WASHINGTON Attorney General William Barr told Congress on Sunday that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had concluded that the evidence Robert Mueller developed during his special counsel investigation is not sufficient to establish that President Donald Trump committed obstruction of justice.

What Barrs letter doesnt mention is that less than a year ago, hed criticized Muellers focus on obstruction of justice in an unsolicited 19-page memo to Justice Department officials.

Barrs letter on Sunday said that Muellers report featured a cataloguing of the presidents actions, many of which took place in public view. Muellers report did not draw a conclusion one way or the other as to whether Trump obstructed justice, Barr wrote. Muellers report states that while it does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him, Barr noted.

Generally speaking, to obtain and sustain an obstruction conviction, the government would need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a person, acting with corrupt intent, engaged in obstructive conduct with a sufficient nexus to a pending or contemplated proceeding, the attorney general wrote. He said that those elements werent present in the Trump actions scrutinized in Muellers report.

But as Barrs June 2018 memo to his now-subordinates Rosenstein and Steve Engel, the assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel, makes clear, the attorney general has a very narrow view of what counts as obstruction.

Muellers core premise that the President acts corruptly if he attempts to influence a proceeding in which his own conduct is being scrutinized is untenable, Barr wrote in the 2018 memo. Barr said that the president would not be transgressing any legal limitation if he exercised his supervisory authority over cases dealing with his own interests. It may be in some cases politically unwise; but it is not a crime, Barr argued.

The practical implications of Muellers approach, especially in light of its shapeless concept of obstruction, are astounding, Barr wrote.

Read Barrs June 2018 letter below: