorlink2=Ed O'Callaghan }}</ref><ref name=Lucas>{{cite news |first=Ryan |last=Lucas |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/08/24/1119322386/memo-barr-trump-mueller-doj |title=DOJ releases a Mueller-era memo to Barr on the decision not to prosecute Trump |work=[[NPR]] |date=August 24, 2022 |access-date=September 25, 2022 }}</ref> The D.C. Circuit held that the memo was not shielded from disclosure by the [[deliberative process privilege]], because then-attorney general Barr had already determined, by the time the memo was written, that DOJ would not charge Trump with a crime, making the memo akin to a "thought experiment."<ref name="backs ruling"/>