William Barr (screen grab)
On Saturday, House Democratic Caucus chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) excoriated Attorney General William Barr for his promotion of Trump's attacks on the FBI for investigating his potential culpability in Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election:
Barr has tried to use his office to legitimize the claims by Trump and his allies that the FBI illegally "spied" on the campaign, saying that "I think spying did occur" in a hearing with a Senate Appropriations subcommittee — but has offered no evidence to back up this claim. There is still no indication that the FBI "spied" on Trump, or that any of the surveillance that did occur around the Russia investigation generally was extrajudicial or politically motivated.
Special counsel Robert Mueller's report ultimately did not find enough evidence to charge Trump or members of his campaign with criminal conspiracy with the Russian government. It did, however, document clear evidence the campaign was aware of Russian attempts to interfere in the election and welcomed these efforts — and found several instances in which the president potentially obstructed justice.
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